1. The American Class System

2. SUPPORT FOR EQUALITY UNDER THE LAW –EQUAL RIGHTS ARE ACCORDED TO ALL WE CELEBRATE INDIVIDUALITY –PEOPLE FORGE THEIR OWN LIVES SIMILARITYAND ATTRACTION –BRIEF ENCOUNTERS WITH “OTHERS” THE U.S. IS AN AFFLUENT SOCIETY –BELIEF THAT EVERYONE IS FINANCIALLY COMFORTABLE

3. DIMENSIONS OF CLASS INCOME –OCCUPATIONAL WAGES AND EARNINGS FROM INVESTMENTS WEALTH –THE TOTAL VALUE OF MONEY AND OTHER ASSETS, MINUS ANY DEBT SOCIAL POWER –THE ABILITY TO CONTROL, EVEN IN THE FACE OF RESISTENCE OCCUPATIONAL PRESTIGE –JOB-RELATED STATUS EDUCATION –KEY TO BETTER CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

4. ANCESTRY –BORN TO PRIVILEGE OR POVERTY MAKES A BIG DIFFERENCE RACE AND ETHNICITY –SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES STILL EXIST WHEN COMPARING MAJORITY AND MINORITY GROUPS ON SOCIAL AND FINANCIAL VARIABLES GENDER –IT IS STILL A MAN’S WORLD IN AMERICA RELIGION –PROTESTANT RELIGIONS ARE STILL IDENTIFIED AS CHURCHES WHOSE MEMBERSHIP ARE MOST AFFLUENT IN AMERICA

5. THE CLASS SYSTEM THE UPPER CLASS –5 % OF THE POPULATION THE MIDDLE CLASS –45% OF THE POPULATION THE WORKING CLASS –30% OF THE POPULATION THE LOWER CLASS –THE REMAINING 20% OF PEOPLE

6. THE UPPER CLASS THE UPPER-UPPERS –THE BLUE BLOODS –MEMBERSHIP ALMOST ALWAYS BASED ON ASCRIPTION –THEY HAVE “OLD MONEY” –THEY ARE SET APART BY THE AMOUNT OF WEALTH THEIR FAMILIES CONTROL –MUCH TIME DEVOTED TO COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES THE LOWER-UPPERS –THE WORKING RICH PEOPLE –THE “NEW RICH” BY “OLD MONEY” STANDARDS –CAN STILL FIND THEMSELVES EXCLUDED FROM CERTAIN ORGANIZATIONS AND CLUBS

7. UPPER-MIDDLES –$50,000 TO $100,000 YEARLY INCOME –EDUCATION IS IMPORTANT –HIGH OCCUPATIONAL PRESTIGE –INVOLVEMENT IN LOCAL POLITICS AVERAGE-MIDDLES –LESS PRESTIGE IN OCCUPATION –FEW WHITE COLLAR, OR HIGH- SKILLED BLUE COLLAR JOBS –INCOME PROVIDES MODEST SECURITY –COLLEGE KIDS NORMALLY ATTEND STATE-SPONSORED COLLEGES

8. THE TRUE “INDUSTRIAL PROLETARIAT” –$15,000 TO $35,000 ANNUAL INCOME ROUTINE TASKS AND LESS SATISFACTION FEWER CHILDREN GO TO COLLEGE (ONLY ONE-THIRD) SENSE OF FATALISM TO BRING ABOUT CHANGE IN THEIR LIVES MUST LOOK DOWN TO FEEL GOOD ABOUT THEMSELVES –“AT LEAST I HAVE A JOB”

9. THE LOWER CLASS LACK OF FULL-TIME WORK; LITTLE INCOME 1996: ALMOST 40 MILLION AMERICANS FELL INTO THIS GROUP LIMITED SCHOOLING: NEARLY FUNCTIONALLY ILLITERATE CHILDREN FEEL IMPACT OF LABEL AND SEE LITTLE HOPE FOR FUTURE WELFARE MAY BE VIEWED AS ONLY HOPE

11. CLASS MATTERS HEALTH –AMOUNT AND TYPE OF HEALTH CARE CULTURAL VALUES –TOLERANCE AND GRATIFICATION POLITICS –DEGREE OF INVOLVEMENT AND OUTLOOKS FAMILY AND GENDER –TYPE OF PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT AND SOCIALIZATION PRACTICES

12. UPWARD –CLIMBING UP FROM A LOWER CLASS DOWNWARD –FALL DOWN FROM A HIGHER SOCIAL CLASS HORIZONTAL –REMAIN IN THE SAME CLASS, WHILE MOVING BETWEEN JOBS INTRAGENERATIONAL MOBILITY –MOVEMENT THAT TAKES PLACE WITHIN ONE PERSON’S LIFETIME INTERGENERATIONAL MOBILITY –MOVEMENT THAT TAKES PLACE ACROSS GENERATIONS WITHIN A FAMILY GENERAL TRENDS –FAIRLY GOOD FOR MALES WHEN CONSIDERED INTERGENERATIONALLY

13. THE TRUTH ABOUT MOBILITY AMONG WHITE MALES MOBILITY HAS BEEN FAIRLY HIGH LONG-TERM TREND HAS BEEN UPWARD INTRAGENERATIONAL MOBILITY IS INCREMENTAL, NOT DRAMATIC SINCE THE 1970s, SOCIAL MOBILITY HAS BEEN UNEVEN

14. EARNINGS HAVE STALLED FOR MANY WORKERS MANY PERSONS NEED TO HOLD MORE THAN ONE JOB MORE JOBS OFFER LITTLE INCOME YOUNG PEOPLE ARE REMAINING AT (AND RETURNING TO) HOME FOR MANY PEOPLE, THE AMERICAN DREAM HAS EVOLVED INTO AN AMERICAN NIGHTMARE!

15. POVERTY –RELATIVE (IN RELATION TO OTHERS) –ABSOLUTE (LIFE CAN BE THREATENED) POVERTY THRESHOLD –IN 1998, FOR A FAMILY OF FOUR THE POVERTY THRESHOLD WAS SET AT $16,660 ANNUAL INCOME EXTENT OF POVERTY IN AMERICA –12.7% OF AMERICANS ARE SO CLASSIFIED –12 MILLION OTHERS ARE “MARGINALLY POOR” REALITY CHECK –ROUGHLY 50% OF ADULTS AND CHILDREN CLASSIFIED AS POOR ENDURE HUNGER ON A DAILY BASIS IN AMERICA

16. WHO ARE THE POOR? AGE –IN 1998, 18.9% OF ALL CHILDREN WERE POOR RACE AND ETHNICITY –TWO-THIRDS OF ALL POOR ARE WHITE, BUT... –IN 1998, 26% OF ALL AFRICAN AMERICANS AND 25.6% OF ALL LATINOS LIVED IN POVERTY GENDER –THE FEMINIZATION OF POVERTY: LOWER PAYING JOBS TEENAGE PREGNANCY DIVORCE AND SINGLE-PARENT HOUSEHOLDS IS POVERTY MORE PRONOUNCED AMONG CERTAIN CATEGORIES OF PEOPLE WITHIN OUR POPULATION?

17. THE HOMELESS NO PRECISE COUNT –HOW COULD THERE EVER BE? EXPERTS “GUESS-TI-MATE” –500,000 ON ANY GIVEN NIGHT –1.5 MILLION AT SOME TIME DURING THE COURSE OF THE YEAR TYPICAL VICTIM –FEMALE-HEADED, SINGLE-PARENT FAMILY WITH A COUPLE OF CHILDREN CAUSES –THEY ARE POOR –LACK OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNITS –ONE-THIRD ARE SUBSTANCE ABUSERS –ONE-FOURTH SUFFER FROM MENTAL ILLNESSES

18. EXPLAINING POVERTY CULTURE OF POVERTY THEORY –BLAME THE POOR FOR THEIR SITUATION. –SOCIETY OFFERS CONSIDERABLE OPPORTUNITY TO ANYONE WHO WANTS TO WORK HARD TO ACHIEVE PERSONAL GAIN. –THOSE WHO ARE POOR SIMPLY ELECT TO BE POOR. THEY REFUSE TO APPLY THEMSELVES AND ONLY HAVE THEMSELVES TO BLAME. BASICALLY, ONE HAS TWO CHOICES:

19. THE OTHER OPTION STRUCTURAL THEORY OF POVERTY –SOCIETY IS RESPONSIBLE FOR SETTING UP HOW RESOURCES ARE DISTRIBUTED AND IS THEREFORE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE POVERTY IN AMERICA. –LACK OF JOBS, LACK OF HOPE, AND ANOMIC ATTITUDES ARE JUST PART OF A VERY STRATIFIED ECONOMIC SYSTEM. –POOR PEOPLE ARE SIMPLY A CONSEQUENCE OF THE CAPITALISTIC SYSTEM.