POVERTY IN AMERICAWeek 5

Social Forum

• What did you bring to share today?

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Theories of Poverty

Poverty theories cycle in and out of fashion• Culture of Poverty: Traits are transmitted

intergenerationally• Eugenics and Poverty: Theories based on

genetic inferiority of the poor• The Radical or Socialist View: Poverty

results from exploitation by the ruling capitalist class

© 2014, XXXX, XXXX Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Who Makes Up the Poor?

• For most Americans, poverty is a fluid condition

-Factors influencing this: divorce, abandonment, single-motherhood, loss of employment, and disability status.

-More than 50% of individuals on the bottom economic rung will remain there 10 years later and less than 7 in 10 will make it to the American middle class.

Measuring Poverty

• There are two versions of the federal poverty measure:– (1) poverty threshold (poverty line): is the

official federal poverty measure for statistical purposes.

– (2) poverty guideline: is used for determining eligibility for federal programs

• Supplemental Poverty Measure

Group Discussion Activity

• Discuss the three theories of poverty discussed in the textbook (pp. 94-96). Select a theory that you think is the most persuasive and compile a list of reasons to support your choice.

Three theories: COP, Eugenics, Radical/Socialist

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Families and Poverty

• Child Support Enforcement• Children in Poverty• Poverty and the Elderly

© 2014, XXXX, XXXX Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Rural Poor

• About 7.8 million rural Americans

• Rural area poverty rates often exceed those of central cities

• The rural poor are more likely than the urban poor to live in chronic long-term poverty

Extra Credit: 5 points for attending all day event

and submitting 3 page paper1 additional point for attending the pre-advocacy day event

Illinois NASW Advocacy Day Tuesday, April 14th in Springfield, IL

• The day will encompass a half day of educational seminars on lobbying in Illinois followed by advocating at the Capitol.

• The cost of attending the event is $13 if you register prior to February 28th. After February 28th, the cost goes up to $18.

You need to register individually, online at: https://naswil.wufoo.com/forms/advocacy-day-041415/

• The School of Social Work will be arranging for transportation for all students to Springfield and back on Advocacy Day. The event begins in Springfield at 8:15am and will wrap up at 3:30pm. Please plan to be at the School of Social Work to leave for Springfield at 6:15am. The bus will be leaving promptly at 6:30am, so please keep in mind if you are late, you will need to arrange for your own transportation to Springfield.

• Once you register, please also send an email to ksharmon@illinois.edu to let me know you are registered so I can keep a head count of how many people are attending.

• More information about Advocacy Day can be found at http://www.naswil.org/advocacy/advocacy-day/.

Movie: Poor Kids

• http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/p

oor-kids

/

Next Class

• Guest Speaker about Living Wage

• Activities regarding Emergence of a Modern Welfare State

• Turn in your summary of Trattner Chapters 14-17

• 1st Exam is March 3. It will be administered on Compass.