Ch. 11 Pressures of Time and Money
Possible Reasons for Decline in Civic Engagement
I. Time
A. people “feel busier” than they did a generation ago
1. increasing amounts of people report feeling rushed, working hard all the time, and staying late at work
2. However, Americans still work for the same average number of hours a week
B. Free-Time
1. time spent on non-work related tasks (housework, childcare) has been reduced
a. some say this means more free-time
2. some polls show that amount of free time has stayed constant at 19-20 hours per week
a. but, individual records and time diaries who that American have twice that amount
3. Distribution of free-time
a. lots of short moments in between a hectic schedule
b. older people forced to retire earlier – more free time
c. less-educated have gained free time, whereas college-educated have lost free-time
~main force in community engagement, middle-class, has lost free-time
d. because our schedules are more complicated, our free-time does not always correspond with others
~makes it difficult to participate in community
4. However, even though the middle class has less free-time, studies show that they are more active than other groups with more free-time
C. So, we can conclude that the lack of time does not explain civic disengagement
II. Money
A. Economic hard times cause lack of civic engagement
1. They cause our incomes to decrease, our debts to increase, and our jobs to become more demanding
a. this causes stress and financial worries to increase
2. Those with financial worry are less likely to be civically engaged
a. Studies show that all leisure activities except for TV-watching has declined for those who are worried about finances
B. Counter-arguments to this theory:
1. civic engagement began to decline before the economic problems of the 1970's and continued falling even during the economic booms of the mid-80s and late 90s
2. civic engagement has fallen in all income levels
C. Based on statistical analysis, although financial problems play a small role in the problem, they do not account for the dramatic decrease in civic engagement
III. Women Working
A. More women spend more time at work
1. less time spent on housework, childcare, and involvement with the community
2. women who work spend less time in community and more time for individual personal enjoyment
3. working outside the home gives more opportunity but less time for civic engagement
B. Full-time, Part-time, and homemakers
1. women who are employed full-time spend much less time involved in clubs
a. those who choose to work full-time are more involved in community affairs are move involved in the community than those who are forced to work out of necessity
2. greatest civic engagement is among women who choose to work part-time(even more than full-time homemakers)
C. Putnam believes that women working is not the main reason behind the decline in civic engagement, either
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:
1. What possible reasons could account for the fact that Americans belive their amount of free time has stayed constant at 19-20 hours per week for several decades, yet time diaries show that it has doubled?
2. Do you find that from your experience, whenever financial worry is high, civic engagement is lower?
3. Why would women who choose to work part-time spend the most time in civic affairs (even more so than full-time homemakers)?
I. Time
A. people “feel busier” than they did a generation ago
1. increasing amounts of people report feeling rushed, working hard all the time, and staying late at work
2. However, Americans still work for the same average number of hours a week
B. Free-Time
1. time spent on non-work related tasks (housework, childcare) has been reduced
a. some say this means more free-time
2. some polls show that amount of free time has stayed constant at 19-20 hours per week
a. but, individual records and time diaries who that American have twice that amount
3. Distribution of free-time
a. lots of short moments in between a hectic schedule
b. older people forced to retire earlier – more free time
c. less-educated have gained free time, whereas college-educated have lost free-time
~main force in community engagement, middle-class, has lost free-time
d. because our schedules are more complicated, our free-time does not always correspond with others
~makes it difficult to participate in community
4. However, even though the middle class has less free-time, studies show that they are more active than other groups with more free-time
C. So, we can conclude that the lack of time does not explain civic disengagement
II. Money
A. Economic hard times cause lack of civic engagement
1. They cause our incomes to decrease, our debts to increase, and our jobs to become more demanding
a. this causes stress and financial worries to increase
2. Those with financial worry are less likely to be civically engaged
a. Studies show that all leisure activities except for TV-watching has declined for those who are worried about finances
B. Counter-arguments to this theory:
1. civic engagement began to decline before the economic problems of the 1970's and continued falling even during the economic booms of the mid-80s and late 90s
2. civic engagement has fallen in all income levels
C. Based on statistical analysis, although financial problems play a small role in the problem, they do not account for the dramatic decrease in civic engagement
III. Women Working
A. More women spend more time at work
1. less time spent on housework, childcare, and involvement with the community
2. women who work spend less time in community and more time for individual personal enjoyment
3. working outside the home gives more opportunity but less time for civic engagement
B. Full-time, Part-time, and homemakers
1. women who are employed full-time spend much less time involved in clubs
a. those who choose to work full-time are more involved in community affairs are move involved in the community than those who are forced to work out of necessity
2. greatest civic engagement is among women who choose to work part-time(even more than full-time homemakers)
C. Putnam believes that women working is not the main reason behind the decline in civic engagement, either
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:
1. What possible reasons could account for the fact that Americans belive their amount of free time has stayed constant at 19-20 hours per week for several decades, yet time diaries show that it has doubled?
2. Do you find that from your experience, whenever financial worry is high, civic engagement is lower?
3. Why would women who choose to work part-time spend the most time in civic affairs (even more so than full-time homemakers)?
posted by Lauren Wendt at 2:55 PM
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