Sociology Ch. 8
$23,050
In US what is the poverty level for a family of 4?
True
(T/F) The amount of government benefits going to the middle class is greater than the amount going to the poor in welfare programs
True
(T/F) According to functionalist theory, a society must pay some jobs more to attract people to important positions
True
(T/F) According to functionalist theory, low-paying jobs are low-paying because they are not as necessary to the society as better-paying jobs
False
(T/F) Basically, poverty refers to a condition in which people maintain a standard of living that includes the basic necessities but none of the extras and luxuries
False
(T/F) Because most Americans work for a living, well over 50% of the population is usually considered working class
False
(T/F) Because of the right to a free lawyer, a poor person charged with a crime is no more likely to be convicted than is a middle-class person
True
(T/F) Conflict theories argue that inequality persists because those with wealth and power use that wealth and power to protect and further their own interests, even at the expense of the interests of others in the society
True
(T/F) Even when a middle-class person and a poor person commit similar crimes, the poor person is more likely to be arrested.
False
(T/F) Government assistance programs are generous enough that they provide a comfortable lifestyle for most of the poor
True
(T/F) Historically, the members of the upper class in the united States have been predominantly Jewish
True
(T/F) In Marx's terms, the bourgeoisie compromises the owners of the means of production
True
(T/F) In the United States, members of the upper class, despite their great wealth, often live, work, and associate socially with members of the upper-middle and lower-middle classes
True
(T/F) In the last quarter-century, the income gap between the rich and the poor in the United States has generally increased
False
(T/F) Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore contend that social stratification exists in most industrialized nations except the United States
True
(T/F) Lower-class people typically share the American desire for advancement and achievement found in the other social classes
True
(T/F) Max Weber, unlike Marx, argued that the status and power could be separated from economic position
True
(T/F) Members of a social class usually have roughly similar lives
True
(T/F) More than one American in ten was below the poverty line in 2011
False
(T/F) Most government agencies define a family as poor if its income is less than half of the average American family income
False
(T/F) Mothers who are divorced are usually economically worse off than mothers who were never married
True
(T/F) Poor people who work are often not eligible for the assistance that jobless poor people are eligible for
True
(T/F) Prison systems are heavily populated by the poor.
False
(T/F) Rich-poor differences in health do not begin until late childhood. Babies of the poor are no more likely to die in the first year than are babies of the middle of upper class.
True
(T/F) Since the 1970's, the percentage of the elderly living in poverty has decreased while the percentage of children living in poverty has increased
True
(T/F) The amount of government money going to female-headed families in poverty is less than one-tenth of the amount going to Social Security payments to the elderly
False
(T/F) The crimes committed by the poor do much more financial harm to society than do the crimes of those in the middle and upper classes
True
(T/F) The functionalists explanation maintains that inequality exists and persists because it benefits society as a whole
False
(T/F) The minimum wage in the US is set so that a single parent of two children who works full time at a minimum-wage job will have an income above the poverty index
True
(T/F) The poverty index includes only cash income and does not take into account noncash benefits such as Medicaid and food stamps
Class System of Stratification
A society that has several social classes and permits social mobility
Children
A substantial number of poor _____ live in the United States
Owners exploited workers and paid them as little as possible
According to Marx, what was the relation between the owners of the means of production and those who worked for them?
Food
Because of the way the government computed the official poverty index- the income level below which a family is defined as poor- this index can be affected by a change in the cost of what?
Karl Marx
Conflict theories of inequality of often based on the ideas of who?
By limiting social interaction, intermarriage, and mobility into another class
How are class boundaries maintained?
Take the cost of a basic, low-cost, nutritionally adequate diet and multiply it by three.
How did Mollie Orshansky's measurement of poverty work?
They see stratification as the outcome of a struggle for dominance
How do conflict theorists view stratification?
14 million to 45 million
How many Americans are living in poverty?
available only to people who can prove that they earn below a certain income
If a government program is means tested, it is...
upper-middle
Managers and other people who work in the professional and technical fields are members of the ___________ class.
the United States
Of the following nations, the highest rate of poverty among children is found in which?
Decreased Greatly
Since the passage of the Welfare Reform Act in 1996, the number of families receiving aid has __________.
the trend in which females represent an increasing proportion of the poor
The feminization of poverty refers to...
Functionalism
The major social structures contribute to the maintenance of the social system; the existence of a specific pattern in society is explained in terms of the benefits that society receives based on the situation.
wealth
The term for stocks, real estate, and other owned property not including the money a person earns at work is called __________.
the elderly
US government programs to combat poverty have been most successful among...
Elderly
US has been successful in combating poverty among the ________; but far less successful in combating poverty among everyone else
65-69
What age group has the highest median household net worth?
(1) To each according to need, (2) to each according to what we want, (3) to each according to what is earned (4) to each according to what can be obtained-by any means
What are the 4 ways wealth can be distributed?
Upper class, upper-middle class, middle-middle class, lower-middle class, and lower class
What are the 5 social classes in the United States?
(1) Social insurance and cash benefits going to people of all income levels and (2) means-tested programs and cash assistance going to only poor
What are the two types of government programs that provide benefits to families?
Function of marriage is to provide a stable family structure
What is the functionalist view for marriage?
Immorality
What is the main argument against social stratification?
40% below 18, 10% above 65
What percentage of US in poverty cannot work?
An industrial society of plenty where all could live in comfort
What would happen, in Marx's opinion, in the final stage of advanced communism?
Stratification emerges from the power struggle for scarce resources
Where does Karl Marx believe stratification emerges from?
distribution of wealth
Which data would you look at if you wanted to show a larger degree of inequality between the rich and the rest of the population?
Davis and Moore
Who are the two sociologists who are known for studying and advocating a functionalist theory of stratification?
Molly Orshansky
Who came up with how we measure poverty today?
Karl Marx
Who is responsible for the writings of conflict theory?
Social Class
a category of people who share similar opportunities, similar economic and vocational positions, similar lifestyles, and similar attitudes and behaviors
Poverty
a condition in which people do not have enough money to maintain a standard of living that includes the basic necessities of life
