POVERTY

Absolute poverty is the inability to afford the minimal requirements necessary to sustain a reasonably healthy existence (doesn't have enough for adequate, food, clothing and shelter)- life threatening
Relative poverty is one's economic position with regard to the living standards of the majority in any given society (low income and standard of living compared to others). This is more difficult to define because it is based on cultural ideas about quality of life in a society.
Poverty line is the amount of yearly income a family requires in order to meet its basic needs according to the federal government. This is intended to get at poverty in absolute sense. The line was set at $15,569 for an urban family of four in 1995.

Federal Government uses Orshansky index to define poverty. This is adjusted for family size and it is computed as (the estimated cash to minimally meet food needs)x 3. It is based on income rather than resources and ignores many non-cash benefits (food stamps, school lunches, Medicaid, housing subsidies, educational grants and loans). It ignores wealth (i.e. owning a farm is not counted)

Problem: does having medical coverage make you less poor?

Orshansky index also underestimate poverty because it is based on a survey that was prepared 30 years ago and housing, educational, medical, and child care costs claim a bigger share now. It doesn't adjust for alimony payments, child support, work related expenses, out-of-pocket medical costs, etc.

Who is poor in the U.S.?

RACE & ETHNICITY: 2/3 of the poor are white but only 9.6% of whites are poor while 29.3% of Hispanics and 27% of African Americans are poor. African Americans are three times more likely to be poor compared to whites.
AREA OF RESIDENCE: People from rural areas and southern states are more likely to be poor but highest concentration of poverty is found in central cities
GENDER: 34.9% of single women and their children are poor (most of these women were not born into poverty, but forced into it by their circumstances).
62% of the poor (over 18) are women–> feminization of poverty (rapidly increasing # of households headed by single women)
AGE: 40% of those living in poverty are children under 18 (21% of children) (1995). 16% of white children, 40% of Latino children and 42% of African American children are poor. Half of these children live in households with incomes below $8,000 (1996 Census)

Consequences of Structural Inequality

it is in our face, we can't avoid or ignore the consequences
price of security increases as crime and violence increase (police, jail and insurance costs)
decrease in the number of taxpayers while there is an increase in the dependent population as the poverty increases.
increase in the underground economy (few people pay taxes, people in jail do not pay taxes, etc.)
increase in private sector vs. the public sector (no sense of community)

Temporary and Persistent Poverty: Poor for < 2 years (situational poverty) vs. persistently poor 8 or > years. While the temporarily poor are demographically similar to the entire U.S. the persistently poor are disproportionately:

living in female headed households (low earnings of women + one vs. two incomes)
African-American and other minorities
living in rural areas and the southern states
disabled (mentally or physically)

61% of persistently poor are in a household headed by woman, 62% are black, 68% are from southern states. Surest route out of temporary poverty is by marriage/re-marriage but marital odds are much better for white than minority women.

CAUSES OF POVERTY

Culture of Poverty Thesis (Lewis, 1961)

cultural adaptation of the poor to their marginal position in society:

sense of resignation, fatalism, powerlessness and passivity
focus on the present
low aspirations match lack of opportunities
feelings of inferiority that mirror society's contempt for the poor
inadequate public transfers, especially welfare or AFDC

critique: blames the victim, doesn’t recognize that most people move in and out of poverty. The poor does not have a value system that replaces the mainstream society’s ideals

Structural Causes: Society responsible for poverty (Ryan, 1976)

lack of ambition is a consequence of lack of opportunities (so he suggest we need to support policies that will increase opportunity- child care for working women, taxation to promote economic equality etc.)

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