sociology chapter 4 - social class inequality & poverty
point in time counts
1 night estimates of sheltered and unsheltered homeless populations; occurs during the last week of January each year
in 2017, over ____ of ppl experiencing homelessness were children
1/5th
underclass
10%; work part time, unemployed or have inconsistent and unreliable work opportunities; often rely on public assistance to meet basic needs for food, shelter, and clothing part of the lower class
upper middle class
14%; well educated individuals who typically have jobs as business managers, doctors, lawyers, accountants, and some small business owners part of the privileged class
working poor
15%; typically employed in insecure and low wage jobs such as janitorial and cleaning staff, manual labor, landscaping, restaurant support, and other service industries part of the lower class People who spent at least 27 weeks in the labor force but whose incomes still fell below the official poverty level.
There were ___ women (4.8%) and __ blacks (less than 1%) on the Fortune 500 List of CEOs
24;3
the official poverty threshold in 2018 was ____ for a family w. 2 adults & 2 kids
25100
working class
30%; have probably only completed high school or a trade school; typically work as office support (secretaries and administrative assistants), retail sales workers, factory workers, and low paid craftspeople part of the majority class
middle class
30%; likely to have a high school diploma as well as some college experience; typically work as teachers, nurses, master craftspeople (plumbers, electricians, carpenters), and lower level managers part of the majority class
in 2017, how many ppl were in poverty & how many children
39.7 mil ppl, 12.8 mil children
only about ____ of children will earn higher incomes than their parents
50%
how many ppl are currently homless in the u.s.
500,000
Median household income in the US in 2015
56,516
racial wealth gap
Drastic and growing difference in wealth accumulation between Black and White individuals
characteristics of the poverty population
Household Type: Those in households headed by single mothers are much more likely to be poor than in married-couple or single-father families. Low Education: In the U.S., there is a high rate of poverty for adults who have not completed high school. Lack of Paid Work: In the U.S., those with no earnings are substantially more likely to be poor than are those with earnings in the bottom third of the distribution. Disability Status: For people aged 18 to 64 with a disability, the 2017 poverty rate was 24.9%, or 3.8 million people living in poverty. Race: The poverty rate is approximately two times higher for African-Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans than it is for Whites and Asian-Americans. Region: The South has the highest poverty rate. The poverty rate is lowest in the Northeast. Concentrated Neighborhood Poverty: High-poverty neighborhoods are Census tracts where at least 40% of the population is poor. Poor Black people are much more likely to live in high-poverty neighborhoods than are Whites. However, Whites have experienced increases in concentrated poverty. Child poverty: In 2017, 12.8 million children (under 18 years of age) lived in poverty.
sheltered homeless
People staying in emergency shelters, transitional housing programs, or safe havens
unsheltered homeless
People whose primary nighttime residence is a public or private place not designated for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation (for example, the streets, vehicles, or parks).
chronically homeless individual
Person with a disability who has been continuously homeless for 1 year or more or has experienced at least four episodes of homelessness in the last 3 years where the combined length of homelessness in those occasions is at least 12 months
horizontal mobility
a change in occupation within the same social class the movement of an individual from one social position to another of the same rank
stratification
a system that puts people into a hierarchy System by which a society ranks categories of people in social hierarchy - i.e., structured social inequality ■ Social stratification is universal, but variable ■ Inequality is a social problem, not an individual problem ■ Also involves belief systems: i.e. Inequalities are rationalized as fair Stratification is the study of who gets what in society, and why
cumulative advantages
advantages built up over generation and contribute to social class inequality
income
amount of money and individual earns from employment or investments
meritocracy
belief that personal responsibility and individual effort are the sole determinants of success
high poverty neighborhoods
census tracts where at least 40% of the population is poor
intragenerational mobility
changes in social position within a person's adult life
intergenerational mobility
changes in the social position of children relative to their parents
poverty threshold
establishes minimum income level required to obtain the necessities of life
social class
group of individuals who share a similar socio-economic position based on income, wealth, education, and occupation
social class is often defined by a combination of
income, wealth, education, and occupation
structural mobility
mobility that is inevitable from changes in the economy
social mobility
movement from an ascribed social class position to a new achieved social class position
absolute poverty
poverty measure that considers the basic necessities of life such as food, shelter, and clothing. those without those necessities are considered poor
relative poverty
poverty measure that takes into account the relative economic status of people in a society by looking at how income is distributed
Dennis Gilbert's model of the class structure
privileged classes: capitalist class (1%) upper middle class (14%) majority classes: middle class (30%) working class (30%) lower classes: working poor (15%) underclass(10%)
Among the 31 most developed nations in the world, the United States has the _______-highest GINI index, behind only Chile
second high GINI Index = greater income inequality
the income of most workers has remained _____ while the CEO pay has ____
stagnant; skyrocketed
GINI Index
statistical measure used to compare inequality across countries
capitalists
the 1%; class that makes money from things they own such as business, real estate, stocks, and bonds part of the privileged class
vertical mobility
the movement of an individual from one social position to another of a different rank
wealth
total amount of money that you possess, or would possess if you sold off your assets