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In 1988, [[Erol Ricketts]] and [[Isabel Sawhill]] proposed a conceptual definition of the underclass and then produced some of the first empirical estimates of the size of the underclass using available [[census|census data]]. A number of journalists, such as [[Ken Auletta]] and [[Leon Dash]], who had written about the underclass emphasized that it was not just about low [[income]], but also about [[destructive behavior|destructive]] or [[anti-social behavior]]s. When Ricketts and Sawhill considered which behaviors to focus on they chose four. To have a shot at the [[American dream]], they argued, you needed to stay in school at least through high school; you needed to not [[illegitimacy|have a baby before you were married]] or prepared to [[support a child]]; you needed to work or [[job hunting|actively seek work]]; and you needed to be law-abiding. This is what most Americans expect other Americans to do. If you are poor, despite doing all of these things, then you are not part of the underclass and have a reasonable chance of making it, especially if provided with an appropriate set of social supports. But if you fail to behave in accordance with this set of [[norm|societal norms]], you are less deserving of social assistance and could be considered part of the underclass. [http://www.brookings.edu/papers/2006/01poverty_jargowsky.aspx]

In 1988, [[Erol Ricketts]] and [[Isabel Sawhill]] proposed a conceptual definition of the underclass and then produced some of the first empirical estimates of the size of the underclass using available [[census|census data]]. A number of journalists, such as [[Ken Auletta]] and [[Leon Dash]], who had written about the underclass emphasized that it was not just about low [[income]], but also about [[destructive behavior|destructive]] or [[anti-social behavior]]s. When Ricketts and Sawhill considered which behaviors to focus on they chose four. To have a shot at the [[American dream]], they argued, you needed to stay in school at least through high school; you needed to not [[illegitimacy|have a baby before you were married]] or prepared to [[support a child]]; you needed to work or [[job hunting|actively seek work]]; and you needed to be law-abiding. This is what most Americans expect other Americans to do. If you are poor, despite doing all of these things, then you are not part of the underclass and have a reasonable chance of making it, especially if provided with an appropriate set of social supports. But if you fail to behave in accordance with this set of [[norm|societal norms]], you are less deserving of social assistance and could be considered part of the underclass. [http://www.brookings.edu/papers/2006/01poverty_jargowsky.aspx]

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