EconomySocial Class, and RaceEthnicity

1
Economy/Social Class, and Race/Ethnicity

• Poverty
• What is it? (what does it mean to you?)
• Federal poverty threshold http//www.census.gov/h
  hes/www/poverty/threshld/thresh08.html
• US government measurement Mollie Orshansky and
  the market basket http//www.census.gov/hhes/ww
  w/poverty/povdef.html
• How many poor? http//www.census.gov/hhes/www/pove
  rty/poverty06/pov06hi.html
• Is that the real number?
• It includes too many people (food stamps, WIC
  programs, soup kitchens, off-the-books money
  arent included)
• It excludes too many people (functional
  illiteracy, issues besides food, are ignored)

2
Things that indicate poverty to many people

• Not much money for basics -- food, water,
  clothing, shelter
• No decent housing of your own section 8 housing
• Begging?
• Being on the streets
• Cleanliness kemptness
• No extra money
• Transportation
• Eat cheap, crappy food.

3
Inequality Often considered at the heart of
social theory

• Some Major Issues SESsocioeconomic status
• Who gets what (and who doesnt)
• How people struggle, fight, and connive
• Major Approaches
• Functionalism (Kinglsey Davis and Wilbur Moore)
  Positions that are most important, require most
  training and highest skill levels Are paid most.
  This functions to help society. Similar to
  classical economics (Adam Smith and the
  importance of free markets)
• Conflict theory Ruling classes decide reward
  structure and manipulate systems to get the
  highest reward levels. (Karl Marx it is
  possible to have a classless society Ralf
  Dahrendorf it is in principle impossible to
  have a classless society)

4
Each approach adds some insight

• In general, sociologists take conflict
  approaches.
• Strength focuses on policy decisions that affect
  wealth distribution, whereby the affluent win
  (e.g., free trade agreements)
• Weakness misses that a market-driven economy is
  vibrant and ultimately (historically) improves
  lives of whole population
• In general, economists adopt a market approach
• Strength clearly competitive markets have led to
  general prosperity, longer lives, etc.
• Weakness doesnt account for example for
  growing spread between the rich and the poor
• Also replaceability approach (from the text)
• you can make only what you can force others to
  pay
• it is in the interest of employers to keep wages
  as low as possible
• to the extent you cant be easily replaced, you
  can command more
• what makes you irreplaceable?
• skills/talents
• training/education
• importance of the position (meaning it affects
  many) but important to whom?
• Income inequality http//www.census.gov/hhes/www
  /income/income.html

5
Other economic issues primary and secondary
labor markets

• What are these? How do they differ?
• wages vs. salary
• how much ?
• Promotions/raises
• benefits (health insurance, retirement, life
  insurance, etc.), paid vacations
• job protection
• interesting job
• good working conditions
• perquisites (perks)

6
Income by years of education

• 1 lt hs 2 hs deg3 sm col4
  BA deg5 gr sch
• 1 lt10K 28.21 17.12 12.25
  9.98 7.04
• 
  
• 2 10-25 41.76 31.09 30.43
  13.05 8.80
• 
  
• 3 25-50 23.81 35.20 35.57
  33.97 28.87
• 
  
• 4 50-90 5.49 13.75 17.39
  28.02 31.34
• 
  
• 5 gt90K 0.73 2.84 4.35
  14.97 23.94
• 
  
• Total 273 1338 253
  521 284
• Source General Social Survey Data

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Racial/Ethnic conflict

• There are vast numbers of differences between
  peoples
• race (appearance)
• religion (including sect, denomination)
• language (including dialect)
• ethnic identity (including secondary identity)
• customs
• political party
• region

8
Racial/Ethnic conflict (cont)

•  
• Hostility between groups endemic, but not
  universal
•  
• Why bring this up in this part of the course?
  Most often people discuss prejudice/discrimination
  as being individual thingsto be explained via
  psychology.
•  
• From the conflict approaches, prejudice,
  discrimination, etc., all mainly come from
  conflict over wealth, power, and social status.
•  
• The dominant ethnic group gains wealth, power,
  social status via oppression.
•  
• What about in a capitalist system? (Robert
  Blauner vs. Gary Becker)

9
A few issues from the textbook

• Define "race, "ethnic group," "cultural
  pluralism," "assimilation."
• Explain Gordon Allport's theory of contact.
  Under what conditions should prejudice decrease?
  Increase? Know how the Sherif studies helps
  explain this.
• Know what Gunnar Myrdals idea of the American
  dilemma is, and how it can help explain white
  American attitudes towards African Americans.
• Explain what Stark means when he says that
  prejudice does not so much cause conflict and
  status inequality -- status inequality and the
  conflict that comes with it causes prejudice.
  Know the role "markers" play.
• Explain the four factors that cause minorities to
  often have substandard wages, from Edna
  Bonacich's work.

10
Lets look at two approaches

• Robert E. Park Race Relations Cycle
  (functionalism)
• contact
• competition
• conflict
• accommodation
• assimilation
• STOP! Theres a problem here!
•  
• Edna Bonacich Split Labor Market
• Three groups high paid labor, low paid labor,
  employers
• Automatic conflict between the labor groups
• An opportunity for the employer to keep labor
  costs down
• Ultimate policies? Exclusion, separation, etc.

11
Some ideas in social science

• Milton Gordon the difficult process of
  assimilation
• acculturation
• secondary structural assimilation
• primary structural assimilation
• marital assimilation (intermarriage, or
  exogamy)
• others follow, but these are the major stages
•  
• Is assimilation the answer? Possibilities
• Anglo conformity?
• Melting pot?
• Cultural pluralism? (separate or together)

12
Kozols schools from two perspectives

• Functionalist (also classical economics)?
• Conflict?
• Anything else?

13
Dropout factories, by state

• http//hosted.ap.org/specials/interactives/wdc/dro
  pout/index.html?SITEAP