Social Class
What determines social mobility?
- What your parents do - Level of education - Race
intragenerational social mobility
- mobility within one generation - does happen but it's less common.
Explain guaranteed income
-Also known as Universal Basic Income (UBI) -Goal: eliminate poverty by making sure everyone has enough to live on -Has been tried small-scale with mixed results
Structural Explanations of Mobility: What do they explain?
-Explain trends in mobility -Explain individual instances of mobility in relation to broader social patterns. -Recall Mills' troubles vs issues! When those causes of social mobility come from changes within society themselves, we call them STRUCTURAL explanations of social mobility
social class
-based on wealth, prestige, power (a la Max Weber) -Significant stratification on the basis of money -Impacts of poverty & how we can fix it -American ideology based on social mobility -Reality is ... that most people don't move. -Structural impacts on mobility & opportunity
horizontal mobility
Changing positions at the same level in the stratification system (when people change jobs with the same pay)
Are people doing better than their parents in regards to income?
No, most people aren't doing better than their parents.
why is universal income opposed?
Often opposed on the basis of meritocratic values (social mobility is based on personal merit and individual talents.. you should earn it)
When those causes of social mobility come from changes within society themselves, we call them ________.
STRUCTURAL explanations of social mobility ex. Great recession
Why do people want to claim middle class identity?
Values- our values about money, lifestyle, its a cultural phenomena
social mobility
a change in position within the social hierarchy
Poverty isn't a lack of _______, it's a lack of _______.
character, cash
What social class do you think most Americans claim membership in?
middle class
Income = Wealth = Economic Power =
money in Property + Other Assets - (Debt) = Income + Wealth
Who is poor?
native american, black, hispanic
Most poor people in the United States live in ________.
suburbs
scarcity mentality
A way of thinking that assumes that there is a limited quantity of goods and so everyone must take care of themselves. It produces envy, insecurity, rivalry, and hoarding.
True or false: A person born with little to no income & wealth is likely to end up very rich.
False
True or false: Upward mobility is equally available to all Americans, regardless of race.
False
True or false: systems of social stratification are based on the inherent worth of the people within those systems.
False
How does the US address poverty?
Government support like nutrition programs, subsidized housing, cash assistance, etc. Eligibility usually calculated relative to the poverty line.
What causes social mobility? Which one is sociologists more concerned with?
Individual Causes Education Employment Incarceration Bankruptcy More Macro Causes Natural disaster / global pandemic Changes in Economy we're more interested in the macro causes than the ones that result from individual actions/choices
Which of the following best describes social class variation in socialization? -Middle class parents socialize their children to be independent; working class parents socialize their children to be obedient. -Wealthy parents out-source the socialization of their children; middle- and working class parents are more actively involved in their children's socialization. -Poor parents socialize their children to value hard work; wealthy parents socialize their children to value luck.
Middle class parents socialize their children to be independent; working class parents
Who is at the Top of Stratification according to Weber?
People who hold large amounts of class, status and power.
What does it mean to say that "poverty is expensive"?
The social problems that are caused by poverty are very costly
True or false: Most Americans think that the current distribution of wealth is not acceptable.
True
Theorizing Class Inequality: Max Weber
Weber conceptualizes "social class" as being a combination of class, status, and power class is about how much money you have. We're back to income and wealth. status it's what others think of you. Here we're back to those non-economic factors that raise your position within the layer cake. power is your ability to control your own destiny. It's about who's making decisions for you... is it you or is it someone else?
What is the U.S. Distribution of income & wealth?
almost NINETY PERCENT of the wealth and 65% of the income is controlled by the top 20% of the population. AND I want to draw your attention to the fact that it's not until this top 20% that people have more wealth than they do income.
Impacts of poverty
-limits choices -reduces educational achievement -threatens early childhood nutrition -reduces a family's ability to provide a supportive environment -forcing delays/abandonment of college plans
Three trends in the wealth inequality of the US
1. wealth inequality has followed a U-shaped pattern since 1913: it was high at the beginning of the 20th century, began falling around 1929, and then began to steadily increase again in the 1980s 2. today's middle class does not own a significantly greater share of wealth than it did 70 years ago. Rather, the wealth share of the bottom 90% of households has followed an inverted U-shaped pattern 3. the increased concentration of wealth at the top is driven by diversified wealth accumulation and surging (top) incomes.
The richest _____ of Americans control roughly ____ of the country's wealth
10%; 70%
Explain Universal income experiments with: Alaska Brazil Macao Finlad
Alaska Oil Wealth Fund Actual amount tied to oil prices Has eliminated extreme poverty No significant impact on employment Brazil Conditional funds (kids in school, preventative health care) Tied to oil royalties Experiments are ongoing Macao Small annual stipends Amounts too small to make a dent in poverty Finland Experiment w/ 2000 randomly selected unemployed people. Income made them happier but didn't help them get jobs.
Wealth Inequality in the US: Is the One Percent Permeable?
The fact that the tops of the income and wealth distributions do not overlap completely suggests that the 1% is permeable, but that there are likely different sets of traits that contribute to membership in each group. -inheritence -education -self employment
Theorizing Class Inequality: Karl Marx Explain proletariot, borgeoisie, petit borgeoisie exploitation,
The proletariat are the workers - the only thing they own is their labor power, and they sell that to the bourgeoisie, who own the means of production - the factories. The relationship between the two is best described as exploitation - the bourgeoisie hire the workers, and pay them enough to survive to come back and work the next day. Proletariat (workers)own only their labor power Bourgeoisie (owners)own the means of production Means of Production: How a society gets its stuff (farms, factories, etc.) Petite Bourgeoisie small business owners; the middle class. these were merchants and artisans who weren't participating in industrial-scale production. They did buy the labor power of the protletariat, but they usually ALSO worked (as opposed to the true Bourgeoisie, who just owned the means of production and didn't work).
Distribution of Aggregate household wealth What happened in 2008-2012?
The proportion of wealth controlled by the top 1% has GROWN over the 17 years represented by this graph. That the bottom 50% controlled less wealth in 2017 than they did in 2000 The next thing I want to draw your attention to is the place where the wealth of the bottom 50% COMPLETELY DISAPPEARS that's the effect of the Great Recession.
Which of the following best describes the distribution of income and wealth in the United States? -The vast majority of wealth and income are controlled by the wealthiest 20% of the population. -Wealth is concentrated among the richest 20%, but the middle 40% of people control most of the income. -About half of the wealth and income are controlled by the wealthiest 40% of the population. -Wealth is equitably distributed across society.
The vast majority of wealth and income are controlled by the wealthiest 20% of the population.
Explain the financial data of the middle class broken out by upper-middle, middle, and lower-middle: What class were most concerned about falling to a lower class position in the next few years? what % of people in the lower class said they weren't making enough to get by?
Upper middle class- most are making enough to live comfortably Middle Class- mix of making enough to live comfortably / making enough to get by Lower middle class- majority claimed making enough to get by. MOST members of the self-described "lower middle class" were concerned about falling to a lower class position in the next few years. TWENTY PERCENT of ppl in the lower middle class said they weren't making enough to get by.
Social class
a group of people with similar backgrounds, incomes, and ways of living
Which of the following best describes the "basic income guarantee"? -a guaranteed monthly income for all people, with no strings attached -a supplement to people's earned income; people who are receiving unemployment benefits do not qualify -a monthly stipend for households that include people under the age of 18, or individuals who are disabled -a guaranteed monthly income for all citizens of a country
a guaranteed monthly income for all people, with no strings attached
status inconsistency
a situation where an individual's social positions have both positive and negative influences on his or her social status. ex. profession who is very well educated but has a low income, which decreased social status but respect for professor improves social status.
social stratification
a system by which a society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy
meritocracy whats an issue with this?
a system in which social mobility is based on personal merit and individual talents because it's supposed to be open, it's easy to ignore the structural factors that influence class standing.
Which of the following factors make a person less likely to experience upward mobility? (Choose all that apply.) being raised by unmarried parent(s) completing a bachelor's degree being a racial/ethnic minority being white being raised by married parents not completing high school
being raised by unmarried parent(s) being a racial/ethnic minority not completing high school
Which of the following are elements of Weber's conceptualization of social class? (Choose all that apply.) class status power income wealth political position
class status power
Closed vs. Open Social stratification
closed/caste system- extremely rigid and allow for little social mobility. social position is based on ascribed status open/class system- allow for more social mobility, both upward and downward, social positions tend to be achieved, not ascribed.
2 Sociological theories of stratification:
functionalism -Stratification / wealth inequality motivates people to fill needed positions. -Stratification is necessary for social cohesion. conflict theory -Stratification results from exploitation. -Groups compete for resources / power.
Explain the widening racial wealth gap is a result of :
historical injustices & on-going policy choices. Several factors are driving the increasing wealth gap: 1. Most important is number of years of home ownership 2. household income 3. college education and inheritances are much less significant
What is the largest component of wealth for most families
home ownership
in regards to social mobility, where do most people stay?
in the class in which they are born into the only place we see significant upward mobility is the 34% of people who grew up middle class who become rich.
Which class is most concerned with downward mobility
lower middle class
Most participants in Halpern-Meeking et al.'s study of EITC recipients spent most of their refund checks on ___________________. tuition at private schools necessities like food and bills vacations entertainment
necessities like food and bills
Which of the following social classes are included in Marx's theory of social class inequality? petit bourgeoisie (middle class) bourgeoisie (owners) nobility (landowners) proletariat (workers) peasants (work for the nobility)
petit bourgeoisie (middle class) bourgeoisie (owners) proletariat (workers)
How is poverty measured? How is it calculated?
poverty line is used to analyze data, determine benefits -Calculated based on size of household, number of dependent children -math hasn't changed for 40 yrs
Amanda's family has trouble making ends meet; they rely on government assistance to pay for housing, heat, and food. They are experiencing ________ poverty.
relative
What are 2 types of poverty?
relative poverty Compared to a "typical" standard within one's society absolute poverty Income not enough to afford basic necessities
basic income guarantee ex. Dauphin Canada summary and results:
right to monthly grant to pay for basic needs (food, education, shelter) with no strings attached. The town was granted this income and studied for 4 yrs. New government was elected and program was cancelled, research wasn't examined until 25 yrs later. Statistics found decrease health rates,. school performance increased, hospitalization rate decreased, domestic violence and mental health complaints reduced, and people didn't quit their jobs.
poverty rates since the war on poverty
slightly declined from 19%-%15 since the 1960's
Poverty rates ______ in suburbs by ____% Whats the reason for the shift?
surge; 65% poverty increased in suburbs demographics, many people moved to suburbs
How can the IRS support lower-income families without the stigma? Whats wrong with the current system?
tax refunds like Earned Income Tax Credit can help end the stigma. EITC enjoys strong political and popular support because it serves working Americans, lifting up those who are seen as keeping up their end of the social contract (The vast bulk of EITC payments go to parents who work but are still poor. As their incomes rise, so do benefits) receiving monthly cash and food stamps fuels the humiliation and shame so many describe experiencing when receiving other means-tested cash and in-kind benefits. This is due to it being inconsistent with the widely-shared American values of work, family, and self-reliance.
the recent rise of wealth inequality is almost entirely due to ___________
the rise of the share of wealth held by the top 0.1% - which went from 7% in 1979 to 22% in 2012.
In the United States, racial minorities are more likely to be poor than are white people.
true
Scenario: During the great recession of 2008, Philip's family started a business flipping foreclosed houses. They eventually were able to move to a nicer neighborhood and to afford to send their kids to private school. What type of social mobility did Philip's family experience? upward mobility individual mobility familial mobility downward mobility
upward mobility
intergenerational social mobility
upward or downward social mobility of children in relation to their parents most common... each generation doing a little bit better than the previous one
structural social mobility
when a large number of people move around their hierarchy because of larger societal changes (when a recession hits and thousands of people lose their jobs)
Some Farmers live in poverty one half of the year and are relatively well off the second part of the year (they get paid). Studies showed the effects of living in poverty in regards to IQ: What mentality does this create during times of hardship? What is a proposed solution
you lose 14 points , equivalent to a night of sleep scarcity mentality basic income guarantee