Deck 8: Class

Question 1

The top 20% of Americans takes in half of all personal income in the United States, while the lowest 20% of the population makes just _____ of all personal income.

A) 49.0%
B) 10.2%
C) 3.4%
D) 1.2%

Answer 1

3.4%

Question 2

The Gini-coefficient (also known as the Gini-index) is a commonly used measure of economic

A) forces.
B) GDP.
C) history.
D) inequality.

Answer 2

inequality.

Question 3

According to order theorists, _____ is central among the fundamental indicators of social class.

A) interaction
B) education
C) income
D) occupation

Answer 3

occupation

Question 4

An example of inequality in education is the fact that, regardless of the type of school district, children are given standardized tests that have a(n) _____-class bias.

A) upper
B) lower
C) middle
D) employer

Question 5

The media frequently portrays _____ as White, male, cultured, and physically attractive.

A) foreign villains
B) professionals and business leaders
C) manual workers
D) the bigoted and ignorant

Question 6

When it comes to wealth, the top 1% of Americans own _____ of the country's net worth.

A) 99%
B) 75%
C) 40%
D) 20%

Question 7

Jillian earned $10 per hour as gallery assistant. This money represents her

A) income.
B) wealth.
C) earning potential.
D) net worth.

Question 8

Like her mother and grandmother, Carole has worked at a local factory since graduating from high school. Carole most likely belongs to the _____ class.

A) lower-upper
B) lower-middle
C) upper-lower
D) lower-lower

Question 9

Social scientists Katherine S. Newman and Victor Tan Chen identified a group of Americans who are consistently overlooked by government policies. They call this group the near poor because these families

A) earn a middle-class income but can only afford homes in or adjacent to poor neighborhoods.
B) lost almost all of their inherited wealth during the 2007-2009 recession.
C) earn middle-class incomes but spend more than they make.
D) have earnings that put them above the poverty line but below the middle class.

Question 10

Conflict theory identifies social workers, educators, and psychologists as members of the _____ class.

A) ruling
B) professional-managerial
C) working
D) educated cultural

Question 11

In the conflict model of social class, the component of _____ is included, which order theorists tend to overlook.

A) power
B) occupation
C) income
D) education

Question 12

What percentage of students from the lowest income group in the United States enrolls in college?

A) 64%
B) 35%
C) 29%
D) 14%

Question 13

_____ is defined as a person's net worth (assets minus liabilities).

A) Income
B) Wealth
C) Earning potential
D) Value

Question 14

The Giving Pledge is a campaign founded by _____ to encourage billionaires to give back to society through charitable donations.

A) the Koch Brothers
B) Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffet
C) Donald Trump and Oprah Winfrey
D) Sam, Christy, and Alice Walton

Question 15

When a number of individuals occupy the same relative economic rank in the stratification system, they form a(n)

A) oligarchy.
B) hierarchy.
C) social class.
D) social caste.

Question 16

According to conflict theory, the _____ class does society's dirty work for low wages.

A) lower-lower
B) untouchables
C) poor
D) working

Question 17

According to the _____ view, a social class is not a cluster of similar occupations but, rather, a number of individuals who occupy a similar position within the social relations of economic production.

A) order
B) conflict
C) hierarchical
D) caste

Question 18

According to conflict theorists, the _____ class includes both white- and blue-collar workers in such places as factories, restaurants, offices, and stores.

A) working
B) upper-middle
C) professional-managerial
D) lower-middle

Question 19

Franklin is a member of the same exclusive country club to which his father and grandfather belonged. Franklin most likely belongs to the _____ or old money class.

A) upper-upper
B) lower-upper
C) upper-middle
D) lower-middle

Question 20

Which of the following is NOT one of the factors in U.S. society's ready-made, well-understood, relatively uniform ranking system of occupational prestige?

A) How well the job serves the people of the community
B) Dignity of the job
C) Financial rewards of the job
D) Degree of inherent authority and responsibility of the job

Question 21

The chapter uses the term wealthfare to mean

A) government money used by poor people to climb out of poverty and become wealthy.
B) government money and services that go to help the poor.
C) the receipt of financial aid and/or services from the government by people who are not poor.
D) the fact that government financial aid and/or services are wasted on the poor.

Question 22

About 20.4 million Americans are considered _____ because they are living at or below half of the poverty line.

A) lower-middle class
B) near poor
C) severely poor
D) lower-lower class

Question 23

Sales tax is considered _____ because it amounts to a larger proportion of a poor person's assets than a rich person's.

A) progressive
B) regressive
C) retrogressive
D) passive aggressive

Question 24

Demographics such as race, gender, age, and _____ are all factors affecting poverty.

A) ability
B) intelligence
C) caste
D) place

Question 25

Legal tax loopholes that permit certain individuals and corporations to pay lower taxes or no taxes at all are known as

A) social security.
B) tax-and-spend laws.
C) corporate welfare.
D) tax expenditures.

Question 26

When a family member moves up or down the social ladder compared to his or her parents, this is an example of _____ mobility.

A) vertical
B) horizontal
C) intergenerational
D) intragenerational

Question 27

Which of the following was NOT a finding by the Pew Charitable Trust regarding social mobility in the United States?

A) Americans born at the bottom and top of the income ladder are likely to remain there as adults.
B) Most Americans have higher family incomes than their parents did at the same age.
C) The classic rags-to-riches success story is more fact than fiction.
D) A four-year college degree promotes upward mobility from the bottom and prevents downward mobility from the middle.

Question 28

One common myth in America about the poor is that they get government handouts for things that the hard-working middle class has to earn, although these subsidies are

A) much less than the affluent receive from the government.
B) paid for by charitable programs, not the government.
C) available to middle-class people if they know how to find them.
D) enough to move poor families into the middle class.

Question 29

The _____, which is based on the minimal amount of money required for a subsistence level of life, was first set by the Social Security Administration in the 1960s.

A) supplemental poverty level
B) official poverty line
C) intergenerational mobility standard
D) Giving Pledge

Question 30

The term endogamy refers to

A) marriage outside of one's status group as required by custom or law.
B) marriage within one's status group as required by custom or law.
C) movement by an individual from one social class or status group to another.
D) restriction of movement by an individual from one social class or status group to another.

Question 31

In college, Jack had a part-time job at an engineering company. When he graduated, he was promoted to a higher ranking full-time job. This is called _____ mobility.

A) vertical
B) horizontal
C) intergenerational
D) intragenerational

Question 32

_____ refers to an individual's movement within the class structure of society.

A) Social mobility
B) Social class
C) Class mobility
D) Class motility

Question 33

In terms of income, African Americans are more likely to be stuck in the bottom _____ than White Americans.

A) 75%
B) 50%
C) 25%
D) 20%

Question 34

Martha came from a poor family, but as a entrepreneur she earned a great deal of money over the course of her life. In the United States, this kind of _____ mobility can change a person's social class considerably.

A) vertical
B) horizontal
C) intergenerational
D) intragenerational

Question 35

While the American class system allows for great mobility, other societies try to keep people in specific social classes for their entire lives. For instance, the _____ system of India determines social status by birth.

A) caste
B) social mobility
C) class
D) intergenerational

Question 36

Female householders with no husband present have a poverty rate of _____, while the rate of male householders with no wife present is 16.4%.

A) 11.89%
B) 13.60%
C) 30.90%
D) 64.20%

Question 37

According to Holzer and colleagues, the economic cost of poverty to the U.S. economy amounts to around _____ per year.

A) $500 million
B) $250 billion
C) $500 billion
D) $ 3 trillion

Question 38

In 2012, a full-time worker earning the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, and who was married with one child, was

A) earning a middle-class income.
B) living below the poverty line.
C) twice as likely to go back to school as someone earning $2.15 more.
D) likely to have a good benefits package, with health care and retirement.

Question 39

Francine left her position as an attorney to become a college professor. This change in position to another of approximately equal prestige is known as _____ mobility.

A) vertical
B) horizontal
C) intergenerational
D) intragenerational

Question 40

In the classic rags-to-riches success story, the hero goes from poverty to wealth. In real life, _____ of Americans born into the bottom income quintile move to the top as adults.

A) 4%
B) 12%
C) 36%
D) 48%

Question 41

A consistent research finding is that health is greatly influenced by _____, with the affluent living longer than the poor.

A) ethnicity
B) education
C) race
D) social class

Question 42

Very wealthy people living in gated communities and sending their children to exclusive schools are examples of _____, which the less-than-rich but still affluent attempt to emulate.

A) an informal caste system
B) social separation
C) class warfare
D) segregation

Question 43

The likelihood of a marital breakup increases the most in which situation?

A) When the husband works two jobs
B) When the wife is working
C) When neither spouse is working
D) When the husband is not working

Question 44

_____ people are more likely to be arrested, to be found guilty, and to serve longer sentences for a given violation than are people in the _____.

A) Middle-class; upper class
B) Low-income; middle and upper class
C) Middle-class; lower income class
D) Upper-class; ower income classes

Question 45

Research relating socioeconomic status to family discord and marital disruption has found that the lower the status, the

A) lower the rate of divorce or desertion.
B) greater the rate of divorce or desertion.
C) greater the number of children in a two-parent household.
D) lower the number of children in a two-parent household.

Question 46

The military offers a job and stability for young people who find little or no opportunity in the job market. The downside is that

A) they find more opportunity once they leave the military.
B) they are more likely to become officers.
C) less-educated people are selected for noncombat positions, reducing their combat pay.
D) the chances of getting killed while in the service is greater for less educated people.

Question 47

The _____ have better access to and make better use of the health care system.

A) privileged
B) severely poor
C) working poor
D) near poor

Question 48

With the concentration of more affluent people into walled and gated communities, there is an ever increasing concentration of _____ in segregated and deteriorating neighborhoods.

A) the poor
B) the middle class
C) the lower-middle class
D) small-business owners

Question 49

Because of _____, most citizens think poor people who break the law should be dealt with harshly.

A) previous history
B) mandatory sentencing laws
C) class bias
D) persistent poverty

Question 50

When the United States goes to war, who is most likely to die in combat?

A) Poor and less educated
B) Poor and more educated
C) Middle-class soldier with two years of college
D) Middle-class soldier with ROTC training