Poverty as a Culture

1. Poverty as a Culture Isbelia Arzola, M.S.

2. Example • Discussion

3. Culture of PovertyOscar Lewis • Burdens of poverty were systemic and therefore imposed upon these members of society. • Children were socialized into behaviors and attitudes that perpetuated their inability to escape the underclass.

4. Characteristics • Marginality • Helplessness • Dependency • Not belonging • Convinced institutions do not serve their interests and needs • Powerlessness • Inferiority • Personal unworthiness

5. Myths and Realities • Myths: • Poor people are unmotivated and have weak work ethics. • Poor parents are uninvolved in their children’s learning because they do not value education. • Poor people are linguistically deficient. • Poor people tend to abuse drugs and alcohol.

6. The 2011 Poverty Guidelines for the48 Contiguous States and the District of Columbia • People in FamilyPoverty Guideline • 1 $ 10,890 • 2 $ 14,710 • 3 $ 18,530 • 4 $ 22,350 • 5 $ 26,170 • 6 $ 29,990 • 7 $ 33,810 • 8 $ 37,630 • For families with more than eight people, add $3,740 for each additional person.

7. Poverty Levels in Iowa 1969 2011 • (DSM, CR, D) 8.64% 9.41% • Rural: 14.14% 10.55% • Iowa 9.13% 11.37% • National 13.70% 13.5% • 31.6% of African Americans live at or below the poverty level • Overall poverty in Iowa is 9.1%. • 4 out 10 Iowans = 2 or more jobs, and still struggling to get by. • Family of 4 should make at least $30,000 to make the ends meet. • Federal government’s poverty income is $19,806

8. Does Working Work? National • Current minimum wage $7.25 • Working hours per week required for a family of four • to reach the poverty level of $22,350.00 59 • Annual earnings of a full-time minimum-wage worker • (52 weeks @ 40 hours per week = 2,080 hours per year) $15,080 • Full-time wage needed to reach the poverty level for a • family of four. $10.75 • Number of people earning the minimum wage 286,000 • Number of people earning below the minimum wage 1,964,000 • Current unemployment rate (April 2011) 9.0%

16. What can we do? • Who are our students? • Who are our families? • Who am I? • Educate ourselves • Help colleagues unlearn misperceptions about poverty • Reach out to low-income families even when they appear unresponsive • Respond when colleagues stereotype clients • Never assume that people have equitable access to resources • Stop blaming the victim • Examine proposed corporate-community partnerships • Listen from zero

17. Questions

18. References • Abell, T., & Lyon, L. (1979). Do the differences make a difference? An empirical evaluation of the culture of poverty in the United StaBarton, P. E. (2004). • Why does the gap persist? Educational Leadershiptes. American Anthropologist • Carmon, N. (1985). Poverty and culture. Sociological Perspectives • Kozol, J. (1992). Savage inequalities: Children in America's schools. New York: Harper-Collins. • Lewis, O. (1961). The children of Sanchez: Autobiography of a Mexican family. New York: Random House. • Ortiz, A. T., & Briggs, L. (2003). The culture of poverty, crack babies, and welfare cheats: The making of the "healthy white baby crisis." Social Text • www.iowaworkforce.org • 02-03-11David Peters, Sociology, Dan Kuester, News Service. Iowa Poverty increasing but remains below national average. ISU.