Chapter 18: Social Welfare Policymaking
1v. Social Welfare Policies-policies that provide benefits to individuals, particularly to those in need.
2r. Entitlement- is a guarantee of access to benefits based on established rights or by legislation.
3r. Means-Tested Benefits- benefits that are available only to individuals whose income is below a certain level.
4v. Income Distribution-the “shares” of the national income earned by various groups
5v. Relative Deprivation-A perception by a group that it is doing less well than is appropriate in relation to a reference group. The desire of a group to correct what it views as the unfair distribution of resources, such as income or government benefits, is a frequent motivator for political activism.
6t. What is the difference between income and wealth?
Income is the amount of money collected between any two points in time.
Wealth is the amount of money already owned, including stocks, bonds, bank accounts, cars, houses, and so forth.
7t. How does the U.S. Bureau of the Census define poverty?
What a family would need to spend in order to maintain an “austere” standard of living.
8v. Poverty Line-a method used to count the number of poor people, it considers what a family would need to spend for an “austere” standard of living.
9t. Briefly explain the difference between the conservative and liberal arguments as to why some people are poor.
Liberals believe some people face more hostile environments than others like racial discrimination. Not because of characteristics or values but because of external barriers to their success. Conservatives believe it is the values and characteristics of the person.
10v. Culture of Poverty-Negative attitudes and values toward work, family, and success that condemn the poor to low levels of accomplishment. The view that there is a culture of poverty is most commonly held by conservatives.
11v. Urban Underclass-the poorest of the poor in