Contemporary Social Issues

Contemporary Social Issues essay assignment

I. Chapter introduction: Social class and poverty as a social problem.
A. Though Hurricane Katrina negatively affected thousands of people of all
socioeconomic categories, the poor were hit the hardest.
B. The United States is considered the third richest nation on earth.
1. The increasing unequal distribution of wealth and income has led to the widest
gap between the rich and poor in the United States than any other comparable
society.
C. Almost 80 % of those surveyed by the Pew Research Center (2008) said that
it was more difficult over the past five years for middle-class people to maintain their
standard of living.

Request “Write My Nursing Paper” for a 100% custom writing tailored to your instructions: Contemporary Social Issues

D. In 2015, there were 120.8 million adults in middle-income households compared
with 121.3 millions in lower- and upper-income households combined, making the
middle class no longer an economic majority.
E. Between 2009 and 2013, the top 1% accounted for 85.1% of the total income growth
in the US.
E. Wealth, the value of assets owned by a household at a point in time, is considered
more important in determining one’s economic inequality than income, defined as
the money earned by one’s work.
II. What does it mean to be poor?
A. Absolute poverty refers to a lack of basic necessities, such as food, shelter, and
income.
B. Relative poverty refers to a situation in which some people fail to achieve the average
income or lifestyle enjoyed by the rest of society.
III. The federal definitions of poverty.
A. Poverty threshold is the original federal poverty measure developed by the Social
Security Administration and was based on an economy food plan.
1. Poverty was set at three times the cost of an economy food plan.
2. The definition of poverty threshold was revised in 1969 and 1981 and was tied to
the Consumer Price Index.
B. Poverty guidelines are used for determining family or individual eligibility for
federal programs such as Head Start and the National School Lunch Program.
IV. Who are poor?
A. There are certain demographics that describe the poor.
1. White-Americans compose the largest group of poor individuals in the U.S.
2. Proportionally, black-Americans have the highest poverty rate, followed by
Hispanics with a rate of 22%.
3. Children are more likely to live in poverty than any other age group.
4. Female headed households are more likely to be poor than any other type of
family.
5. Those who have spent at least 27 weeks working or looking for work, but whose
incomes have fallen below the official poverty level are considered the working
poor.

Request “Write My Nursing Paper” for a 100% custom writing tailored to your instructions: Contemporary Social Issues

6. Those living outside metropolitan areas are more likely to live in poverty than
those living in cities and suburbs.
7. Americans living in the South experience the highest poverty rates in the U.S.
followed by the West, Northeast, and Midwest.
V. Sociological perspectives on social class and poverty.
A. Four sociological perspectives offer explanations to understand the bases of social
inequality.
1. Functionalists believe that inequality in the social system is necessary to maintain
social order as some individuals are better suited for certain positions and
therefore should be compensated more than others.
a). Functionalists feel that poverty exists because it is functional for society in
many ways.
2. Conflict theorists believe that inequality is systematically created and maintained
by those trying to maintain their advantage over the system.
a). Marx, Weber, and Mills define social class.
(1). Karl Marx’s bi-dimensional definition of social class, based on one’s
position in the economic system, classified people into one of two
positions: Worker or owner.
(2). Max Weber’s multidimensional definition of social class includes
income/wealth, prestige, and power.
(3). C. Wright Mills believed that the United States was ruled by a small
group of powerful business, political, and military leaders he called the
power elite.
b). Conflict theorists argue that poverty exists because those in power wish to
maintain and expand their base of power and interests and not share it with
others.
3. Feminists argue that social class is sharply divided along lines of sex and gender
based on a patriarchal society.
a). Feminists report that poverty is especially devastating to women as they are
under the dominance of a system established to assist men and not women.
4. Interactionists believe that social inequality is a social creation that is made real
by stereotypes, beliefs, language, and attitudes which shape our behavior and
produce the inequality we believe is real.
a). Interactionists state that poverty is a learned phenomenon and focus their
attention on people’s perceptions and definitions of poverty.
VI. The consequences of poverty.
A. Food insecurity and hunger.
1. About 12.3% of households were food insecure for at least some time throughout
2016, meaning that these families did not always have access to enough food for
active and healthy lives for all members of the household.
a). Single female headed households with children, black households,
Hispanic households, and households with income below the poverty line
are the most likely to be food insecure.
b). The U.S. government and food pantries and kitchens provide food
assistance in Food Stamps, School Lunch Programs, and emergency food
assistance to millions of Americans each year.
c). Poor households are likely to experience higher food prices than the
national average because of the higher pricing of groceries in their local
community.
d) The US Conference of Mayors (2016) determined that low wages were the
leading cause of hunger, followed by high housing costs and poverty.
B. Lack of affordable housing.
1. Most families who leave welfare for work do not earn enough to afford decent
housing.

Request “Write My Nursing Paper” for a 100% custom writing tailored to your instructions: Contemporary Social Issues

2. There is a lack of affordable rental units for low-income families.
3. The combination of low earnings and scarce housing assistance results in serious
housing problems for the working poor.
C. Health and health care.
1. Children who live below the poverty line are less likely than children above it to
be in excellent health, be immunized, or have high rates of physical activity.
2. The elderly spend one hundred dollars or more of their own money per month for
prescription drugs.
3. While a portion of the working poor are eligible for medical care under Medicaid,
coverage is not comprehensive; other poor people find they do not qualify for
Medicaid in some cases.
VII. Responding to class inequalities.
A. The Social Security Act of 1935 was enacted to help provide for Americans who
could not care for themselves.
1. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal provided assistance in four categories.
a). General relief was given to those who were not able to work.
b). Work relief programs provided government jobs to those who were
unemployed.
c). Social insurance programs included social security and unemployment
compensation.
d). Categorical assistance was given to poor families with dependent children,
the blind, and the elderly.
B. The next generation of welfare occurred in the mid 1960s when Lyndon Johnson
declared a “War on Poverty” and started several federal programs like Head Start,
Upward Bound, and public housing.
C. As welfare, the solution for poverty, itself became a problem, the Personal
Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) was passed
in 1996 with a new focus on achieving self-sufficiency through employment.
1. Aid to Families with Dependent Children was replaced with Temporary
Assistance with Needy Families that has a federal lifetime limit of sixty
months.
2. Though employment has increased among welfare recipients, many recipients
have little education or work experience.
3. PRWORA was reauthorized in 2005.
D. Under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act
adults are limited to five years of federal welfare benefits and states can further
reduce this time limit.
1. Studies that have traced leavers of this welfare program conclude that over
long periods of time, there is no significant earnings growth after leaving
welfare.
E. Enacted in 1975, the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) provides relief for low-
income working families, especially those with children.
F. In 2017, 26 states and the District of Columbia offered a state-level earned income
credit for residents, usually a percentage of the federal credit.

24/7 Nursing Homework Help

Stuck with your nursing assignment? From Essays to Complicated Dissertations? Our accredited nursing paper writers can answer it all!