Families in Poverty

2013 Poverty guideline for family of 3

$19,530

2014 Poverty guideline for family of 3

$19,790

Median household income for 2012

$51,00

Risk factors for poverty

-Ethnicity -Gender -Age -Family Structure -Education Level -Residence -Employment Status

Dual labor market theory

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Too high poverty guideline...

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Too low poverty guideline...

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Why does the government need to create a threshold?

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US ranking of Gini Coefficient

.45 - .49

Poverty rate of 2012

15%. Remaining the same.

Percentage of children who live in poverty

18%

Year Social Security Act was established

1935

What percent of poverty do social scientists generally use to identify low-income families?

200%

Young children who live in poverty (%)

21%

Underclass

3 - 5%. Often unemployed due to disability or age. Many live in inner cities.

Percentage of children who live in low-income families

39%

What is the Thrifty Food Plan?

3x the cost of a monthly economic food basket for a family of a particular size.

Young children who live in low-income families (%)

43%

Absolute poverty (UN definition)

A condition that is characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information. It depends not only on income but also on access to services.

Focuses on the amount of money required to have basic needs met (e.g., food or shelter).

Absolute approach to poverty

Culture of Poverty

Argues that the poor have developed a unique subculture as an adaptation to the structural barriers they encounter (learned helplessness).

Fatalism

Attributes poverty primarily to quirks of fate that people generally cannot control. (Divorce, job loss, domestic violence, unexpected pregnancy).

How is the U.S. Poverty Threshold calculated?

Based on family food consumption. It is supposed to be 3x the cost of a monthly economic food basket.

Social Class

Based on income, wealth, occupational prestige, and education level.

Race with highest poverty rate

Black (27.2%)

Net worth Distribution

Bottom 80 percent: 11% of net worth.

Financial Wealth Distribution

Bottom 80 percent: 5% of financial wealth.

Adam Smith definition of poverty

By necessaries I understand not only the commodities which are indispensably necessary for the support of life, but what ever the customs of the country renders it indecent for creditable people, even the lowest order, to be without.

U.S. Poverty Threshold

Established by the Social Security Administration in 1964.

Individualism

Focuses on the achievement of the individual. Each person is responsible for their own economic positions. (At best uneducated and unskilled. At worst lazy and unmotivated).

United Nations of poverty

Fundamentally, poverty is a denial of choices and opportunities, a violation of human dignity. It means lack of basic capacity to participate effectively in society. It means not having enough to feed and cloth a family, not having a school or clinic to go to, not having the land on which to grow one's food or a job to earn one's living, not having access to credit. It means insecurity, powerlessness and exclusion of individuals, households and communities. It means susceptibility to violence, and it often implies living on marginal or fragile environments, without access to clean water or sanitation.

How does welfare system exacerbate poverty?

Government programs promote welfare dependency. Welfare systems penalized for work.

Generational Poverty

Having been in poverty at least two generations.

Social Structuralism

Identifies the primary source of poverty as the inequality found in social institutions.

Household Income

Includes income of the householder and all other people 15 years and older in the household whether or not they are related to the householder.

Moderate poverty (based on International Indicators)

Income less than $2 (PPP: Purchasing Power Parity) per day.

Guidelines

Issued each year by the Department of Health and Human Services. The guidelines are a simplification of the poverty thresholds for administrative use. Slightly higher than threshold.

Situational Poverty

Lack of resources due to a particular event.

Extreme poverty (based on International Indicators)

Less than $1.25 per day.

Gini Coefficient

Measurement of the inequality of income or wealth. Ranges from 0.0 (total equality) to 1.0 (maximal inequality).

State that showed the highest poverty rate

Mississippi

Poverty Threshold

Original version of the federal poverty measure (Census Bureau).

World Bank definition of poverty

Poverty is hunger. Poverty is lack of shelter. Poverty is being sick and not being able to see a doctor. Poverty is not having access to school and not knowing how to read. Poverty is not having a job, is fear for the future, living one day at a time. Poverty is losing a child to illness brought about by unclean water. Poverty is powerlessness, lack of representation and freedom.

Falling behind most others in one's community. E.g., Bottom 10% of household income in society.M

Relative measure approach to poverty

Marx's theory on capitalism

The capital class owns the means of production. They own the land and money needed to operate factories and businesses.

Household Median

The point that divides the household income distribution into halves, one half with income above the median and the other with income below the median.

Dictionary definition of poverty

The state of having little or no money and few or no material possessions.

Age group with highest poverty rate

Under 18 (21.8%)

Human Capital

Uneducated, unskilled, lack of experience.

Upper-Middle Class

Upper 20%. $100,000 - 200,000. Highly educated professionals.

Upper Class

Upper 5%.

Working Poor

about 10%. Minimum (or near) wage jobs.

Working Class

about 25%. $20,000 - $40,000. Factory, custodial, semi-skilled or unskilled jobs.

Middle Class

about 35%. $40,000 - $100,000. "White collar jobs" or highly skilled "blue collar" jobs.