for wordpresspoverty week

1. Poverty
Statistics and Theories

2. Why do some people get ahead in
life and some do not?
Complete ranking in your groups

3. Defining Poverty
 Absolute
 Life threatening level of poverty. Constant across time and
countries
 Relative
 Varies across time and location. Such as poorest 10%
 In practice
 Minimum annual income to purchase necessities of life in the US
 3 x food budget
 Family of 4 $22,113

4. Changing Definition
 Moving to SPM – Supplemental Poverty Measure

5. Of the 46 million poor:
Next question, what percent of each race is poor?

6. Why some people get ahead:
 General Agreement:
 Education
 Hard work*
 Family environment
 Connections
 Luck
 Studies show all of the factors matter.
 Which are under our control? Anyone pick their
parents?

7. Why is there Persistent Poverty?
 Causes
 Structure
 Culture
 Exploitation
 Read poverty sheet
 List reasons given
 List solutions given
 Build a model

8. Poverty as Culture
 Causes
 Within the person
 Attitude
 Present-orientedness
 Passed down
 Solutions
 Not money
 Not opportunities
 Change the person
 Criminalizing poverty
 Blaming the victim
 The “takers”
 Food stamp scandals

9. Poverty as Structure
 Causes
 Lack of schools, health care
and jobs nearby
 Institutional discrimination
 Structural unemployment
 Solutions
 Neighborhood
improvements
 Job training
 Equal opportunities

10. Poverty as Exploitation
 Causes
 Upper class want to
maintain a source of cheap
labor
 Tax and subsidy rules
benefit the rich
 Solutions
 Social movement
 Revision of tax policies

11. Persistent Poverty
 Causes
 Structure
 Culture
 Exploitation
 Solutions
 Improve access to
services
 Improve attitudes
 Present-Orientedness
 Re-engineer the system

12. Poverty Programs:
Federal Public Assistance
 SSI
 Minimum income for aged,
blind, disabled
 Food Stamps (SNAP)
 EITC
 Housing & Energy Assistance
 TANF Block grants to states
 Does NOT include Social
Security NOT need-based
 What percent of the
federal budget went to
the ‘safety net’?
 A. 13 %
 B. 21
 C. 39
 D. 47
Estimates are the poverty rate would have doubled without these programs in the recent recession.

13. Poverty Programs:
State Public Assistance
 What percent of
assistance dollars are
distributed as cash
payments?
 A. 28%
 B. 41%
 C. 56%
 D. 76 %
Since 1996, AFDC has been TANF. A federal block grant to states.

14. Welfare as a way of life
 What is the time limit for
receiving assistance?
 A. There is no time limit
 B. 7 years
 C. 5 years
 D. 3 years
 Families on assistance are
subject to work-
requirements, education,
training or community
service.

15. Persistent Poverty
 Dependence is defined by
more than 50% of the
family’s income coming
from TANF, SNAP or SSI.
 Nearly half (49.6%) of
TANF recipients entering
between 2001-2003
received benefits for 4
months or less.
 What percent of the total
population are considered
welfare dependent?
 A. 1.2%
 B. 3.8
 C. 5.3
 D. 11.0

16. Public Assistance Recipients
 Number of Children
Percentage
 0 23%
 1 29%
 2 24%
 3 and more 25%
 Most families receiving
public assistance have how
many children?
 A. 0
 B. 1
 C. 2
 D. 3 or more

17. What are the consequences of Poverty?
 To Individual or Family
 Poorer health
 Less educational attainment
Of eight grades who scored in the
top 25% on a math test:
Parents income Finishing college
Bottom 25% 29%
Top 25% 79%

18. What are the consequences of poverty?
 To society
 Higher healthcare costs
 Social spending
 Social problems associated with income inequality: crime
 Lost talent and productivity
 Homelessness
 Higher stress levels and violence
 Costs to US of childhood poverty total $500 bil per year
 (increased medical needs, crime victims, public expenditures, lost output and more)

19. Look at economic causes and effects
 Wage determination
 Unions
 Discrimination
 Income inequality