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Economic Inequality in the U.S.  (Discussion points from Chapter 2—Poverty and Wealth)

 

1.         The U.S. Declaration of Independence says that “all men are created equal.”  What kind of equality were the founders of this country referring to?  (political, social, or economic?)

 

 

2.         Social Darwinism and other biological-based theories of social inequality fall under what theoretical perspective of sociology?  (Which sociological perspective do you think best describes the reason why poverty exists?  Why?)

 

 

3.         Discuss the “rags-to-riches” assumption of upward mobility in the U. S. Is it a myth or reality?  Is upward mobility in the U.S. any better than that in other western, industrialized nations?  (You’ll have to do some outside research to find the answer to this question).

 

 

4.         Briefly, how does the “power elite” thesis (C. W. Mills) differ from the “pluralistic” model proposed by Robert A. Dahl?  (You’ll have to look at Chapter 11, pp. 287 and 288 to answer this question).

 

 

5.         Does the economy have anything to do with public attitudes about poverty in the U.S.?  (Think of the “Great Depression” of the 1930s).

 

 

6.         Discuss the widening gap between the rich and poor in the U.S.  Regarding the problem, has it mattered that political party has held power in the past 20 years?

 

 

7.         Discuss the difference between concepts of Wealth and Income.  Know the basic statistics--- The poorest 20 percent of the U.S. population owns what percent of the nation’s income… wealth?  What share of each does the richest fifth own?

 

 

8.         What is structural mobility?  What factors in the U.S. worked against African Americans in particular, so that they did not profit as much as whites from structural mobility in the 20th century?  (Think of the changing job structure in the U.S. in the 20th century.  The shift from manufacturing and blue-collar work to service and white collar jobs).

 

 

9.         What is the “middle class squeeze”?  Cite examples from our text (p. 35 that illustrate this).  If you have time, research and compare the earnings of 1990 and 1996 male college graduates.  Also, examine ability to finance a home (now and in the 1950s) to illustrate this phenomenon. 

 

 

10.       Know these concepts:  Cyclical unemployment; structural unemployment; and deindustrialization.   How do they create social problems?  (You’ll find some explanations in Chapter 12 on pages 298 – 300).

 

 

11.       Summarize the text’s discussion of the rich and poor in the U.S.  Describe characteristics of the working poor; non-working poor; and the underclass.

 

 

12.       Approximately 13 percent of the U.S. population is “officially” poor.  What does this mean?  Who are the 34 million poor in the U.S.?

 

 

13.       Discuss the welfare system in the U.S. and describe its effectiveness.

 

 

14.       Discuss various theories about the causes of poverty.

 

 

15.      Know the key concepts and terms addressed in the chapter.

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