Deck 8: Economic Inequality and the Role of the State

Question 1

The U.S. economic system is a capitalist system, which means that businesses are for-profit entities. Over time, U.S. capitalism has experienced all of the following except:

A) industrialization
B) deindustrialization
C) service-based economy
D) classlessness

Answer 1

D

Question 2

This term refers to a person's assets, which includes savings, retirement accounts, and the equity in one's home. It is cumulative and passed down through generations.

A) income
B) wealth
C) life salary
D) investment

Answer 2

B

Question 3

The racial wage gap refers to the fact that

A) white workers earn more than non-white workers, for the same education, skills, and experience
B) the 2008 economic crisis has resulted in a renewed racial income gap
C) racial disparities are irrelevant to income
D) racial inequality is diminished in the economic sector

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Racial disparity in wealth accumulation is best described as:

A) cultural differences in financial habits
B) racial apathy
C) racial income gap
D) racial wealth gap

Question 5

Racial disparities in wealth accumulation are best explained by:

A) disparate employment opportunities
B) structural barriers to home ownership
C) state policies that constrain minorities from accumulating wealth
D) All of the above

Question 6

Unemployment rates are determined by data collected from unemployment offices. They show reports on how many people are actively searching for work and are unable to find it. These statistics are limited because they do not include:

A) discouraged workers
B) online workers
C) income earned in the underground economy
D) underage job seekers

Question 7

Sociologist William Wilson (2010) prefers using data on _________ instead of relying on official unemployment rates because it refers not only to those actively looking for work, but also those who have been marginalized from the labor force and are no longer actively looking for work.

A) poverty
B) underemployed
C) joblessness
D) crime rates

Question 8

The 2008 economic downturn is best described as a _______ for Americans of color.

A) recession
B) depression
C) housing boom
D) foreclosing

Question 9

During the 1970s, the U.S. went through an economic restructuring in which manufacturing jobs moved out of unionized states and into non-unionized states or to developing countries for cheaper labor. This process is called:

A) labor flight
B) deindustrialization
C) last hired phenomenon
D) postindustrialization

Question 10

Data shows that employers prefer white employees over workers from any other racial/ethnic group. In sociology, this can be described as:

A) statistical discrimination
B) employer bias
C) job market gap
D) last hired phenomenon

Question 11

The federal poverty threshold, also referred to as the poverty line, is determined by all factors EXCEPT:

A) household size
B) income
C) medical expenses
D) minimal food budget

Question 12

Poverty shows itself to be patterned, which means we can look to structural explanations to understand it. Common explanations for poverty often do not take into account the complexities of racial/ethnic disparities. Which of the following, amongst other factors, best explains poverty for urban blacks:

A) lack of motivation
B) lack of transportation
C) sense of entitlement
D) unemployment

Question 13

Sociologist William Julius Wilson (1987) coined the term _____________ to describe a phenomenon in which blue-collar manufacturing jobs, which require less education, move far away from the population of people limited to these skills.

A) urbanization
B) spatial dislocation thesis
C) supply-side economics
D) spatial mismatch thesis

Question 14

In the absence of urban manufacturing jobs, low wage service sector jobs have emerged to meet the needs of corporations. Low wage service jobs often face some of the lowest wages and poorest working conditions. People employed in these occupations are described as:

A) the working poor
B) the urban poor
C) statistical discrimination
D) the fast food poor

Question 15

One explanation for poverty is single-parent, female-headed households, also known as the feminization of poverty. Why is this argument for poverty incomplete?

A) The economy is set up for both single and double income families.
B) Marital status has no effect on poverty.
C) Some theorists argue that family structure is not crucial for understanding poverty and argue race, ethnicity, and previous income/wealth status must be taken into account.
D) Some theorists argue that single mothers do not report their entire income and therefore are not living in poverty in most cases.

Question 16

The existence of an underclass is a result of many factors, including:

A) chronic unemployment among urban blacks
B) the migration of middle-class and working-class blacks away from urban areas
C) deindustrialization
D) all of the above.

Question 17

When one compares the black middle class with the white middle class we see:

A) true equality
B) members of the black middle class are still economically more precarious
C) both struggle with proximity to poverty
D) both have very similar amounts of accumulated wealth

Question 18

Sociologists use this term to describe when whites object to or have a complete lack of feeling toward social policies and programs designed to address racial/ethnic inequalities:

A) color-blind theory
B) blaming welfare effect
C) reverse prejudice
D) racial apathy

Question 19

Sociologists Oliver and Shapiro (1995) use the term racialization of the state to explain how:

A) policies have interfered with the ability of black Americans to accumulate wealth
B) voter ballot discrimination
C) the underrepresentation of minorities in government leadership positions
D) resistance from grassroots organizations against state policies

Question 20

Before the establishment of the social welfare state, many Americans relied on what in times of need:

A) individual strength and talent
B) mutual aid societies
C) federal handouts
D) subprime loans

Question 21

This is a collection of programs designed to assure economic security to all citizens by guaranteeing the fundamental necessities of life: food, shelter, medical care, protection in childhood, and support in old age.

A) utopian society
B) welfare state
C) capitalist society
D) democratic state

Question 22

During the late nineteenth century in the U.S., a perceived increase in the birth rate of racial minority groups along with the declining birthrates of whites was a phenomenon referred to by many as:

A) race suicide
B) population control
C) race-baiting
D) reproductive imbalance

Question 23

Eugenics is a form of scientific racism that promotes genetic purity in a society. In the early decades of the twentieth century, a eugenics movement emerged in the U.S. using which of these tactics to achieve their goals?

A) refusing birth control to racial minority women.
B) refusing hysterectomies for lower class women in need.
C) increasing undesirable characteristics in people in order to make them weak.
D) forced sterilization laws on mentally incapacitated people and racial minority women.

Question 24

This is not a single policy but instead a collection of policies that are specifically designed to promote equal employment opportunities for women and racial minorities.

A) Social policy
B) New Deal
C) Affirmative action
D) Welfare

Question 25

This term refers to a racial management strategy whereby employers hire a racial minority group member because they believe members of that person's racial group will reward their business with their loyalty.

A) Racial realism
B) Racial abilities
C) Racial signaling
D) Racial empathy

Question 26

Which of the following is NOT one of the ways whites experience benefits in the labor market?

A) Opportunity hoarding
B) Social capital
C) Discrimination against racial minority applications
D) All of the above are ways whites benefit in the labor market

Question 27

The federal government controls Native American assets and wealth and decides what to do with them.

Question 28

Unemployment rates for white men and women are much higher than rates for blacks, Latinos and Native Americans.

Question 29

The U.S. poverty rate in 2014 was just under the highest it had been in 50 years, which was 15% in 2011.

Question 30

For racial minorities in the US, the 1980s was an era of rising educational attainment and rising poverty, simultaneously.

Question 31

The only U.S. policy that attempts to help the working poor is the Earned Income Tax Credit, which is a refundable federal income tax credit that only low to moderate income working individuals and families qualify for.

Question 32

The G.I. Bill is often described as America's first piece of "color-blind social legislation" because of its massive impact and effectiveness in ending racial inequality.

Question 33

The United States is the only industrialized nation in the world that does not offer health care to its citizens as a right.

Question 34

A sundown town is a community that is primarily composed of people of color and celebrates racial segregation as emancipation from white culture.

Question 35

By 1976, an estimated 24-42% of Native American women of childbearing age were sterilized, many without their knowledge.

Question 36

Reproductive policies like forced sterilization, which give us pause today, were perceived differently in other times and places. In the first half of the twentieth century in Sweden, for instance, they were considered progressive, as they were viewed as sparing people from a lifetime of institutionalization.

Question 37

Many scholars argue that the Puerto Rican debt crisis is the fault of the US, and particularly linked to development and modernization projects.

Question 38

Explain the difference between income and wealth. Define and describe both the racial wage gap and the racial wealth gap. Provide at least three examples of racial economic inequality, beyond the wage gap and the wealth gap.

Question 39

Describe racial differences in unemployment rates. How did the economic downturn in 2008 effect communities of color in the U.S.?

Question 40

Explain the relationship between poverty and race. How is poverty defined in the U.S.? How do sociologists explain U.S. poverty rates?

Question 41

Describe the black middle class. When and how did the black middle class emerge? Compare black middle class vulnerabilities to the white middle class.

Question 42

Describe the creation of the New Deal social policies and their role in the perpetuation of racial wealth disparities.

Question 43

Describe the creation of the G.I Bill and its role in the perpetuation of racial wealth disparities.

Question 44

Describe the health care and reproductive rights debates in regards to race in the U.S. Provide three examples of how minorities have been impacted by racial discrimination in these arenas.

Question 45

Describe the history, myths, and current status of affirmative action.

Question 46

Explain the ways whites are advantaged in the labor market by favoritism.

Question 47

What is racial realism? Describe the two ways racial realism manifests in the employment sector and give an example of each. How can these practices work to disadvantage racial/ethnic minority employees?