Poverty and Global Inequality

The Extent of Poverty in America

• United States vs. Other industrialized nations

– Relative poverty- not being able to afford what is considered normal in a given society

– Absolute poverty- inability to afford the basic necessities of living

• 1990’s: U.S. vs. other industrialized nations-Absolute poverty

The Extent of Poverty in America

• Poverty Threshold

– Why are many social scientists critical of the official poverty threshold/poverty line?

– Why have government officials long resisted efforts to change this threshold?

The Extent of Poverty in America

• Deep Poverty

• The Homeless– The “new homeless”

Poverty

• Age-• Sex-

– Feminization of poverty?• Family Structure-

– Why do other industrialized nations have lower rates of poverty for female headed families?

• Education• Race

Poverty-Why?

• Why does U.S. have such high rates compared to other industrialized nations?

• Why do most Americans tolerate such high levels of inequality and poverty? What

are general explanations for poverty?

Poverty and Critical Constructionism

• Popular constructions of poverty and explaining poverty – Too generous with welfare– The American dream and opportunity

• Fosters contempt for the poor

• What other myths and stereotypes exist about the poor in America?

Causes of Poverty

• Deficiency vs. Structural theories– Deficiency Theories

1. Innate Inferiority2. Cultural Inferiority

– Structural Theories1. Institutional Discrimination2. Political Economy of Society

Solutions to Poverty

• What are some realistic approaches to decreasing or even eliminating poverty in the United States?

• What obstacles stand in the way?

Welfare vs. Wealthfare

• Tax deductions to corporations and rich families are wealthfare– $125 billion in corporate welfare annually– Tax privileges to wealthy

Global Inequality

Part 2 of lecture/discussionHeiner pgs 59-69

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• Is there a difference in the poverty seen in the U.S. and that of developing countries?

• Why are some countries considered rich while others very poor?

• Would you ever consider eating dirt?

Extent of Global Poverty

• Half of developing world live on less than $2 a day (2 billion people) and ¼ live in extreme poverty (less than $1.25 per day)– Sub-Saharan Africa– Tremendous inequality between nations and

within nations-The richest 1 percent in the world own 40% of global household wealth; the richest 2% own more than half of global wealth; and the richest 10% own 85% of total global wealth.

The Global Divide

• Disparities in life chances throughout world are extreme

• Divides in global wealth distribution are relatively new– When did vast divisions in wealth of nations really

begin?

The Legacy of Colonialism

Forces responsible for domination of economy by rich nations

– Colonialism: when foreign power maintains political, social, economic, and cultural domination over people for an extended period

• Wealth extraction– Natural resources– Labor extraction through enslavement

• Does labor in third world countries continue to be extracted?

• Has labor extraction (outsourcing of American jobs) benefitted third world countries?

• Who benefits? The people of these countries? Americans consumers?

Multinational Corporations

• Multinational corporations: commercial organizations headquartered in one country but who do business throughout the world

Table 10-1: Multinational Corporations Compared to Nations

Notes: Total is an oil, petroleum, and chemical company. UAE refers to United Arab Emirates. Where two nations are listed, the country with the larger GDP is listed first. Revenues as tabulated by Fortune are for 2004. GDP as collected by the World Bank are for 2003.Sources: For corporate data, Fortune 2005:119; for GDP data, World Bank 2005a:202–204.

The New Slavery

• Estimated 27 million slaves in the world today• Extreme poverty sometimes forces people into

slavery.– Prostitution, domestic workers, plantation workers are

examples– International traffic in slavery

Solutions to Global Inequalities

What are some realistic solutions to global inequalities?

What can everyday Americans do?