Introduction to Sociology

Watch It

Watch this video to hear from Princeton sociologist Kathryn Edin as she describes her research on welfare programs in the United States. She explains that single parents experienced a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” set of choices under the governmental assistance program of the 1990s, since working meant they were given less aid. That changed in 1997 with the creation of TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) and the expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). These programs are designed to prioritize work, but there are still more people than ever living on less than $2 a day. Edin recommends raising the minimum wage and expanding EITC to include caretakers of children. The latter proposal would mean categorizing unpaid domestic work as qualifying labor for the purposes of such programs.
https://youtu.be/HycFaUbaoLM

Further Research: Stratified Monopoly

Figure 2. In Monopoly the game, unlike in real life, all players start on equal footing.

Many sociologists and economists have used the classic board game Monopoly to illustrate poverty, social mobility, and the principles of a market economy. The game, nearly a century old, was originally designed to show the benefits of a limited tax system as well as those of a monopoly, or owning all of a particular type of property, utility, or transportation system.

However, if we consider Monopoly as an example, we can see that several aspects of the game do not in fact translate to everyday life.

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  Each player begins at “GO” with the same amount of money and an opportunity to buy property as soon as one lands on it.
  
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  Each player “earns” the same amount of money when they pass “GO.”
  
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  Each player has the same likelihood of rolling the die, going to jail, and bailing themselves out.
  

When we consider players, who are unsuccessful at Monopoly, we often say they have had “bad luck.”
You can play your own game of stratified Monopoly following the rules found here.

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  What does Stratified Monopoly show us about wealth and poverty in the U.S.?
  
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  Which version of Monopoly is closer to reality in the U.S.?