"A Sociology Experiment" Chapter 4: Social Class, Inequality, and Poverty

Stratification

a system that puts categories of people into a hierarchy.

What are common foundations of stratification ?

religion, gender, wealth, race

stratification can lead to

unequal access to resources, political rights, etc.

Social Class

a group of individuals who share a similar economic position based on income, wealth, education, and occupation. Typically described as upper, middle, and lower class (but is much more complicated).

Income

the total amount of money someone earns each year.

Wealth

the total amount of money that a person has or could have if they sold all of their assets.

Privileged Classes

capitalist class and upper middle class.

Capitalist Class

top 1%, makes money from assets (wealth): businesses, real estate, stocks, and bonds.

Upper-Middle Class

14%, well-educated individuals rely on their high incomes from jobs, includes business managers, doctors, lawyers, accountants, and some small business owners.

Working Rich

subcategory of the upper middle class, individuals whose annual incomes are well into the six figure range.

Majority Classes

60%, evenly split between middle and working class.

Middle Class

likely high school diploma and some college, work as teachers,

nurses, master craftspeople, lower-level managers.

Working Class

high school or a trade school; office support, retail sales, factory workers, low-paid craftspeople.

Lower Classes

25%, working poor and underclass.

Working Poor

15%, employed in insecure and low-wage jobs such as janitorial and cleaning services, manual labor, landscaping, restaurant support, and service industries.

The working poor primarily lack....

benefits, medical, dental, vision, paid vacations, retirement accounts

Underclass

10%, part-time workers, unemployed, inconsistent and unreliable work opportunities. May rely on public assistance benefits.

The underclass may rely on public assistance for...

food, shelter, and clothing, but receive typically less in government benefits than the majority and privileged classes.

Ascribed Status

one acquired when you were born or that you involuntarily take later in life

Achieved Status

gained at least in part through achievements, abilities,

and efforts.

Social Mobility

when people move from an ascribed social class position to a new achieved social class position.

Upward Mobility

occurs when someone moves from a lower social class to a higher one.

Downward Mobility

occurs when someone drops to a lower social class.

How has class inequality been increasing in the United States?

higher classes have had steady income increases while lower classes have had little/ no increase over time.

Wealth inequality is closely tied to...

income inequality, as well as race and ethnicity.

Cumulative Advantages

built up benefits and resources. On average, high class, white individuals are able to pass on more wealth and assets to children than lower, class blacks.

Racial Wealth Gap

the difference in accumulated wealth between different races and ethnicities. Belief in a purely archived social class perpetuates this issue.

Meritocracy

a non-real system in which personal responsibility and individual effort are the sole determinants of success... decades of research makes it clear that this is non-existent in practice.

GINI Index

statistical measure used by social scientists to measure inequality, countries with less inequality have a score closer to 0, while more inequality has a score closer to 1.

Among 31 most developed nations, U.S. has what GINI inequality index?

the second highest

World's poor suffer from

malnutrition and starvation, lack of clean water access, exposure to sewage and wastewater, illiteracy, poor housing, unsafe working conditions, shortages of health care, etc.

Absolute Poverty

individuals fall within this category when they cannot afford the basic necessities of life, including food, shelter, and clothing. People without these necessities are considered poor.

Poverty Threshold or Poverty Line

the minimum income level that the government says is required to buy the basic necessities of life.

Relative Poverty

measure that takes into account the relative economic status of people in a society by looking at how income is distributed those in the lowest income brackets would be considered poor in comparison to others in society.

What characteristics make groups more at risk for poverty than others?

- household type

- education

- paid work

- disability status

- race

- region

- concentrated neighborhood poverty

- child poverty

How does household type make one more at risk for poverty?

poverty more likely in single-mother households, compared to

two parent or single-father.

How does education level make one more at risk for poverty?

poverty more likely in individuals who have not completed high school.

How do disabilities make one more at risk for poverty?

unemployment rate is high for those with disabilities.

How does race make one more at risk for poverty?

poverty more likely in Black, Hispanic, and Native American populations than in White or Asian American populations.

How does region make one more at risk for poverty?

South has the highest poverty rate, Northeast has the lowest.

How does neighborhood poverty make one more at risk for poverty?

High Poverty Neighborhoods are where more than 40% of population is poor. Areas have higher crime rates, underfunded schools with high dropout rates, and social networks that lack connections).

How does child poverty make one more at risk for poverty?

financial distress can lead to food and housing insecurity.

Working Poor are defined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics as people who

spend at least 27 weeks (half the year) in the labor force but whose incomes still fall below the official poverty line.

Homeless

people who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence.

Point-In-Time Count

the method used by the U.S. to count homeless individuals in emergency shelters, transitional housing, and on the street.

Sheltered Homeless

(61%) those in emergency shelters, transitional housing programs, or safe havens.

Unsheltered Homeless

(39%) those whose primary nighttime residence is a public or private space not designated for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping space, such as the streets, vehicles, or parks.

Chronic Homelessness

people with a disability (substance abuse, mental illness, developmental, PTSD, cognitive impairments, chronic illness or injury, etc.) who has been continuously homeless for a year or have experienced at least four episodes of homelessness that add up to a year.

Major factors that increase risk of homelessness:

structural (housing market, employment availability, criminal justice policy), individual (disabilities, mental illness, addiction, felony records), and policy (non-effective polices to assist homeless pops.)