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Globalization Video “Winners and Losers”
Social Stratification Thinking Systematically
about “Winners and Losers”
Distribution of Income & Wealth… Krugman on “Winners and
Losers”
Now Video on Globalization and PA PASTOR FRED CRAWFORD:
“Everybody can't own the company. So some people have to get very rich for other people to make a decent living. And we just don't... we're not those folks.”
He’s a Pastor…but he sounds like a sociologist
Class in America
HARTFORD, Conn. — A 36-year-old Swedish countess divorcing a former CEO says she cannot live on $43 million.
Marie Douglas-David, a former investment banker, says she has no income and needs her 67-year-old husband, George David, to pay her more than $53,000 a week _ more than most U.S. households make in a year _ to cover her expenses.
David stepped down last year as chief executive at Hartford-based United Technologies Corp. but is still chairman of the board and has an estimated net worth of $329 million...
Douglas-David has filed court papers showing she has more than $53,800 in weekly expenses, including for maintaining a Park Avenue apartment and three residences in Sweden. Her weekly expenses also include $700 for limousine service, $4,500 for clothes, $1,000 for hair and skin treatments, $1,500 for restaurants and entertainment, and $8,000 for travel.
At that rate, Douglas-David would burn through $43 million in less than 16 years. The Census Bureau estimates that the median U.S. household income in 2007 was just over $50,000. (HP March 19 2009)
Class in America
THE tale of Lisa Bonder Kerkorian, the 36-year-old former tennis pro who is demanding $320,000 a month in child support from her former husband, the 84-year-old billionaire Kirk Kerkorian, has caused a stir among hard-working Americans. Mrs. Kerkorian, who was married to Mr. Kerkorian for one month in 1998, filed court papers on Jan. 7 seeking support for their daughter, Kira, 3. Among other things, she wants $14,000 a month for parties and play dates; $5,900 for eating out; $4,300 for eating in; $2,500 for movies and other outings; $7,000 for charitable donations; $1,400 for laundry and cleaning; $1,000 for toys, books and videos; $436 for the care of Kira's bunny rabbit and other pets; and $144,000 for travel on private jets. Sure, that sounds like a lot of Taco Bell for a 3-year-old, but Mrs. Kerkorian will need every penny. (NTY 2002)
Class in America
Katie and Todd Clarke of Parkersburg know the feeling. The paycheck Katie earns on $10.90 an hour as a secretary isn't enough to cover all of the family's expenses. Food takes priority; money left over goes to whichever bill collectors threaten to cut off services first.
"There's no way to pay it all," said Katie Clarke. A mental illness keeps Todd from working.
The Clarkes and Bergers are like thousands of Iowans who work hard without getting ahead. Many of these families will cover their basic monthly expenses and have little, often nothing, left over. Most are white, between 19 and 64 years old. Many have a high level of education, and they're often single women. http://www.wcfcourier.com/articles/2005/04/04/news/top_story/bd7b5d0be02b283386256fd9004ea9b2.txt
Why/How Does This Happen?
Social Stratification- study of systematic inequalities between groups of people that arise in a society. (D) Inequalities not simply due to differences in talent or effort
Stratification is universal, but variable Age, Race, Class, Gender…For example:
Native Americans, no income inequality, but elders had more power… South up until the1960s, inequality based on race Saudi Arabia today, inequality based on gender America today…inequality between the classes
People who study social stratification address the basic question: Who, gets what, and why? What? = Prestige, respect, income, wealth, education, land, etc. Why?= Requires analysis of social structure…norms & institutions
Social Stratification
Consider stratification and the Titanic…1,600 people died
Was it random? Or were certain people more likely to be saved?
Social Stratification and Death
Consider the Titanic…1,600 people died 60% of first class passengers were saved 36% of second class passengers were saved 24% of third class passengers were saved
Did 1st Class passengers survive at higher rates because of talent, skill or effort?
Social Stratification and Death
Consider the Titanic…1,600 people died 60% of first class passengers were saved 36% of second class passengers were saved 24% of third class passengers were saved
Did 1st Class passengers survive at higher rates because of talent, skill or effort?
System of stratification existed on ship “Class was a matter of life and death.” (Macionis)
1st Class warned first…cabins closer to life boats…put on boats first
It had nothing to do with talent, skills, effort & merit
Stratification as a Trait of Society
Think of society as a parking lot at the supermarket with 100 spots and 100 people looking for spots…
No matter what, some won’t get spots near the door; it’s just not possible No matter how talented, how hard they try, how
much personal responsibility is taken…some will not be near the door
Sociologists who study stratification examine this process
Stratification as a Trait of Society
Stratification is about more than personal responsibility, talent, merit and effort…it is systemic.
Imagine an Ambition pill that all Americans took every morning…the pill made provided unlimited effort and talent
Could everyone have a high status, high skill job? Doctor, Manager, Business Owner, Judge, etc.
Stratification as a Trait of Society
Stratification is about more than personal responsibility, talent, merit and effort…
Could everyone have a high status, high skill job? Doctor, Business Owner, Principal Judge, etc.
Stratification would still exist… society will always need someone to nurse the patients, bake the bread, teach the children, clean the offices, police the streets, etc.
Who gets what and why…
PASTOR FRED CRAWFORD: “Everybody can't own the company. So some people have to get very rich for other people to make a decent living. And we just don't... we're not those folks.”
In this new globalized world of ours, “Who gets what”
“The arguments are fiercest where the facts are fewest.” William James…famous dead psychologist and
philosopher
Income & Wealth
Income-money, wages, and payments that are periodically received from investments (D) For most people a paycheck
Income is primary source of survival for most 80% of us are production and non-supervisory
workers who depend primarily on a paycheck to make ends meet Factory workers, cops, construction workers, teachers,
cashiers, nurses, secretaries, cooks, janitors, computer technicians, social workers, engineers etc.
Income & Wealth
Wealth-assets, particularly those that are income producing. (D) For most people their home…
But for some people a second home in the Hamptons or Virgin Islands, an apartment in London, a Van Gogh, race horses, shopping malls, hotels, ships, sports teams, bonds, stocks, cash reserves, etc.
Income and Wealth
So how are income and wealth distributed among a society’s population… How do we divide the pie?
This American life…
Income…
10 Volunteers Up Front…
Ten people…one person gets 50% of the pay on payday…
The “Middle Class Squeeze”
Trends like this…along with the data on mobility have given rise to a concept
Middle class squeeze
tendency of those of the middle or intermediate classes to be pushed either upward, or more commonly, downward in terms of wages, salaries and family income (D)(p.119,384)
Let’s explore…
Outline
Distribution of Income & Wealth… Paul Krugman, “The Great Divergence” Median income
Explaining the trends Norms and Institutions
A note on statistics… Videos should be on line next week…will
keep you posted Always posting new readings so be sure to
hit refresh when you visit the reading page
Quiz
1. The chapter written by Paul Krugman titled “The Great Divergence”described research showing that the economic gap between:
A. the rich and all other classes in America has increased dramatically over the past several decades
B. the middle class and rich in the US is shrinking as middle class families grow richer
C. America and Latin America has increased dramatically due to globalization
D. America and Latin America has decreased dramatically due to globalization
Bonus
In the reading by Paul Krugman he discussed the “Great Compression” that America experienced. This concept refers to:
A. the substantial reduction in inequality during the New Deal
B. the substantial reduction in inequality during the presidency of Ronald Reagan
C. the pressure being put on middle class families by changes in the economy
D. the increased concentration of wealth in the hands of the upper class
The “Middle Class Squeeze”
Trends like this…along with the data on mobility have given rise to a concept
Middle class squeeze
tendency of those of the middle or intermediate classes to be pushed either upward, or more commonly, downward in terms of wages, salaries and family income (D)(p.119,384)
Let’s explore…
US Government Occupational Outlook Projections: Top 10 Largest Job Growth
How many require a college education?
An Hourglass Economy: 2010
Four of the ten do not pay enough to lift a family of four out of poverty
One just barely pays enough…
Winners and Losers: you can only work the jobs that a society provides
7
$406
$701
$862
$473
$1 ,901
$338
$257
$278
$321
$261
$0 $500 $1,000 $1,500 $2,000
Week ly P ay for the T en Oc c upations T hat Will A dd the M os t J obs T hrough 2010
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Based on hourly earn ings and a 40-hour week.
U.S. Median Weekly Wages in 2000
$336 = 4-person family poverty line$336 = 4-person family poverty line1. Food preparation &
serving (includes fast food).2. Customer service
representatives.
3. Registered nurses.
4. Retail salespersons.5. Computer support
specialists.
6. Cashiers (except gaming).
7. Office clerks, general.
8. Security guards.9. Computer software
engineers, applications.
10. Waiters and waitresses.
Reading this Week
“Recession's toll: Most recent college grads working…”
What was this article about?
Sociological Imagination
“When coupled with heavy student loan obligations, it's no wonder that 40 percent of seniors surveyed by NACE said they expect to need financial help from their parents after college” (Pugh 2009: 2)
Sociological Imagination ability grasp the way the social
structure shapes individual lives(D)
1 college graduate mal-employed and moving back home…maybe something is up with them
Most college grads are mal-employed and moving back home… maybe we need to examine the social structure
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2009/06/25/70788/recessions-toll-most-recent-college.html
Sociological Imagination
Lower wage jobs have a lingering effect: “The Curse of the Class of 2009”
details how college graduates who enter the job market during the current recession will likely suffer lower wages for years to come.
For each percentage point increase in the unemployment rate, those who graduated during the recession earned 6 to 8% less in their first year of employment compared to their more fortunate counterparts. The effect decreased in magnitude by approximately a quarter of a percentage point each year after graduation.
However, even 15 years out of school, the recession graduates earned 2.5% less.
http://mba.yale.edu/news_events/CMS/Articles/6841.shtml
Winners and Losers
Video Clip
Video addresses who gets what and why in the US “Why is the middle class
shrinking?”
From Now, a weekly show on PBS hosted by Bill Moyers
Based on research in the chapter you were assigned this week…
Note…the clip takes place in the early 2000s…prior to the current economic collapse
Pastors and Painters and Sociologists
PASTOR FRED CRAWFORD: “Everybody can't own the company. So some people have to get very rich for other people to make a decent living. And we just don't... we're not those folks.”
Ron Caputo: “You know, their argument will be, well, nobody told you to be a painter and have so many kids. You know, you could have went to college, you could get grants, you could do this, you could do that. They're right, to an extent, okay? They are. But you know, look at the other aspect of it. Well, then who's going to do the painting?”
Somebody has to do the painting: 1)Who has gained the most…?
Year Hourly earnings
1947 $7.78
1967 $12.30
1973 $13.91
1979 $13.87
1989 $12.98
1995 $12.50
1999 $13.24
Wages Since 2000
Increasing Inequality in America…The “Super Rich” have gained the most…
Last 30 years have witnessed an “astonishing concentration of income and wealth in just a few hands.” (Krugman, NYT p.2)
Top 1% of families have seen after tax income rise 157%…
Most income gains since the 1970s were to the top 1%… those people making more than $230,000
And 60% of those gains went to the top .1%, those who make more than $790,000
And almost half of those gains went to the top .01%, those with income of at least $3.6 million
Growing Inequality
“…Top 10%, top 1% and fractions of the top 1 percent enjoyed their greatest share of income since 1928 and 1929” (Johnston 2007:1)
Income Distribution Over Time: The Great Compression When Income inequality declined dramatically
Why?
From The Great Compression to “The growing economy is mostly going to benefit those who are not middle class.”
The hope of some…the fear of others…Doubtful either way…
Now and Krugman
2. Relationship of top gains to other’s position?
America’s Middle Class…
What does the data show about the distribution of income in America?
Winners and Losers Simple Math tells us… “if the rich get
more, that leaves less for everyone else.” (Krugman p. 9)
The richest 13,000 families have almost as much income as the 20 million poorest…
CEO Pay
What has the trend for CEO pay in the US been?
Winners and Losers
Business Week, Fall 2004
CEO Pay Compared….
It hasn’t always been like this… It’s not like this elsewhere… This is a big issue right now…
Stakeholders in conflict
Now and Krugman
3. Home prices vs. income…
New Home Prices Up, Income Flat New Home Prices
Up 120%
Income for Middle up 10%
Shifting Pension Risks
What happened to the teacher’s retirement nest egg?
“The Great Risk Shift”
When you’re too old to work but too young to die…
Half of America's private sector workforce are not covered by any retirement savings plan; their retirement will be anchored only by Social Security and whatever they have managed to save on their own.
The other 50 percent have one of the two main employer-sponsored retirement savings strategies: a traditional lifetime pension or a 401(k)-style investment plan. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/retirement/need/#1
What happened to the teacher’s retirement nest egg?
Bottom line: American Exceptionalism… “No other advanced country has seen the kind of surge in inequality that has taken place here” (Krugman p.137)
Ratio of Top 10% to Bottom 10%
So what does a typical person earn…
When studying income, median is better than mean (average)
What do we mean by median income?
When studying income, median is better than mean…
What do we mean by median income?
The midpoint of a distribution
Why do we look at Median Income instead of Mean….”Bill Gates walks into a bar…”
Imagine 5 people… $25,000; $30,000; $35,000; $50,000, $10,000,000
Mean vs. Median???
When studying income, median is better than mean…
Why do we look at Median Income instead of Avg….Imagine 5 people… $25,000; $30,000; $35,000; $50,000, $10,000,000
Average. vs. Median???
Note the difference Average = $2,028,000…doesn’t really reflect reality Median=$35,000…better representation of reality
So what was the Median Household Income, 2009
Median Income
2007 2009
US $50,233 $49,777
NJ $62,594 $65,777
PA $50,107 $48,172
Wages Since 2000
So what do people earn…
Some typical incomes?
US Bureau of Labor Statistics gathers this data annually
Percentage of Households by Income, 2005
Income % of Population
Under $10,000 8.3 72% of American households earn less than $75,000 a year
$10-14,999 6.4
$15-$24,999 12.4
$25-$34,999 11.4
$35-$49,999 14.9
$50-$74,999 18.4
$75-$99,000 11.1
More than $100,000 17.2
Census Bureau: Marger, p.63 In 2009, around 1 percent made more than $500,000
Inequality in America 2009David Cay Johnston | Oct. 25, 2010 http://www.tax.com/taxcom/taxblog.nsf/Permalink/UBEN-8AGMUZ
Outline
Distribution of Income & Wealth…
Krugman on “Winners and Losers”
Poverty in America Social Mobility
Esping Anderson
Stuff…movies, tests, etc.
Quiz
1. Research presented by Gosta Esping Anderson presented in “Equal Opportunities” and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development as discussed in the New York Times editorial, reported that mobility (movement up the class structure) in the United States is:
A. lower than in most other industrial countries. B. Higher than in most other industrial countriesC. About the same as in most other industrial
countriesD. Can no longer be measured accurately do to
changes made by the IRS
Quiz 2. Gosta Esping Andersen’s article titled “Equal
Opportunities and the Welfare State” suggested that:
A. that universal high quality child care can increase social mobility for low income children
B. providing families with tax credits for vocational schools can help increase social mobility for low income children
C. that welfare state really can not increase social mobility for low income children
D. that low income children in the US are more likely to make it to the middle class than low income children in Scandinavia.
Income & Wealth
Wealth-assets, particularly those that are income producing. For most people their home…
But for some people a second home in the Hamptons or Virgin Islands, an apartment in London, a Van Gogh, race horses, shopping malls, hotels, ships, sports teams, bonds, stocks, cash reserves, etc.
This American life…
Wealth…
10 Volunteers Up Front…
65
Fewer People Own More Wealth
Source: Edward N. Wolff, “Recent Trends in Wealth Ownership”
2007: richest 10% of the U.S. population owned 73% of all wealth.
1976: richest 10% of the U.S. population owned 50% of all wealth.
Try this with a pizza tonight…
New York Magazine
Mind the Income Gap: Manhattan has the highest wealth disparity in the country. How does that make you feel? By Henry Blodget (11/06)
The richest New Yorker, David Koch, is worth an estimated $12 billion. The poorest New Yorkers, 1.5 million people with incomes below the poverty line, are collectively worth nothing—or less. David Koch, in other words, is worth $12 billion more than a fifth of the city’s residents combined.
Interesting to note changes over time: Great Compression
Year Pct. Of Wealth Held by Top 1%
1922 32
1929 36
1939 31
1949 21
1958 24
1969 20
1989 38
1998 38
2007 34
US has highest rate of inequality in Wealth Distribution (Gini Index: closer to 100 the > inequality)
Japan 24.9
Sweden 25
Germany 30
UK 36
US 40
Concentration of Income and Wealth
BOTTOM LINE: Top 10% take most of the income and
wealth The rest of America splits what left
Thus the widespread discussion of the new inequality
Explanations for Rise in Inequality…
What does Krugman thinks explain the surge in inequality?
Hint: It’s very sociological…concepts from start of the class
Institutions Have Changed: In particular Unions have become much weaker
1) “Treaty of Detroit” between corporations and unions tied wages to productivity…all stakeholders benefited
Translation: 1947 Joe produced 100 widgets a day and was paid $100 1975 Joe produced 200 widgets a day and was paid $200
Institutional Changes: Unions are Weak and Workers Are No Longer Sharing In Economy’s Productivity Gains
Translation: 1975 Joe produced 200 widgets a day and was paid $200 2003 Joe produced 400 widgets a day and was paid $205
The New Inequality: Stakeholders and Compensation
Institutional Change leads to Change in Norms
2) Decline of unions results in changed norms about fairness and equality
“Outrage Constraint” has lessened
In 1950 a CEO would no more take 500 times more than worker than he would fart in the middle of a meeting
Now he simply takes the money…
Different Institutions, Different Norms, Outcomes
General Motors, 1969
Salary in today’s dollars, $4.3 million
Workers salary, $40,000 + health care and
pension A Middle Class Wage
Walmart, 2005
Salary in 2005, $23 million 5 times what GM CEO
took
Workers salary, approximately $18,000 Most lack health care
and pensions A Poverty Wage
Norms Changes and Tax Changes
Quiz
So what about those on the bottom of our society’s system of startification
“The arguments are fiercest where the facts are fewest.” William James…famous dead psychologist
and philosopher
US Poverty in Perspective, 1870-2004…Trends??? Note next slide
U.S. Poverty by Age, 1959-2009: Trends?
US Poverty in Perspective, 1870-2004…Government Policies and Programs have reduced poverty
Ok…But How Do We Figure Out Who is Poor?
Recession Raises Poverty Rate to a 15-Year HighBy ERIK ECKHOLM
September 16, 2010
The percentage of Americans struggling below the poverty line in 2009 was the highest it has been in 15 years, the Census Bureau reported Thursday, and interviews with poverty experts and aid groups said the increase appeared to be continuing this year.
With the country in its worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, four million additional Americans found themselves in poverty in 2009, with the total reaching 44 million, or one in seven residents. Millions more were surviving only because of expanded unemployment insurance and other assistance.
Determining Who is Poor? Origins of Measure: Molly Orshansky of Social Security Administration
uses “Economy Food Plan”
1955: Cost of food estimated to be 1/3 of after tax income
Took this cost and multiplied it by 3 to account for other expenses (clothes, heat, etc) Adjusted it for family size
Threshold adjusted annually for inflation using Consumer Price Index (CPI)
Today: Government adds up before tax cash income from all sources: earnings, pensions, interest, rental income, asset income, cash welfare…if below threshold…household is considered poor.
Most Sociologists consider measure crude and outdated Food budget times 3…no longer adequate formula There are actually more poor people than government statistics
suggest Catholic Church Perspective on this : tour-audio
Family of Two…$14,000 or $41,000
Poverty in America
How does the US rank when compared to other industrial nations with regard to the percentage of their population in poverty?
More poverty, about the same, less?
Relative Poverty, 2005
Child Poverty, March 2005
Children in Single Mother Families: Percent Poor, 2003
Explanations?
Explaining the Difference in Poverty Rates 1) US has a weaker social safety net
Less money spent on reducing poverty
Explaining the Difference in Poverty Rates
2)Our low status, low skill jobs pay less
“America’s bottom end workers fare worse than their counterparts in other industrialized countries. Comparable German workers earn more than twice as much” (Iceland, 2003)
Bottom 10% of US workers earn 37% of US median wage
Other industrialized countries earn 60-76% of median wage
Unions are weaker in the United States so low wage workers have less bargaining power
Remember the Hourglass
Occupations Adding the Most Jobs Projected increase Weekly Pay
1) Systems Analysts 577,000 $1,008
2) Retail Salespersons 563,000 $329
3) Cashiers 556,000 $280
4) General Managers 551,000 $797
5) Truck Drivers 493,000 $299
6) Office Clerks 463,000 $419
7) Registered Nurses 451,000 $750
8) Computer Support Specialists 439,000 $983
9) Personal Care and Home Health Aides 333,000 $321
10) Teaching Assistants 375,000 $315
11) Janitors, Cleaners and Maids 365,000 $324
12) Nursing Aides and Orderlies 325,000 $322
Source: 1999 BLS data; the 1999 poverty line for a family of four is $327/week. 7
$406
$701
$862
$473
$1 ,901
$338
$257
$278
$321
$261
$0 $500 $1,000 $1,500 $2,000
Week ly P ay for the T en Oc c upations T hat Will A dd the M os t J obs T hrough 2010
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Based on hourly earnings and a 40-hour week.
U.S. Median Weekly Wages in 2000
$336 = 4-person family poverty line$336 = 4-person family poverty line1. Food preparation &
serving (includes fast food).2. Customer service
representatives.
3. Registered nurses.
4. Retail salespersons.5. Computer support
specialists.
6. Cashiers (except gaming).
7. Office clerks, general.
8. Security guards.9. Computer software
engineers, applications.
10. Waiters and waitresses.
Poverty Quiz
The majority of poor people come from this racial or ethnic group?
A) White C) HispanicB) Black D) Asian
Who are the Poor?
White 56 percent African American 21 Latino 19 Asian 3 Native American 1
Source: Henslin, ch.7, 2006
2007: Poverty By Race
8.2
24.5
21.5
9.8
0
5
10
15
20
25
White Black Hisp Asians
Poverty
Quiz
Most poor families consist of able bodied people who can work, but simply refuse to? (True or False)
False…Working but poor
The Work History of Families in Poverty, 2000
Source: US Census; Poverty in the US, 2000 (2001: Table C) in Kerbo, p.259
Work History 2000
No full time worker 46.1%
1 full time worker 44.5%
2 or more full time workers 9.4%
Quiz…
Most poor people live in inner cities.
A. TrueB. False
Geography of Poverty
Source: Henslin, chapter 7, 2006
Your suburban hometown?
Some Other Common Misconceptions
Typical family on “welfare” had an average of 1.8 recipient children.
One in two recipient families had only one child.
One in 10 families had more than three children.
Nearly one in two closed case families had one child,
Only six percent had more than three children.” http://www.acf.hhs.gov/pros/ofa/data-reports/annualreport8/chapter10/chap10.htm#1
People Are Poor Because they have Too Many Kids
Poverty Only Happens to Other People
Social Mobility
O.K…immense inequality…but if people in the bottom 90% don’t like it, they can always work harder and join the top 10%…
Work hard and you’ll get ahead…Rags to riches..
Of the poorest 20 percent of Americans in 1989, what percent were still in the poorest 20 percent in 1998?
Family Mobility
Social Class is sticky: If I know your parents class I pretty accurately predict what your class will be
Class Matters…
Studies of Social Mobility pose a serious challenge to the idea that is primarily talent and hard work, not inherited social advantage that separates the classes… Hard for some to accept…but mountains of research
demonstrate
What would help explain why most people don’t move very far from the class in which they where born?
Put another way… What keeps the low income people and their kids low income? What keeps middle class people and their kids middle class? What keep the rich people and their kids rich?
Gosta Esping Andersen & Early Childhood Development
Parents of different classes can invest in their children differently
“What is now becoming clear is that the seeds of inequality are sown prior to school age on a host of crucial attributes such as health, cognitive and noncognitive abilities, motivation to learn, and, more generally, school preparedness”(23)
Income inequality Quality of Preschools…impacted by class (Baby Ivies @ $18,000 yr) Quality of schools…Camden or Cherry Hill… Extracurricular activities…impacted by class
Cultural Resources Number of books in the house…class impacts… Parents vocabulary…note next slide…
Class and Early Childhood
Child in professional home exposed to 2,000 words an hour vs. child in a working class home who his exposed to 1,300 words vs. child in a welfare mother’s home who is exposed to 600
By age three Professional kids vocabulary 50% large
Class Words an Hour
Professional 2000
Working Class 1300
Welfare Mother 600
Investment in Kids and Higher Education
Parents of different classes can invest in their children differently
Anyone remember how the US compares to Scandinavian nations when it comes to the rate at which its poorest citizens attend college?
Comparing Higher Education
“This contrasts unfavorably with all the Nordic countries, where the likelihood of post-secondary education for the least privileged has risen significantly over time. For the oldest group of children, the odds of attaining higher education were not much greater than in the United States. But for the youngest Scandinavian generation, born in the 1970s, we detect a significant equalization of opportunities. In Sweden, the youngest generation of the underprivileged is now three times more likely than its American counterpart to reach the post-secondary level. Denmark and Norway have done even better: underprivileged Danes are four times and Norwegians six times as likely as their American peers to go beyond high school” (p.25)
More than just aptitude, talent, effort and merit…
“The very rich can protect their less-gifted offspring from descending the social ladder. Likewise, there is far less upward mobility from the bottom than we would expect.”(p.24)
Graph says???
Social Stratification in America
“The very rich can protect their less-gifted offspring from descending the social ladder. Likewise, there is far less upward mobility from the bottom than we would expect.”(p.24)
Raises many questions…first of which might be do we care?
What does Esping Andersen suggest could make things more equal?
Comparing Higher Education
“This contrasts unfavorably with all the Nordic countries, where the likelihood of post-secondary education for the least privileged has risen significantly over time. For the oldest group of children, the odds of attaining higher education were not much greater than in the United States. But for the youngest Scandinavian generation, born in the 1970s, we detect a significant equalization of opportunities. In Sweden, the youngest generation of the underprivileged is now three times more likely than its American counterpart to reach the post-secondary level. Denmark and Norway have done even better: underprivileged Danes are four times and Norwegians six times as likely as their American peers to go beyond high school” (p.25)
Andeson attributes this to universal high quality child care that narrows the gap between rich and everyone else
Quiz 2. Gosta Esping Andersen’s article titled “Equal
Opportunities and the Welfare State” suggested that:
A. that universal high quality child care can increase social mobility for low income children
B. providing families with tax credits for vocational schools can help increase social mobility for low income children
C. that welfare state really can not increase social mobility for low income children
D. that low income children in the US are more likely to make it to the middle class than low income children in Scandinavia.
Government Redistribution of Income and Early Intervention…Fairness or Robbery?
Social Stratification Bottom Line
Gap between the very wealthy and everyone else has grown enormously in the past three decades
Middle class share of society’s pie is no longer expanding, and has shrunk since the 1960s
US has greater inequality, lower wages, lower life expectancy, more poverty and poorer poor people than most of our European peers
Class system in US is open, but there is not as much mobility as many believe…
Global Inequality
Three Richest people in the world have assets that exceed the combined Gross Domestic Product of the 48 poorest countries
The wealth of the 225 richest people is equal to the annual incomes of the poorest 47% of the worlds population (>2.5 billion)
Almost half (47%) of the people on Earth live on $2 a day or less.
Up to 2.5 billion people lack adequate food, clean water, sanitation, housing, medical care, education, transportation, and energy sources.
As much as one-third of the global workforce is unemployed or underemployed.
Next…
Inequality and Labor
