sociology presentation
TRANSCRIPT
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Minimum Wage and Social Inequality in AmericaLooking at how the minimum wage impacts equality in society.
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Why Have a Minimum Wage
• The argument for a minimum wage is that people who work full time should not be in poverty. This combines two concepts:•Minimum Wage: the lowest wage that
may legally be paid for an hour’s work• Living Wage: a wage sufficient to keep a
family out of poverty
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Minimum Wage Increases
• The Federal minimum wage was originally set at 25 cents per hour. • There have been 19 increases.• Until July 2007 it was $5.15 per hour.• To be equal to its 1968 high in inflation-adjusted
terms it would need to be $10.50 per hour in 2007.• In 2014 the minimum wage is $7.25
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Nominal and Real Minimum Wage(1999 dollars)
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Year
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Nominal Real
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Poverty
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Poverty• Despite the wealth of resources and opportunities in the
United States, poverty remains a significant social problem.• Sociologists discuss two general types of poverty: absolute
poverty and relative poverty.
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Poverty• Absolute Poverty: A situation where individuals do not have
access to the basic requirements of life – food, shelter, clothing.
• Relative Poverty: A situation where individuals are excluded from being able to take part in what are considered the normal, acceptable standards of living in a society.
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Poverty in the United States
• A full 12.5 percent of the population in 2012 were in poverty (more than 37 million people); this is the highest rate among the major industrialized nations.• One-third of these people are working.• Poverty is calculated using a formula from the
1960s, whereby the poverty line is based on an income three times the cost of monthly groceries.
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Gini Index• Gini index measures the degree of inequality in the
distribution of family income in a country. • The more unequal a country's income distribution, the higher
its Gini index.• If income were distributed with perfect equality the index
would be zero; if income were distributed with perfect inequality, the index would be 100.
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Conclusion• If the minimum wage had kept pace with inflation since its
inception in 1968, it would now stand at $10.74 per hour.• Income inequality leads to higher levels of poverty and society
hurts as a whole. • Scandinavia is a prime example of what income equality can
do for a society.• Higher education levels, better healthcare, and a stronger
economy.• Above all people cannot survive on $7.25 an hour.
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Sources• Schimtt, John . 2013 "Why does the minimum wage have no
discernible effect on employment?." Center for economic and policy research 1(1):1-24. Retrieved from Jstor on May 1, 2014
• Lin, Ken H. 2013 "Financialization and us income inequality, 1970-2008." American journal of sociology 118(5):1284-1329. Retrieved from Jstor on May 1, 2014
• Warren, John R. 2010 "The effect of minimum wage rate son high school completion."Social forces 88(3):1379-1392. Retrieved from Jstor on May 1, 2014
• Sherman, Jennifer . 2013 "Surviving the great recession:growing need and the stigmatized safety net." Social problems 60(4):409-432. Retrieved from Jstor on May 1, 2014