Chapter 1: A Changing America Copyright © 2011, 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Emilio Flores/CORBIS
Jan 18, 2015
Chapter 1:
A Changing
America
Copyright © 2011, 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Emilio Flores/CORBIS
The American People
– 2010: 310 million people– Baby-Boom Generation:
post WWII birthrate soared
– Birthrates falling but immigration increasing
– Population shifting from Frostbelt to Sunbelt
– Diverse Population
Copyright © 2011, 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Solus-Veer/Corbis
Copyright © 2011, 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
• U.S. is a multiracial and multiethnic society.
• Latinos are the fastest growing ethnic group.
• Immigrants constitute one eighth of the nation’s population.
Population Diversity
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
An Aging Population
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– U.S. population is aging• 2010: 40+ million people over age 65• Stress on U.S. financial solvency
– Medicare – Medicaid - Social Security
Judy Ben Joud/Shutterstock
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Geography
• US population has been shifting to the South and the West.
• We are moving from the Frost belt to the Sunbelt.
• Population shifts affect the political balance in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Income Distribution– Rising gap between
rich and poor– Important because
• a healthy democracy depends on the existence of a large middle class
Copyright © 2011, 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Damian Dovarganes/AP Photo
Copyright © 2011, 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Poverty
– Poverty Level Greater for:
1) Minority groups
2) Children
3) Families headed
by women
Rolf Haid/dpa /Landov
Poverty threshold: •2009 poverty threshold was $22,050 for a family of 4•14.3% of Americans live in poverty
The United States and the World
• U.S. is the foremost nation in the world– Militarily
– Economically
– Culturally
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Greg Baker/AP Photo
The U.S. Economy– Gross Domestic Product (GDP) = value of goods and
services produced by a nation annually– U.S. GDP in 2009 was $14 trillion– Largest in the world – High standard of living – Relatively strong– Outpaced rates of
growth in competitor economies in recent years
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The Global Economy• Domestic economy is affected by the global
economy:• NAFTA and WTO: trade agreements reduce
barriers to trade among countries of the world• High-technology industries require skilled
workers• Hurts nations with low-skilled, poorly
educated workers• Developed nations find low-skill jobs leaving
for those nations where wages are lower
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American Political Culture
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• Political Culture: the widely held, deeply rooted political values of a society
• Democracy: system of government in which ultimate political authority is vested in the people
• Capitalism: economic system characterized by individual and corporate ownership of the means of production; a market economy based on supply and demand