FAMILIES & POVERTY Family Sociology – Professor Connie Gager

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Families & Poverty  Despite many initiatives and billions of dollars, the percentage of people living below poverty has changed little over the past 30 years Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census

Poverty in the U.S.  Median household income in the United States fell 3.6 percent between 2007 and 2008, from $52,163 to $50,303.  This breaks a string of three years of annual income increases and coincides with the recession that started in December  Meanwhile, the number of people without health insurance coverage rose from 45.7 million in 2007 to 46.3 million in 2008, while the percentage remained unchanged at 15.4 percent. Source:

Your likelihood of being poor, receiving welfare, and having health insurance is associated with your race and ethnicity  Non-Hispanic White Families  9.4 percent living below poverty  Asians American Families  12.5 percent living below poverty  Non-Hispanic African American Families  25.4 percent living below poverty  Hispanic Families  25.3 percent living below poverty Poverty by Race/Ethnicity Source:

Median Family Income Increased Data Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey Retrieved 06/24/08. How do we measure Median Family Income? Median family income reflects the income level at which one-half of all families in the U.S. earn more, and one-half earn less.

Race and Ethnicity of Parents Receiving Temporary Assistance to Needy Families 2002 Source:

FAMILIES, PUBLIC POLICY, & POVERTY How do we define poverty?  How would you calculate the line that separates the poor from the nonpoor?  Who are the deserving poor and why has the definition changed?  Who is more likely to be in poverty today – children or the elderly?  CHILDREN – they cannot work and they cannot vote

How Do We Define Poverty?  The official poverty level established by the United States Government.  How would you go about calculating or estimating who is poor an who isn’t?  Where would you draw the line?

How Do We Define Poverty?  Poverty thresholds were developed in by Mollie Orshansky, a home economist at the Social Security administration.  Based on the estimated cost of an “economy food budget” multiplied by 3 (assuming that food constitutes 1/3 of a family’s budget).  The economy food budget was “designed for temporary or emergency use when funds are low.”  It include powdered milk, canned food, few fresh vegetables and fruits

How Do We Define Poverty?  Poverty thresholds define the poverty level  Used for statistical purposes – to show poverty over time  Adjusted for:  family size  number of children under 18 years of age  annually based on changes in the cost of living  Problems with this definition  Families living below poverty have inadequate incomes  Families just above line still teetering on the edge

How Do We Define Poverty?  Poverty guidelines  Issued each year by the Dept. of Health and Human Services.  Used for administrative purposes -- for instance determining who is eligible for federal programs like: Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) or welfare.

Poverty Guidelines for Recent Years * YearFirstFour Person Each Add’l Person Family Person 1992$6,810$13,950$2, $7,740$15,600$2, $8,050$16,450$2, $8,350$17,050$2, $9,310$18,850 $3, $10,830$22,050$3,740 * for the 48 contiguous states and D.C. Source: Department of Health and Human Services

Can a family live on this?  Think about a family of 3 – a mother with two children) who are the typical family who receives welfare  Think about rent, electricity, transportation, food, clothes for growing children etc.

The Deserving Poor  Michael Katz – studies history of poverty in the U.S.  He argues that there have always been a group of people called the deserving poor – they deserve to get assistance from the government  They are poor through no fault of their own  Prior to the 1970s, this group included the:  Aged  Children  Female headed families (through widowhood)

The Deserving Poor  Now the deserving poor are only  Aged  Children  Disabled/mentally challenged  The deserving poor no longer includes single mothers because they came to be perceived as poor because they made bad choices – i.e. had a child outside of marriage  Shift from single motherhood due to widowhood vs. single motherhood due to nonmarital birth

Why are Families Poor?  Underclass Thesis  William Julius Wilson – The Truly Disadvantaged  Economic, structural argument  Blames changes in the economic system for creation of the underclass  Deindustrialization, change from manufacturing to service–oriented jobs – and then most industry went oversees  Decline in real male wages

Underclass Thesis  William Julius Wilson – The Truly Disadvantaged  Definition of the Underclass:  Wilson describes the underclass as a subpopulation of low-income individuals who behavior contrasts sharply with that of mainstream U.S. society  The underclass are the result of economic changes especially decreased blue collar jobs in the northeast and midwest, as companies have moved south or overseas

Underclass Thesis  Definition of the Underclass:  Underclass inhabit inner city neighborhoods characterized by high rates of: 1) inner-city joblessness 2) teenage pregnancy 3) births to unmarried women 4) welfare dependency 5) female-headed families 6) serious crime

Truly Disadvantaged  In sum, Wilson blames the system for poverty  People are poor because of changes in the economy of U.S.  Blames the system not individuals for being poor

Summary  About 14.3 percent of the U.S. population lives below the official poverty line  The poverty rate is calculated as three time the cost of a MINIMUM ADEQUATE diet per month  Thus, the poverty line is set artificially low  High rates of poverty and unemployment indicate a systemic problem  People are poor due to problems in the economy and society