I would like each class come up with a working definition of poverty. Using the groups experience and feelings while thinking about cultural aspects of poverty.

Take about 15 Minutes to do this and when the classes finish I will then ask that you fax the definition to me. Please choose one person to be the spokesperson for the group, I will be calling all the classes to explain their definition. Please use your critical thinking skills!

The book gives us 3 different definitions of the word poverty.

Absolute

Relative

Cultural

Absolute poverty is the governments way of determining if people are struggling or not.

The actual definition is: it establishes a fixed economic level below which people are considered poor, and this level does not necessarily change as society on the whole becomes more or less affluent.

People are poor relative to some standard, and that standard is partially shaped by the lifestyles of other citizens..

This is were people might not be "absolute" poor, but because we judge ourselves based off each other these are those who are considered to be poor.

The Cultural definition of poverty views poverty not only in terms of how many resources people have, but also in terms of why they have failed to achieve a higher economic level.

These are those we could say they have a case of "chronic poverty."

Intergenerational

This next slide is for the Continental United States and the data was found at:

http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/01poverty.htm

These are limits that the government has set up as qualifications and a baseline of where people need to be before they can get help.

Who sets these numbers? The bean counters in Washington DC. There is no consideration of what has happened to the individual. Perhaps the person has just gotten out of jail or a mill closed and they have been laid off?

The Elderly

Women

Central City and Rural Dwellers

The Disabled

The working poor

The Unemployed

The Homeless