Thursday, December 12, 2019

Living at Risk with Low Income

As students enter the room, review what we have been learning. 

1.  Individually - What are all the components that sociologists measure to examine social class?  



Today:  Within the United States, an individual's life chances are greatly affected by lower social class.


2.  With a partner - hypothesize with a partner about the ways that poverty affects people in terms of:

Health
Location/environment
Lifestyle
Criminal Justice System

Health

Physical Health 
person from lower class circumstances has a higher chance of dying at any age than a wealthy person!  Some other health outcomes for those in poverty:

From the American Journal of Pediatrics; Poverty and lack of nurturing in early life may have a direct effect on a child’s brain development, according to a study that found smaller brain volumes in poor, neglected children.

 Impoverished black children, for example, are twice as likely as poor Hispanic or white children to have levels of lead in their blood that is at least 2.5 micrograms per deciliter. Some researchers have found that even that small amount of lead is enough to cause cognitive impairment in children — especially the kind that impacts their reading ability.

 hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetesheart disease,  

Medical Care 
less access and poorer hospitalslack of health insurance.

Mental Health 
higher stresschildren feel effects of stress for lifemental disorders, suicide,

Environment 
From the Huffington Post, the poor are more likely to experience asthma and other health issues.  From the Florida Times Union;
...poor black children are more likely than poor white or Hispanic children to be diagnosed with asthma — another ailment that plagues poor children in Jacksonville and one that is linked to living in older, more industrialized areas. Poor white children, though, are more likely to be exposed to secondhand smoke, or to be born to mothers who smoked during pregnancy than poor black or Hispanic children. And poor Hispanic children, it found, are twice as likely to have no place to go for health care, as compared to poor white or black children.

Lifestyle 
less access to healthy food (i.e. fruits and vegetables); see this link for a TED talk about one man who is arrested for planting a vegetable garden in a poor neighborhoodsmokingdrug use and abuse, exercise less,

The connection between poverty and diabetes including obesity and poor diet and sedentary lifestyle from the American Diabetes Association;
One reason may be that violence tracks with poverty, thereby preventing people from being active out-of-doors. Similarly, parks and sports facilities are less available to people living in poor counties (5), and people who live in poverty-dense regions may be less able to afford gym membership, sports clothing, and/or exercise equipment. There are multiple individual and environmental reasons to explain why poverty-dense counties may be more sedentary and bear greater obesity burdens.
 unsafe sexobesity, cancer, HIV


From the Frontline documentary, Poor Kids;
Twenty percent of the children in the US are growing up in poverty! That's 1 out of every 5 kids in the United States is living at the poverty level! Yes, you read that correctly - 1 out of every 5 children in the United States is living in poverty right now!  That's a higher rate than 34 out of 35 Western countries

From Voices For Illinois Children, we see that the number of children in poverty has been increasing and the effects can be very damaging; 
Growing up in poverty can have serious and long-lasting effects on children’s health, development, and overall well-being. The effects of poverty have a well-documented impact on young children’s developing brains. And children who grow up in poverty are more likely to experience harmful levels of stress, more likely to struggle in school, and more likely to have behavioral, social, and emotional problems than their peers.

Unnatural causes is a website and documentary about the connection between social class and health;
UNNATURAL CAUSES is the acclaimed documentary series broadcast by PBS and now used by thousands of organizations around the country to tackle the root causes of our alarming socio-economic and racial inequities in health. 
The four-hour series crisscrosses the nation uncovering startling new findings that suggest there is much more to our health than bad habits, health care, or unlucky genes. The social circumstances in which we are born, live, and work can actually get under our skin and disrupt our physiology as much as germs and viruses.
Among the clues:
• It's not CEOs dropping dead from heart attacks, but their subordinates. 
• Poor smokers are at higher risk of disease than rich smokers. 
• Recent Latino immigrants, though typically poorer, enjoy better health than the average American. But the longer they're here, the worse their health becomes.
Furthermore, research has revealed a gradient to health. At each step down the class pyramid, people tend to be sicker and die sooner. Poor Americans die on average almost six years sooner than the rich. No surprise. But even middle class Americans die two years sooner than the rich. And at each step on that pyramid, African Americans, on average, fare worse than their white counterparts. In many cases, so do other peoples of color.
But why? How can class and racism disrupt our physiology? Through what channels might inequities in housing, wealthy, jobs, and education, along with a lack of power and control over one's life, translate into bad health? What is it about our poor neighborhoods, especially neglected neighborhoods of color, that is so deadly? How are the behavioral choices we make (such as diet and exercise) constrained by the choices we have?


From the CDC, here is an explanation of the social determinants of health;
Conditions in the places where people live, learn, work, and play affect a wide range of health risks and outcomes.1 These conditions are known as social determinants of health (SDOH).We know that poverty limits access to healthy foods and safe neighborhoods and that more education is a predictor of better health.2,3,4 We also know that differences in health are striking in communities with poor SDOH such as unstable housing, low income, unsafe neighborhoods, or substandard education.

Criminal Justice
Poor people are more likely to enter the criminal justice system and remain there.  From Spotlight on Poverty and Georgetown University Law Professor, Peter Edelmen's book, Not A Crime To Be Poor;

This chart shows the different stages of the criminal justice system.  In each stage, a person of lower social class is more likely to progress through the system than a person of upper social class.



Economic Life Chances

Researchers have documented that it costs more to be poor.  From the Economist, this article, explains the numerous ways that in the United States, life is more expensive the less money you have.


And the award winning book Evicted from Harvard sociologist Matthew Desmond shows how society profits off the poor and how lack of housing can lead families to spiral downward.

In this groundbreaking book, Harvard sociologist and 2015 MacArthur “Genius” Award winner Matthew Desmond takes readers into the poorest neighborhoods of Milwaukee, where families spend most of their income on housing and where eviction has become routine—a vicious cycle that deepens our country’s vast inequality. Based on years of embedded fieldwork and painstakingly gathered data, Evicted transforms our understanding of extreme poverty and economic exploitation while providing fresh ideas for solving a devastating, uniquely American problem.


Now make a mind map connecting the various effects of poverty.  How does each connect to the others?  How many connections can you make?


Online Simulation

Try the playspent website which guides readers through the difficult choices that those in poverty must make.



A Culture of Poverty?

Some people will argue that there is a culture of poverty among those in the lowest income levels. This culture of poverty represents individuals making choices that create or worsen the impoverished situation they are in. But, it is important to understand how these choices come about. A life of deprivation, punctuated by emergencies creates a lack of “deferred gratification." In other words, it is difficult for these people to invest in their own future; many of the poor see the future as more of the same or even worse; enjoy what you can, because tomorrow may be worse; poverty influences attitude which influences behavior which leads to poverty, etc…

Other Resources:


Here is a link to the University of Michigan's school of Poverty Solutions, which is full of resources and research on poverty. 



Here is the website, Spotlight on Poverty with numerous resources, stories and links.

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

Other Components of Social Class in the USA

Although income is usually what people think of first when they think of social class, there are many other elements that are a part of social class.  All of these components both exemplify social class inequality and they exacerbate it.  Please read about each element below.  As you go through, think about what an average American looks like and how your family compares.  I want you to have a better understanding of where your family fits compared to the average American when the lesson is finished.

Wealth

Wealth is tricky to understand.  It is everything that a household owns, such as the home, vacation home, cars, 401K, savings, stocks, jewelry, etc...But, you must subtract what the household owes.  So, if my house is $200,000 but I owe $160,000 then my wealth is only $40,000 on the house.   One way to examine wealth is through quintiles (20% increments).  if you lined all the households up in the U.S. by wealth, what percentage would the top 20% own? And then the next 20% and so on...Another way to think about this is if you have 5 people who are sharing a pie, what percent of the pie does the first person get, and the second person and third, etc...



How much of the wealth (the pie) in the U.S. do you think each quintile (person) has:
Bottom 20%:______   2nd 20%_______  3rd 20%________  4th 20%_______ 5th 20%_______Top
(least)                                                                                                          (most)

How much do you think each quintile should have?

Bottom 20%:______   2nd 20%________ 3rd 20%________  4th 20%_______ 5th 20%_______Top


After you have finished answering the questions above, watch this video:


What is the reality?



The disparity of wealth is greater than that of income (see the pie graph below).  From the Huffington Post, In 2010, "The median household net worth -- the level at which half the households have more and half have less -- was $77,300  For a much more detailed analysis of wealth, see this post from business insider.


How does your family or community compare to the average American?

Average American:  50% own 2 cars,  50% have a 401K, 66% own 1 home, 6% own a second home






Education
In the US, here are the percentages of adults over the age of 23 who have attained each degree in 2012:
High school graduate87.65%
Some college57.28%
Associate's and/or Bachelor's degree40.58%
Bachelor's degree30.94%
Master's degree8.05%
Doctorate or professional degree3.07%


This link shows that on average, the higher a family's income, the higher the ACT score



The higher your education is, the more money one can earn.  Link to College Board research report here.
Here is a post from sociological images that has a lot of info showing the connection between your degree and your income.


This graph shows that the less education that parents have, the less education their children obtain.


This research from Natasha Quadlin shows that the major a student chooses at college is influenced by social class.

From The Upshot, Ny Times, this interactive site allows you to see what percent of students from the top 1% and bottom 60% attend each school of higher education.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/01/18/upshot/some-colleges-have-more-students-from-the-top-1-percent-than-the-bottom-60.html

This graph shows where students from different social classes end up after high school:

Elite Colleges Constantly Tell Low-Income Students That They Do Not Belong
from Clint Smith in the Atlantic.

How Admissions Really Work: If The College Admissions Scandal Shocked You, Read This from NPR.
There are lots of ways that wealthy families get a boost in the college admissions process. Most are quite legal.


Location
The price of a home depends on a lot more than the physical structure of the home.
The average home price in the United States in 2012 was $175K.  The average price in BG was $346,000.  And in LG it was $765,000.  Click here to see some houses for sale in Lake County, IL in 2014.  Which do you think are the most expensive?  Which are the least? When you see the actual prices, why do you think that is?

This heat map from Trulia shows the median sales price for areas across Lake County.

Opportunity Insights provides data about how neighborhoods shape residents' life chances.

Here is a map from Time showing the most economically segregated cities in America.  Can you find your town?  How does this segregation affect the residents?

This research from Harvard shows that zipcode is a better predictor for health than genetic code.

Here you can find data by zipcode about the average home price ( as well as income and other data).



Location is also related to mobility:

This report from NPR's Planet Money details how where you grow up can affect your income later in life.

And here is a video and stats from CNN Money that show how where you grow up limits or benefits you.

An online data tool called Opportunity Atlas  finds a strong correlation between where people are raised and their chances of achieving the American dream.
Here is an NPR piece explaining it.
Here is the NY Times Upshot explaining it.

Where College Grads Move

WSJ data shows where college grads are likely to move after they graduate.

Here is Indiana U and U of I:


Try Accessing the data through this link:

Where Graduates Move After College


Try to make your own conclusions about the data:
What does this data say about your life after college?
On a less personal level, what does this data say about the U.S. in general?

If the link above does not work, these might:

Accessible through this facebook link:   https://www.facebook.com/groups/486893378140308/?multi_permalinks=1004035523092755&notif_id=1532189664367938&notif_t=feedback_reaction_generic


For full access to the WSJ when you're on campus, you need to use the following special link: www.wsj.com/highschool

Once there, the fastest way for you (and your students) to find the article you're looking for is to click the search icon and enter the words  "grads database"

The only result that pops up should be "Where Graduates Move After College" and you should all be able to access it. 


Or the original story here:
https://www.wsj.com/graphics/where-graduates-move-after-college/?mod=e2fb


Prestige and power
People view different occupations with different levels of prestige.  This prestige can translate to real power such as being appointed to boards or committees.  It can also simply give you credibility or respect in social situations.  Here is a chart of prestige ratings.

Power, according to Max Weber, is the ability to impose one's will on others.  One example is how the world's most powerful leaders gather in secret meetings annually to discuss how they can shape policy, economics and laws among other things. One such meeting is the American Enterprise Institute held every year on an island off the coast of Georgia where attendees can fly their jets on and off the island in private.  Another meeting is the Bilderberg meeting.

Some examples of power are the abilities to keep yourself out of jail, influence politicians and enact laws that are you favor.  Here is one example from The Daily Show comparing teachers and Wall Street Investors.  Can you guess who has the power?




Here is a link to a Washington Post article explaining that wealthy Americans use their power to create favorable government policies.

And this article from the NY Times shows that an executive at United Airlines accused of corruption charges was forced to resign. Imagine if a teacher was accused of corruption and was forced to resign. That would be it - out of a job and no compensation. But,


United filed a report with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday indicating that Mr. Smisek would receive nearly $4.9 million in a separation payment, and 60,000 shares of stock, valued at over $3 million.

Creating a Social Class Ladder in the U.S.
All of these combine to form a rough picture of social class.

The NY Times did a series of articles about social class called Class Matters. You can explore numerous graphs and stats there, including an interactive graphic that shows where a person places on various aspects of class.

What does an average American look like?  Here is a an article from the Washington Post explaining the difficulty of defining the middle class.

Here is Gilbert's model of social class:


 Here is another  representation of how all of those components might work together:


Look over your information for income, wealth, education, location and prestige.  Are they mostly above, average or below? Then try to think where that person falls on this ladder?  Why would you place them there?  Share this your group.

Was it difficult to share with the group?  Why or why not?



After you have thought about your own personal example, classify the four people in this Esquire article and analyze what class they are and why?  Try to use components other than income.  How is each person shaped by their social class?


Here are other resources for examining the components of social class that comprise the "rules" about what is possible in the USA in terms of class:


Here is a link to the Stanford Center on Poverty where you can view slides about inequality in the USA.


Here is a link to 15 statistics about inequality in America.





Monday, December 9, 2019

Social Class in the U.S.

What class would you say that you belong in?

upper     upper middle     middle     lower middle     lower



How do Americans feel about class?

The United States has always resisted the pretentiousness of class.  The country was founded partly as a reaction to a monarch, which is in itself a class-based system defined by hereditary status and honorary titles.   Additionally, and maybe because of, its revolutionary history, the U.S. values equality, freedom and individual control over one's own destiny.  Americans do not like the idea of social class.

During the gilded age, the Horatio Alger myth was popularized as a promise of the American possibility of going from "rags to riches" a success story "only in America."  From Princeton professor Jen Hochschild's 1996 book, Facing Up to the American Dream,  Americans believe in the American dream and that success is attainable for anyone.   And from the PEW Research Center, this 2015 publication shows American attitudes about the economy including that 85% of Americans consider themselves middle class, including 93% of those who earned more than $100,000!



This 2015 article from Smithsonian Magazine details a number of sources that show Americans like to believe that they are middle class.

So why bother studying social class in the U.S.?

First, social class does in fact exist and to deny it is to live naively at best and possibly in delirium.  Additionally, although the idea of "middle class" is appealing to Americans, it is difficult to define because the U.S. is so stratified.

Second, social class so strongly shapes us that by understanding it, we will understand ourselves better as well as our fellow Americans better.  And this understanding is not just an understanding of how we think and what we value, but it also is an understanding of our life chances, or what we are capable of achieving and the likelihood that we achieve it.

Finally, social class and inequality correlate with a number of measures of society that show inequality makes societies less healthy, less productive and less desirable.

This 2012 post from Socimages of the Society Pages points to The Equality Trust, a British trust that seeks to limit inequality, especially in Britain.  Here are a few examples of the correlation between inequality and undesirable societal outcomes (for more, see the 2012 post linked above):




Social Class Inequality has been widening in the last few decades.


First, the social class gap is widening.  See this post from Socimages.  Here is one graph from the post.  It explains how income has shifted steadily to the top percentiles over the last few decades.


And here are some charts from Business Insider about the growing inequality in the USA.


Inequality from country to country shows greater inequality has damaging effects on individuals

Second, cross national studies show that social class inequality correlates closely to a number of troubling outcomes such as:  infant mortality, mental illness, drug use, educational achievement, incarceration, obesity, homicide and social trust.