9.3 贫穷
Section outline
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贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷
Objectives
::目标目标目标和目标目标目标目标目标Analyze the factors that contribute to poverty.
::分析造成贫困的因素。Describe the groups that are affected by poverty.
::描述受贫穷影响的群体。Describe the role government has taken to alleviate the effects of poverty in America.
::说明美国政府在减轻美国贫穷影响方面发挥的作用。Analyze the effects of poverty on a society?
::分析贫穷对社会的影响?
Universal Generalizations
::普遍化America is one of the richest countries in the world.
::美国是世界上最富有的国家之一。Characteristics like age, sex, race and ethnicity affect poverty.
::年龄、性别、种族和族裔等特征影响贫穷。The lives of wealthy Americans greatly differ from poor Americans.
::富裕美国人的生活与贫穷美国人的生活大不相同。Poor people in America have two great disadvantages health and length of life.
::美国的穷人在健康和寿命方面有两大劣势。
Guiding Questions
::问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问What factors are used to determine poverty in the United States?
::美国用哪些因素来确定贫困状况?What will most likely determine if someone will live in poverty?
::最有可能决定一个人是否会生活在贫困之中的是什么?How does the government try to reduce inequality in America?
::政府如何减少美国的不平等?How effective is government intervention in dealing with poverty?
::政府干预处理贫穷问题的效力如何?
Economic Inequality
::经济不平等refers to the extent of the economic difference between the rich and the poor. Because most societies are stratified, there will always be some people who are richer or poorer than others, but the key question is how much richer or poorer they are. When the gap between them is large, we say that much economic inequality exists; when the gap between them is small, we say that relatively little economic inequality exists.
::富人和穷人之间的经济差异程度是指富人和穷人之间的经济差异。 由于大多数社会是分层的,因此总会有一些比其他人更富或更穷的人,但关键问题是他们有多富或更穷。 当他们之间的差距很大时,我们说存在巨大的经济不平等;当他们之间的差距很小时,我们说经济不平等相对较少。The United States is one of the richest countries in the world. Still it has a very large degree of economic inequality. A common way to examine inequality is to rank the nation’s families by income from lowest to highest and then to divide this distribution into fifths . Thus, we have the poorest fifth of the nation’s families (or the 20% of families with the lowest family incomes), a second fifth with somewhat higher incomes, and so on until we reach the richest fifth of families, or the 20% with the highest incomes. We then can see what percentage each fifth has of the nation’s entire income. shows such a calculation for the United States. The poorest fifth enjoys only 3.4% of the nation’s income, while the richest fifth enjoys 50.3%. Another way of saying this is that the richest 20% of the population have as much income as the remaining 80% of the population.
::美国是世界上最富有的国家之一。 美国仍然是世界最富裕的国家之一。 其经济不平等程度仍然非常之大。 研究不平等的一个常见方法是将国家家庭从最低收入排到最高水平,然后将这一分配分成五分之一。 因此,我们有全国五分之一最穷的家庭(或家庭收入最低的20%的家庭 ) , 收入略高的五分之一,等等,直到我们达到最富有的五分之一家庭,或收入最高的20%家庭为止。 然后,我们可以看到五分之一家庭拥有国家全部收入的比例。 我们可以看到美国的这一计算结果。 最贫穷的五分之一家庭只拥有国家收入的3.4 % , 而最富有的五分之一家庭则拥有50.3%。 另一种说法是,最富有的20%人口的收入与其余的80%人口一样多。
Share of National Income Going to Income Fifths, 2009
::2009年国民收入在国民收入中所占份额
Source: Data from DeNavas-Walt, C., Proctor, B. D., & Smith, J. C. (2010). Income, poverty, and health insurance coverage in the United States: 2009 (Current Population Report P60-238). Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau.
::资料来源:DeNavas-Walt,C.,Proctor,B.D. & Smith,J.C.(2010年)。 美国的收入、贫穷和医疗保险覆盖率:2009年(目前人口报告P60-238)。 华盛顿特区:美国人口普查局。
This degree of inequality is the largest in the industrialized world. compares the inequality among several industrialized nations by dividing the median income of households in the 90th percentile (meaning they have more income than 90% of all households) by the median income of households in the 10th percentile (meaning they have more income than only 10% of all households); the higher the resulting ratio, the greater a nation’s inequality. The ratio for the United States, 4.86, far exceeds that for any other nation.
::这一不平等程度在工业化世界中是最大的。 相比之下,几个工业化国家之间的不平等程度是,将90百分位(即其收入超过所有家庭90%)家庭的中位收入除以10百分位(即其收入超过所有家庭10%)家庭的中位收入;由此得出的比率越高,一个国家的不平等程度就越大。 美国的4.86这一比率远远超过任何其他国家。Income Inequality Around the World
::世界各地的收入不平等
Ratio of median income of richest 10% in each nation to that of poorest 10%.
::每个国家收入中位数(最富有的10%)与收入中位数(最贫穷的10%)的比率。Source: Data from Mishel, L., Bernstein, J., & Shierholz, H. (2009). The state of working America 2008/2009. Ithaca, NY: ILR Press [An imprint of Cornell University Press].
::资料来源:Mishel、L.、Bernstein、J. & Shierholz、H.(2009年)的数据,《2008/2009年美国工作状况》,伊萨卡,纽约:ILR出版社[康奈尔大学出版社印记]。Poverty
::贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷贫穷Measuring Poverty
::衡量贫穷When U.S. officials became concerned about poverty during the 1960s, they quickly realized they needed to find out how much poverty we had. To do so, a measure of official poverty, or a , was needed. This line was first calculated in 1963 by multiplying the cost of a very minimal diet by three, as a 1955 government study had determined that the typical American family spent one-third of its income on food. Thus a family whose income is lower than three times the cost of a very minimal diet is considered officially poor.
::当美国官员在1960年代开始关注贫困问题时,他们很快就意识到他们需要了解我们有多少贫困。 要做到这一点,就需要一种官方的贫困或某种程度的贫困。 这条线最初是在1963年计算出来的,将极低的饮食成本乘以3,因为1955年的一项政府研究确定,典型的美国家庭将其收入的三分之一花在食品上。 因此,收入低于极低的饮食成本三倍的家庭被视为官方的贫困。This way of calculating the poverty line has not changed since 1963, even though many other things, such as energy, child care, and health care, now occupy a greater percentage of the typical family’s budget than was true in 1963. As a national measure, the poverty line also fails to take into account regional differences in the cost of living. For all of these reasons, many experts think the official measurement of poverty is highly suspect. As a recent report observed, “Most poverty analysts strongly believe that the official poverty statistics are inadequate to the task of determining who is poor in America” (Mishel, Bernstein, & Shierholz, 2009, p. 298). Mishel, L., Bernstein, J., & Shierholz, H. (2009). The state of working America 2008/2009 . Ithaca, NY: ILR Press [An imprint of Cornell University Press].
::自1963年以来,这种计算贫困线的方法没有改变,尽管能源、儿童保育和保健等许多其他事物目前占典型家庭预算的比例比1963年要高。 作为一项国家措施,贫困线也未能考虑到生活费方面的地区差异。 由于所有这些原因,许多专家认为官方衡量贫穷的方法非常可疑。 正如最近一份报告所指出的 , “ 多数贫穷分析家强烈认为官方贫穷统计数据不足以确定谁是美国穷人”(Mishel, Bernstein, & Shierholz, 2009, p.298)。 Mishel, L., Bernstein, J., & Shierholz, H.(2009年)。 2008/2009年美国工作状况。 Ithaca, NY: ILR Press [Cornell大学出版社印 。]The U.S. Census Bureau defines poverty in terms of the minimum annual income to by a family to survive. The minimum income is called poverty level. The poverty level is adjusted annually for inflation and takes into account the number of people in a family: the larger the family size, the higher the poverty line. In 2009, the poverty line for a nonfarming family of four (two adults, two children) was $21,756. A four-person family earning even one more dollar than $21,756 in 2009 was not officially poor, even though its “extra” income hardly lifted it out of dire economic straits. Policy experts have calculated a no-frills budget that enables a family to meet its basic needs in food, clothing, shelter, and so forth; this budget is about twice the poverty line.
::美国人口普查局从家庭最低年收入到维持生存的最低年收入来定义贫穷,最低收入称为贫困水平,贫穷水平每年根据通货膨胀进行调整,并考虑到家庭人口数量:家庭规模越大,贫困线越高。 2009年,一个4个非农户家庭(2个成年人,2个子女)的贫困线为21 756美元,一个四人家庭2009年的收入比21 756美元高出一美元,但这一家庭并不正式贫穷,尽管其“额外”收入几乎无法将家庭从严峻的经济困境中解放出来。 政策专家计算出一个无穷预算,使家庭能够满足其在食品、衣物、住房等方面的基本需要;这一预算大约是贫困线的两倍。Families with incomes between the poverty line and twice the poverty line are barely making ends meet, but they are not considered officially poor. When we talk here about the poverty level, keep in mind that we are talking only about official poverty and that there are many families and individuals living in near-poverty who have trouble meeting their basic needs, especially when they face unusually high medical or motor vehicle expenses or the like. For this reason, some analyses use “twice-poverty” data (i.e., family incomes below twice the poverty line) to provide a more accurate understanding of how many Americans face serious financial difficulties.
::生活在贫困线和贫困线两倍之间的收入家庭几乎无法维持生计,但并不被视为官方贫穷。 当我们在这里谈论贫困水平时,要记住,我们只是谈论官方贫困,而且许多生活在接近贫困状态的家庭和个人难以满足基本需要,特别是当他们面临异常高的医疗或机动车辆费用或类似费用时。 为此原因,一些分析使用了“双重贫困”数据(即低于贫困线两倍的家庭收入)来更准确地了解有多少美国人面临严重的财政困难。
POVERTY LEVEL BY FAMILY SIZE, 2007 Family Size Poverty Level 1 Person Under 65 years $10,787 65 years and over $9,944 2 Persons Households under 65 years $13,884 Households 65 years and older $12,533 3 Persons $16,218 4 Persons $21,386 5 Persons $25,791 6 Persons $29,664 7 Persons $34,132 8 Persons $38,174 9 Persons $45,921 Source U.S. Census Bureau
::资料来源:美国人口普查局
The Extent and Social Distribution of Poverty
::贫困的程度和社会分布How many Americans are poor, and who are they? The U.S. Census Bureau gives us some answers. In 2009, 14.3% of the U.S. population, or almost 44 million Americans, lived in (official) poverty (DeNavas-Walt, Proctor, & Smith, 2010). DeNavas-Walt, C., Proctor, B. D., & Smith, J. C. (2010). Income, poverty, and health insurance coverage in the United States: 2009 (Current Population Report P60-238). Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau. This percentage represented a decline from the early 1990s but was higher than the rate in the late 1960s. If we were winning the war on poverty in the 1960s, since then poverty has fought us to a standstill.
::美国人口普查局给出了一些答案。 2009年,14.3%的美国人口,即近4 400万美国人,生活在(官方)贫困中(DeNavas-Walt,Proctor, & Smith,2010年)。DeNavas-Walt,C.,Proctor,B.D. & Smith,J.C. (2010年)。美国的收入、贫困和医疗保险覆盖率:2009年(当前人口报告P60-238),华盛顿特区:美国人口普查局。这一比例比1990年代初有所下降,但高于1960年代后期的比率。 如果我们在1960年代战胜了贫困战争,那么自那时起贫困就使我们陷入了停滞。
U.S. Poverty, 1959–2009
::美国贫困,1959-2009年
Source: Data from U.S. Census Bureau. (2010). Historical poverty tables: People. Retrieved from .
::资料来源:美国人口普查局数据(2010年),历史贫困表:人口,检索自:
Another way of understanding the extent of poverty is to consider , defined by the Census Bureau as being poor for at least 2 consecutive months in some time period. From 2004 to 2007, the last years for which data are available, almost one-third of the U.S. public, equal to about 95 million people, were poor for at least 2 consecutive months, although only 2.2% were poor for all 3 years (DeNavas-Walt, Proctor, & Smith, 2010). DeNavas-Walt, C., Proctor, B. D., & Smith, J. C. (2010). Income, poverty, and health insurance coverage in the United States: 2009 (Current Population Report P60-238). Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau. As these figures indicate, people go into and out of poverty, but even those who go out of it do not usually move very far from it.
::另一种理解贫困程度的方法是考虑(普查局将贫困定义为在某个时期至少连续两个月的贫困),从2004年到2007年,在有数据可查的最后几年,几乎三分之一的美国公众(相当于约9 500万人)至少连续两个月贫困,尽管所有3年中只有2.2%的人贫困(DeNavas-Walt,Proctor, & Smith,2010年)。DeNavas-Walt,C.,Proctor,B.D., & Smith,J.C.,2010年。美国的收入、贫困和医疗保险覆盖率:2009年(当前人口报告P60-238),华盛顿特区:美国人口普查局。这些数字表明,人们进入和摆脱贫困,但即使走出贫困的人通常也不远离贫困。
Poverty Rates by Age: 1959 to 2010
While poverty rates among the elderly have fallen, an increasing number of children are living in poverty. (Graph courtesy of the U.S. Census Bureau,Current Population Survey, 1960 to 2011, Annual Social and Economic Supplements)
::虽然老年人的贫困率有所下降,但越来越多的儿童生活在贫困之中。 (1960年至2011年美国人口普查局《当前人口调查》年度《社会和经济补编》的提示)。
Who are the poor? Contrary to popular images, the most typical poor person in the United States is white : approximately 44% of poor people are white (non-Latino), 29% are Latino, 23% are black, and 4% are Asian (see ). At the same time, race and ethnicity affect the chances of being poor: while only 9.4% of non-Latino whites are poor, 25.8% of African Americans, 12.5% of Asians, and 25.3% of Latinos (who may be of any race) are poor (see ). Thus African Americans and Latinos are almost three times as likely as non-Latino whites to be poor.
::穷人是谁? 与流行形象相反,美国最典型的穷人是白人:大约44%的穷人是白人(非拉美人),29%是拉美人,23%是黑人,4%是亚洲人(见 ) 。 与此同时,种族和族裔影响着穷人的机会:只有9.4%的非拉丁美洲白人是穷人,25.8%的非裔美国人、12.5%的亚裔人和25.3%的拉美人(可能属于任何种族)是穷人(见 ) 。 因此,非裔美国人和拉美人几乎比非拉丁美洲白人贫穷的可能性高三倍。
Racial and Ethnic Composition of the Poor, 2009 (Percentage of Poor Persons in Each Group)
::2009年贫困人口的种族和族裔构成情况(各组贫困人口的百分比)
Source: Data from DeNavas-Walt, C., Proctor, B. D., & Smith, J. C. (2010). Income, poverty, and health insurance coverage in the United States: 2009 (Current Population Report P60-238). Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau.
::资料来源:DeNavas-Walt,C.,Proctor,B.D. & Smith,J.C.(2010年)。 美国的收入、贫穷和医疗保险覆盖率:2009年(目前人口报告P60-238)。 华盛顿特区:美国人口普查局。
Race, Ethnicity, and Poverty, 2009 (Percentage of Each Group That Is Poor)
::种族、种族、族裔和贫困,2009年(每个贫困群体的百分比)
Source: Data from U.S Census Bureau Current Population Survey. (2008). POV01: Age and sex of all people, family members and unrelated individuals iterated by income-to-poverty ratio and race. Retrieved from .
::资料来源:美国人口普查局当前人口调查(2008年)的数据。 POV01:按收入与贫穷比率和种族反复出现的所有人、家庭成员和无关个人的年龄和性别。
Turning to age, almost 21% of children under age 18 are poor (amounting to more than 15 million children), including 35.7% of African American children and 33.1% of Latino children (DeNavas-Walt, Proctor, & Smith, 2010). DeNavas-Walt, C., Proctor, B. D., & Smith, J. C. (2010). Income, poverty, and health insurance coverage in the United States: 2009 (Current Population Report P60-238). Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau.
::关于年龄问题,18岁以下儿童中几乎21%是穷人(超过1 500万儿童),包括35.7%的非裔美国人儿童和33.1%的拉美儿童(DeNavas-Walt,Proctor, & Smith,2010年)。 DeNavas-Walt,C.,Proctor,B.D., & Smith,J.C.(2010年)。 美国的收入、贫穷和医疗保险覆盖率:2009年(当前人口报告P60-238),华盛顿特区:美国人口普查局。The poverty rate for U.S. children is the highest in the Western world and 1.5 to 9 times greater than the corresponding rates in Canada and Western Europe (Mishel, Bernstein, & Shierholz, 2009). Mishel, L., Bernstein, J., & Shierholz, H. (2009). At the other end of the age distribution, 8.9% of people aged 65 or older are poor (amounting to about 3.4 million seniors). Turning around these U.S. figures, about 36% of all poor people in the United States are children, and about 8% of the poor are 65 or older. Thus some 44% of Americans living in poverty are children or the elderly.
::美国儿童的贫困率在西方世界中最高,比加拿大和西欧的相应贫困率高1.5至9倍(Mishel、Bernstein、Shierholz,2009年);Mishel、L、Bernstein、J、和Shierholz、H.(2009年);在年龄分布的另一端,65岁或65岁以上的人口中有8.9%为贫困人口(约340万老年人);围绕这些美国的数字,大约36%的美国穷人是儿童,约8%的穷人是65岁或65岁以上;因此,大约44%的美国人生活贫困是儿童或老人。
The type of family structure also makes a difference: whereas only 8.5% of children living with married parents live in poverty, 43% of those living with only their mother live in poverty (2007 data). This latter figure is about 32% for Asian children and for non-Latino white children and rises to slightly more than 50% for African American children and Latino children (Moore, Redd, Burkhauser, Mbawa, & Collins, 2009). Moore, K. A., Redd, Z., Burkhauser, M., Mbawa, K., & Collins, A. (2009). As these latter numbers indicate, families headed by a single woman are much more likely to be poor. Poverty thus has a female face.
::家庭结构类型也有不同:只有8.5%的已婚父母生活在贫困中,43%只有母亲生活的儿童生活在贫困中(2007年数据),亚洲儿童和非拉丁美洲白人儿童约为32%,非裔美洲儿童和拉丁美洲儿童略高于50%(Moore、Redd、Burkhauser、Mbawa和Collins,2009年),Moore、K.A.、Redd、Z.、Burkhauser、M.、Mbawa、K.和Collins,A.(2009年数据),如后一数字所示,由单身妇女为户主的家庭更可能贫穷,因此贫穷是女性的面孔。
The poverty rate for U.S. children is the highest in the Western world.
::美国儿童的贫困率是西方世界最高的。© Thinkstock
::智商
Explaining Poverty
::解释贫穷Explanations of poverty focus on problems either within the poor themselves or in the society in which they live (Iceland, 2006). Iceland, J. (2006). Poverty in America: A handbook . Berkeley: University of California Press. The first type of explanation follows logically from the functional theory of stratification and may be considered an “individual” explanation. The second type of explanation follows from conflict theory and is a structural explanation that focuses on problems in American society that produce poverty.
::贫穷的解释侧重于穷人本身或他们所生活的社会中的问题(冰岛,2006年),冰岛,J.(2006年),冰岛,J.(2006年),《美国的贫穷:手册》,伯克利:加利福尼亚大学出版社,第一种解释逻辑上来自分层功能理论,可被视为一种“个人”解释。 第二种解释来自冲突理论,是一种结构性解释,侧重于美国社会中产生贫穷的问题。According to the individual explanation, the poor have personal problems and deficiencies that are responsible for their poverty. In the past, the poor were thought to be biologically inferior, a view that has not entirely faded, but today the much more common belief is that they lack the ambition and motivation to work hard and to achieve. According to the World Values Survey, 60% of Americans believe that people are poor “because they are lazy and lack will power.” This percentage reflects the tendency of Americans to favor individual explanations of poverty (Davidson, 2009). Davidson, T. C. (2009). Attributions for poverty among college students: The impact of service-learning and religiosity. College Student Journal, 43 , 136–144.
::根据个人的解释,穷人的个人问题和缺陷是造成其贫困的原因。 过去,穷人被认为是生理上的劣势,这种观点并没有完全消失,但今天,更普遍的看法是,他们缺乏努力和成就的野心和动力。 根据《世界价值调查》,60%的美国人认为穷人“因为他们懒惰和缺乏意志力 ” 。 这一比例反映了美国人偏向于个人对贫困的解释(Davidson,2009年;Davidson, T.C. (2009) ) 。 大学生贫困的原因:服务学习和再生的影响。 《大学生学报》,43,136-144。A more sophisticated version of this type of explanation is called the culture of poverty theory (Banfield, 1974; O. Lewis, 1966). Banfield, E. C. (1974). The unheavenly city revisited . Boston, MA: Little, Brown; Lewis, O. (1966). The culture of poverty. Scientific American, 113 , 19–25. According to this theory, the poor generally have beliefs and values that differ from those of the nonpoor and that doom them to continued poverty. For example, they are said to be impulsive and to live for the present rather than the future. Critics say this view exaggerates the degree to which the poor and nonpoor do in fact hold different values and ignores discrimination and other problems in American society (Iceland, 2006). Iceland, J. (2006). Poverty in America: A handbook . Berkeley: University of California Press.
::这种解释的更精密版本被称为贫困理论文化(Banfield,1974年;O. Lewis,1966年)。 Banfield, E.C.(1974年)。这个不健康的城市重新审视了。波士顿,MA:Little, Brown;Lewis, O.(1966年)。贫困文化。科学的美国人,113,19-25。根据这一理论,穷人的信仰和价值观通常不同于非穷人的信仰和价值观,他们注定要继续贫困。例如,据说他们冲动,为现在而不是未来而生活。批评家说,这种观点夸大了穷人和非穷人实际上持有不同价值观的程度,忽视了美国社会中的歧视和其他问题(冰岛,2006年;冰岛,J.(2006年)。美国贫困:一本手册。伯克利:加利福尼亚大学出版社。According to the second, structural explanation, U.S. poverty stems from problems in American society that lead to lack of equal opportunity. These problems include (a) racial, ethnic, gender, and age discrimination; (b) lack of good schooling and adequate health care; and (c) structural changes in the American economic system, such as the departure of manufacturing companies from American cities in the 1980s and 1990s (Iceland, 2003). Iceland, J. (2003). Dynamics of economic well-being, 1996–1999 (Current Population Report P70–91). Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau. These problems help create a vicious cycle of poverty in which children of the poor are often fated to end up in poverty or near-poverty themselves as adults.
::根据第二个结构性解释,美国贫穷源于导致缺乏平等机会的美国社会问题,这些问题包括a) 种族、族裔、性别和年龄歧视;(b) 缺乏良好的教育和适当的保健;(c) 美国经济体系的结构性变化,如制造业公司在1980年代和1990年代离开美国城市(冰岛,2003年)冰岛,冰岛,J.(2003年),经济福祉动态,1996-1999年(当前人口报告,P70-91)。 华盛顿:美国人口普查局,这些问题造成了贫穷的恶性循环,穷人的孩子在这种恶性循环中往往注定要作为成年人陷入贫困或接近贫困。
The Effects of Poverty
::贫穷的影响However poverty is explained, it has important and enduring effects. For now, we can list some of the major consequences of poverty (and near-poverty) in the United States. As we do so, recall the sociological perspective’s emphasis on how our social backgrounds influence our attitudes, behaviors, and life chances. This influence on life chances is quite evident when we look at some of the effects of poverty (Moore, Redd, Burkhauser, Mbawa, & Collins, 2009; Iceland, 2006; D. Lindsey, 2009): Moore, K. A., Redd, Z., Burkhauser, M., Mbawa, K., & Collins, A. (2009). Children in poverty: Trends, consequences, and policy options . Washington, DC: Child Trends. Retrieved from ; Iceland, J. (2006). Poverty in America: A handbook . Berkeley: University of California Press; Lindsey, D. (2009). Child poverty and inequality: Securing a better future for America’s children . New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
::然而,尽管贫穷被解释,它却具有重要和持久的影响。目前,我们可以列举美国贫穷(和接近贫穷)的一些主要后果。正如我们所做的那样,我们记得社会学观点强调我们的社会背景如何影响我们的态度、行为和生活机会。 当我们审视贫穷的某些影响时,这种对生活机会的影响非常明显(Moore, Redd, Burkhauser, Mbawa, & Collins, 2009;冰岛, 2006;D. Lindsey, 2009;Moore, K. A., Redd, Z., Burkhauser, M., Mbawa, K. & Collins, A. (2009年)。贫困儿童:趋势、后果和政策选择。华盛顿:儿童趋势。从冰岛, J.(2006年);美国贫困:一本手册。伯克利:加利福尼亚大学出版社;Lindsey, D.(2009)。 儿童贫穷和不平等:确保美国儿童有一个更美好的未来。纽约:牛津大学出版社。
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The poor are at greater risk for family problems, including divorce and domestic violence. The stress of being poor is thought to be a major reason for these problems.
::穷人面对家庭问题,包括离婚和家庭暴力的风险更大,贫穷的压力被认为是造成这些问题的主要原因。 -
The poor are also at greater risk for health problems, including infant mortality, earlier mortality during adulthood, mental illness, and inadequate medical care. Many poor people lack health insurance. Poor children are more likely to have inadequate nutrition and to suffer health, behavioral, and cognitive problems. These problems in turn impair their ability to do well in school and land stable employment as adults, helping to ensure that poverty will persist across generations.
::许多穷人没有医疗保险,贫穷儿童更有可能营养不足,遭受健康、行为和认知问题,这些问题反过来又会损害他们作为成年人在学校和土地稳定就业的能力,有助于确保贫穷世代相传。 -
Poor children typically go to rundown schools with inadequate facilities where they receive inadequate schooling. They are much less likely than nonpoor children to graduate from high school or to go to college. Their lack of education in turn restricts them and their own children to poverty, once again helping to ensure a vicious cycle of continuing poverty across generations.
::贫困儿童通常去那些设施不足的破旧学校上学,得不到足够的教育,比非贫困儿童更不可能从中学毕业或上大学,他们缺乏教育反过来又使他们和他们自己的子女陷入贫困,再次帮助确保代代相传的持续贫困的恶性循环。 -
The poor are, not surprisingly, more likely to be homeless than the nonpoor but also more likely to live in dilapidated housing and unable to buy their own homes. Many poor families spend more than half their income on rent. The lack of adequate housing for the poor remains a major national problem.
::毫不奇怪,穷人比非穷人更有可能无家可归,但也更有可能生活在破旧的房屋中,无法购买自己的住房,许多贫穷家庭将一半以上的收入花在房租上,穷人缺乏适当住房仍然是国家的一个主要问题。
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The poor are at greater risk for family problems, including divorce and domestic violence. The stress of being poor is thought to be a major reason for these problems.
