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Chapter 2 Social Class

The document discusses social class and stratification, highlighting the theories of Functionalism and Conflict, particularly focusing on income and wealth inequality in the U.S. It details the demographics of poverty, government programs aimed at alleviating poverty, and the historical context of welfare policies, including the impact of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act. Additionally, it addresses the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on poverty and assistance programs.

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mememan978
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3 views

Chapter 2 Social Class

The document discusses social class and stratification, highlighting the theories of Functionalism and Conflict, particularly focusing on income and wealth inequality in the U.S. It details the demographics of poverty, government programs aimed at alleviating poverty, and the historical context of welfare policies, including the impact of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act. Additionally, it addresses the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on poverty and assistance programs.

Uploaded by

mememan978
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Ch. 2. Social Class Handouts Dr.

Ahmed

Social Stratification (SS): ranking people (hierarchical)

Social Class- people who have similar access to resources/ opportunities

* Life chances: the extent to which individuals have access to important societal
resources (schooling they receive, the kind of work, and how long they will live)
.

Theories:
Functionalist:
1. Not everyone can & should be equal.
2. Inequality - necessary for the social order.
3. Some positions - more important than others. Should be filled by the more
qualified people. Individuals are sorted according to their abilities.
4. Should offer greater rewards in order to motivate them (to work harder/ longer).

Conflict: Karl Marx


* Social inequality – not a necessary part of the operation of the society.
*Social Stratifications - system of domination
*Social class - determined by one’s position in the economic system.
- either you are a worker or an owner of the means of production.

Weber –3 dimensions of social classes.


1. Income/wealth - material components. Income: from salary, investment
Wealth- value of assets.

2. Status-

3. Power -

Inequality in terms of Income & wealth:


Inequality- viewed as a social problem
a. Income
- Highest earnings 20% of U.S families received ~53% of all income, the lowest-
paid 20% received 3% of all income.
*Since 1980, income inequality among US families- increasing.
• Between 1980 & 2023, the annual income of the highest paid 20% of families
increased by 17%, lowest paid 20% families- decreased by 2.1%.

* This difference is making income inequality greater than at any time during the
last 50 years.

(CA, CT, FL, LA, NY)

b. Wealth- richest 20% control 89% of all privately owned wealth.


Top 1% - ~31%
Poorest 20%- in debt.

Govt. - to reduce economics inequality through:


Progressive taxation: taxes increase as income increases

: Increase taxes on rich & decrease taxes on families with low incomes & increase social
services to them.

How many people are poor?


Poverty line: an income level set by the government for the purpose of counting the
poor.
: Poverty rate: 11% (37 million people) in 2023.

Poverty 2 types:
a. Absolute- lack of basic necessities
b. Relative- falling behind the average income or life style enjoyed by the other people.

Who are the poor?


a. Age: Children - 16% under the age of 18 live in poverty.
1 in every 7 children (2023).

b. Race:
Whites - Whites - largest group of poor individuals.
Account for about 38% of all poor people living in poverty.
Blacks:
Latinos:
Asian:

c. Gender: Of all the people who are poor ~ 56% are women. 51% - headed by women
w/ no husband.

Feminization of poverty: trend of women making up large share of poor

Regions:
Highest to lowest: South, West, Midwest, Northeast
State: Highest: Mississippi
: Lowest: New Hampshire

Location: Poor – live in central cities.

* Food Insecurity (FI):


* 14% households experience FI (2023)

FI: Lack of access to enough food for active & healthy lives for all members of the
household.

FI higher for: single female headed households with children, black households, &
Hispanic households, households with income below the poverty line.
* Poor households experience higher food prices than the national average
because of
1. Low income
2. Location

Suburban supermarkets: have lower food price and a wider selection of food.

Poor: mostly live in central cities and rural areas.


Grocery stores: higher food price. Why?
Reasons: high operation costs, smaller store size, low sales volume

Government Programs for poor families:


a. SNAP/ Food Stamps, Food pantries & soup kitchens provide food assistance.

: The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP): In a typical month in 2022,


SNAP served more than 41 million people.

b. School Lunch Programs (1946-) more than 30 million low-income children participate
in
the SLP on an average typical day.

*Lack of Affordable housing:


- Nationally, there are only 36 affordable housing for every 100 extremely low-income
households.
-More than 50% of low-income renter households paid over 30% of their income for
gross rent expenses.
: No state- a full-time minimum-wage workers can reasonably afford a modest one-or-
two-bedroom rental unit.

: 40 states- workers need to earn more than 2 times the minimum wage to afford
basic housing.

: CA, CT, MD, MA, NJ, NY-

*Fight against poverty


-1929: the great depression
-1/4th of the working people lost their jobs. Families in debt
- 1933: Roosevelt – “1/3 of a nation ill-clothed, ill-housed, & ill-fed”.

-Promised a “new deal” - included Works Progress Administration projects & Social
Security (SS).

* New Deal- 4 types of assistance


1. General relief- given to those - not able to work
: mostly single men
2. Work relief– gave government jobs to those who were unemployed.
3. Social insurance - Social security & unemployment compensation.

4. Categorical assistance – given to poor families with dependent children, the blind, &
the elderly.

*Created Aid to Families with Dependent Children ((AFDC) : provided income to poor
mothers w/children.
- Never authorized by the Congress.

: Centerpiece of the welfare system was established by the passage of the Social
Security Act of 1935

: Social Security Act—a system of assistance programs designed to provide for those
who could not care for themselves—the retied elderly workers, the disabled workers, the
unemployed, widows, & the poor

*1964: Lyndon Johnson declared a “war on poverty “.


- to create a great society

Programs: Head Start, Upward Bound, Public housing, Neighborhood Youth Corp, Job
Crops, Affirmative Action, Work Study, Medicaid & Medicare.

- Aim:

: Early 1990, about 8 million poor households – public assistance

Throughout the 20th century, welfare policy -caught b/ two values:


1. Desire to help those who could not help themselves.

2. Concern whether the assistance would create dependency

*1992- Clinton

*1996- Personal Responsibility & Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA)


into law.

Aim: Reduce dependence on government assistance through:


a. Script work requirement
b. Welfare time limits: benefits to two consecutive years, with a lifetime cap of 5 years

Results:
1. Responsibility for helping the poor shifted from the federal government to the
states.
2. AFDC ended. Replaced by Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).

3. Federal lifetime limit -


* Intended to increase the “personal responsibility” of the poor by requiring able-bodies
people seeking benefits to find a job or enroll in job training.
*In 2002: George Bush supported the reauthorization of the PRWORA.
a.
b. increasing resources for welfare families.
c. protecting children & strengthening families.
d. enhancing state flexibility in welfare funding & programming

PRWORA was reauthorized in 2005 under the Deficit Reduction Act.

Results (positive/negative):
*1. Welfare caseloads-declined since the enactment of PRWORA.

Two other factors- also responsible for that:


a. b. Increased aid to low-income working families

2. Life after welfare:


* Studies: No significant earnings growth after leaving welfare.
* Once off welfare: majority continue to struggle.
: Trouble finding employment, lack child care, transportation, nutrition and health care
assistance and remain concentrated in the low-wage labor market.

3. The Center for Women Policy Studies: after PRWORA, college enrollment among
low-income women declined.

4. Since 1996, 49 states- OK & DC are exceptions- have passed legislation to allow
secondary education to count as a activity under PRWORA.

: Georgia- only state that allows welfare recipients to enroll in grad school

**President Obama: addressed poverty through Community development programs like


the
Promise Zones Initiative.

* COVID-19 pandemic: assistance plans put into place.


: direct assistance ($1200 per adult), unemployed insurance for self-employed & gig
workers, the American Rescue Plan etc.

*Earned Income Tax Credit (1975) - provides federal tax relief for low-income working
families, especially those w/ children.

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