Monday, March 22, 1999
Announcements:

Exam is postponed until Monday, April 5

1. Social Stratification (continued)

1. Intro: Social Inequality – Unequal access to societal resources. Example: A layer cake – the bottom is not desirable, while as you go up more and more delicious things are present. America is stratified; there is inequality.
2. Social Classes – USA

1. Lower class – 20% of the population

1. The Poor – disabled, homeless, unemployed, single women, etc. 66% of the poor are White, but Blacks and Latin-Americans are disproportionately poor.
2. The Working Poor – work part-time, part of the year.
3. The Underclass – poorest of the poor. "Ghetto Poor" – do not even make $10,000 a year… Robert Taylor Housing Project in Chicago consists of over 90% ghetto poor.
4. The Homeless – can range from 500,000 to 3 million people on any given night. (There are no homeless people in China) Some are de-institutionalized – mentally ill, drug addicts. Gentrification – The restoration and upgrading of deteriorated urban property by the middle classes, often resulting in displacement of lower-income people.

1. Working Class ($15,000 - $35,000) - Low skilled service workers, hourly wage jobs. Economic insecurity occurs among this class because of de-industrialization. Economy has changed – technological revolution, the automation of work, global economy.
2. Middle Class (45% of population)

1. Lower Middle Class ($35,000 - $50,000) – teachers, bankers. In 1996 the median income was $37,035 which translated into $42,300 with inflation
2. Upper Middle Class – Highly paid professionals. They are very materialistic (2 cars, summer homes, exotic vacations) but they have little political power compared to the upper class.

1. Upper Class

1. Upper-upper – Inherited money, old money (Vanderbilt’s, Rockefeller’s). We work for money; they make money work for them. They practice endogamy and have accumulated much power, privilege, and prestige. Live in all cities
2. Lower-upper – New rich people (Michael Jordan, Bill Gates). They have made their money in this generation.

1. Conclusions

1. Rags to riches stories simply do not happen. The highest 20% receive 49% of the income and 80.9% of the wealth. For every dollar in wealth owned by a white household, African Americans own 18 cents and Latin Americans own 15 cents.
2. Middle class is declining

1. Shift in economy – global economy, automation of work
2. Computer based technology gives opportunities to higher educated people
3. Corporations downsize on the high end of the service sector

1. Social Mobility and Its Reasons

1. Social mobility – shift in economic status
2. Reasons for Social Mobility

1. Social changes – linked to economic changes, changes in technology
2. Challenge of the status quo by the lower class

1. Forms of Social Mobility

1. Vertical – moves from one social position to another
2. Horizontal – moves from one social status to another, retain relatively same situation
3. Intergenerational Mobility – changes from parents to children
4. Intragenerational Mobility – Compare economic status of a person over a long period of time
5. Short distance movement is the rule, long distance movement is the exception

1. Blau et.al, and Featherman and Hauser Studies on Social Mobility (only men)

1. 50% of men experienced social immobility (same status as father) – 25% of men experienced upward mobility
2. Reasons for upward mobility – new occupational structure and more good jobs for people with skills.

1. Some important points

1. Equality of opportunity has not been realized anywhere
2. Family plays a key role in determining the status of their children
3. Men have more opportunity for upward mobility
4. Education is the greatest factor

1. WJ Wilson – Race is less important than class – Minorities have been able to move up with skills and education
2. Lawrence Graham – "Our Kind of People" – Black elite is just like the upper class White people. African-American’s children go to school in prep schools and join exclusive clubs.

1. Theories of Social Stratification

1. Functionalist Perspective (Davis-Moore Perspective) Unequal rewards necessary to motivate people to play vital roles. Society creates inequality.