Understanding Poverty in America

Definitions of Poverty

• Absolute Poverty: Living on less than $2 a day, leading to starvation and inability to survive.
• Relative Poverty: Being considered poor based on community standards, typically calculated as cost of food multiplied by three; impacts self-worth and identity.

The Working Poor

• Individuals earning less than the poverty line while being employed.
• Numbers increased during the 2000s due to gender role shifts and economic downturns.

Poverty Line and Characteristics

• Poverty Line: Determined by a low-cost food budget multiplied by three.
• Approximately 46.5 million poor Americans; 11.3 million or 7.3% unemployed.

Poverty Trends in the U.S.

• Poverty rate remained stagnant since 2000, with 15.1% of Americans living in poverty as of 2013.

Duration of Poverty

• Short-term Poverty: Lasts up to one year due to sudden life changes or events.
• Long-term Poverty: Linked to economic shifts like the Great Recession; affects job availability and stability.

Explanations of Poverty

• Individual Explanations: Faults lie with individuals, attributing poverty to lack of motivation and poor decision-making.
• Structural Explanations: Poverty is a result of systemic issues; behaviors of the poor reflect societal norms rather than individual failings.

Awareness of Class Inequalities

• Majority of the population is largely unaware of class distinctions.
• Media portrayal of wealth creates a misleading perception of American society, obscuring real poverty.

Media's Role in Poverty Awareness

• Media largely ignores the dramatic increase in poverty since the recession, with limited coverage of its implications.
• Depictions of the poor often frame them as lazy and solely responsible for their circumstances.

Blame Attribution

• Media generally attributes blame for poverty to individual shortcomings rather than systemic factors.
• Individualistic narratives dominate, overshadowing structural explanations.

Charitable Activities and Poverty

• Charitable efforts are seen as inadequate, serving as temporary solutions to deeper structural issues.
• Calls for systemic changes like increasing minimum wage rather than reliance on charity.

Systematic Nature of Poverty

• Poverty in America is viewed as an unfortunate statistic, often perceived as temporary or self-inflicted.

Media Coverage of Wealthy

• A significant portion of media is devoted to wealthy individuals and their concerns, such as stocks and foreign policy.
• The issues of the wealthy are framed as universally relevant.

Personal Characteristics of Different Classes

• The media creates stereotypes, positioning the poor as "them" and the middle/wealthy as "us" to suggest moral superiority.

Relationship Between Classes

• Media blurs distinctions between the middle class and the wealthy, presenting them as a homogenous group.
• Wealthy individuals are depicted as ruling the society, holding disproportionate influence over income and political spheres.
• Class tensions are inverted, causing blame to fall on the poor rather than the wealthy, who control the economic narrative.