Deserving and the Underserving Poor SYG 2000 General Education Outcomes and Assessment Throughout US history, Americans have divided up the poor into two types:

the deserving and the underserving.

The deserving poor are people who are thought to be poor through no fault of their own.

For example, because the economy tanked in 2006, many people lost their jobs, homes, health care, and financial support and thus become poor. Many of these people who take advantage of government funded welfare programs are seen as the deserving poor.

The underserving poor are viewed as bringing poverty on themselves. They are considered freeloaders who waste their lives in laziness, alcohol, and drug abuse. They are seen as living an immoral life; wanting to party and engage in promiscuous sex than work hard, get an education and pull themselves up by their "bootstraps." This division of the poor into two categories underlies the heated debate about welfare. "Why should we use our hard earned money to help them? They are just going to waste it. Of course, there are others who want to get back on their feet, and helping them out is okay."

Please answer the following two questions.

Question on Human Diversity & Commonalities Sociologists use terms, such as ethnocentrism and cultural relativism, often to explain cultural differences between groups of people.

However, these terms can also be applied to understanding how people in our society view others, such as poor Americans. How might these two terms be applied to understand the welfare debate presented above?

Demonstrate an understanding of and appreciation for human diversities and commonalities Student's essay demonstrates an understanding of both ethnocentrism and cultural relativism and its relationship to poverty Student's essay addresses only one of the two terms and applies it to poverty Student's essay demonstrates a moderate & fair understanding of the sociological concepts Student's essay does not show an understanding of the sociological concepts No answer provided Question on Problem-Solving Sociologists tend to avoid blaming the victim when it comes to social problems. For example, we don't blame people for their poverty. Thus, we look to structural conditions as the cause of social problems, like poverty, racism and other systemic inequalities. Please explain 2 social structural conditions sociologists might look at to understand the cause of poverty and why do you think these conditions cause poverty?

Competency:- Apply problem solving skills or methods to make informed decisions in a variety of contexts Student's essay demonstrates an understanding of 2 potential sociological causes of poverty Student's essay demonstrates an understanding of only 1 sociological cause of poverty Student's essay demonstrates a moderate & fair understanding of the sociological causes of poverty Student's essay does not show an understanding of poverty.