...This article points out the disparity in wealth and inequality of incarceration between whites and blacks with similar family characteristics and education. It also points out that poor white kids are less likely to go to prison than rich black kids. I feel that the whites started out with an enormous advantage over blacks because whites had a longer history of prosperity so a large percentage of whites tend to get more of their family inheritances. For instance, assets like houses are passed down from parents, grandparents, great-grandparents and they appreciate throughout the year. The blacks on the other hand had generations of discrimination, mass incarceration, and voracious finance. This have prevented the blacks from succeeding and disallowed them from building wealth for themselves and their families. They are treated unfairly when dealing with police officers, in the court system, applying for a house loan of any sort and in workplaces. For example, a white man receives a job offer over a black man with more qualification and educational background....
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...A Sociological Perspective on Racism and Wealth Disparities Amongst African-Americans and Caucasians Introduction The consequence of racial discrimination has a clear relationship with wealth amongst racial groups. In the last 50 years, although the high school completion rate gap between blacks and whites has narrowed, blacks still only have one-tenth of the wealth of whites and according to Economic Policy Institute blacks make 17.5% less an hour than their white counterparts3. In light of these data, I will use quantitative and qualitative analysis to illustrate both the existence of racial inequality as it pertains to wealth and identify its origins within a sociological context. History of racism and wealth disparities To understand the...
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...Using named examples, examine the extent to which the development gap occurs within countries as well as globally. 1) Introduction The development gap refers to the financial and social disparity between the poorest and wealthiest in society. Where economic indicators are low, social indicators are often also low, whereas the wealthiest countries also enjoy better healthcare and education. This gap has been widening for decades and is at its widest today. The poor are not necessarily getting poorer; in fact nearly everybody has seen an improvement in quality of life over the last 20 years. The reason the gap is widening is because the richest are getting richer and having their quality of life improve at a far quicker rate. 2) Between countries Globally the development gap is obvious to see, with both social and economic indicators showing the biggest differences between poorer LEDC’s and wealthy MEDC’s. Haiti is an example of a country with a very low GDP (just 12 Million dollars in 2015), compared to the USA’s 13 Trillion dollars. This gap represents the largest differences between standards of living in the world and the problem is made worse by war, corruption and intense poverty in other parts of the world. Countries like the USA have a strong economy because they have power and influence in the WTO and IMF and have engaged in the neo colonisation of many parts of the world through free market economy expansion, tied aid and becoming a global cultural superpower...
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...countries, but this phenomenon is mainly widespread in developing countries. Even though, corruption is a worm within the body of society and cancer to economic and political development; but it can also be used as the cure for some people to sustain their life and maintain their economic advantages. The major coast of corruption is increasing poverty and social and economic disparity because some officials take the control of the country resources and exploit public instead of distributing on society and creating job opportunity to their people. Because of corruption, Child mortality and hunger endangered the life of millions. In Angola, 1 out of 5 children die before they reach their fifth birthday and more than half of population lives with $1.5 a day. Hence, corruptions create social class and widen the gap between wealthy and poor and it causes further problem. For instance, the corrupted people send their sons and daughters to the world best universities, and other cannot even support their children to complete primary education. So, not only in terms of finance, but corruption creates disparity in education and other aspects of life. Moreover, corruption distorted the economic growth in developing countries and decelerates the paces of reconstruction and rebuilding. It’s the main obstacle of investment and discourages business. Resource curse is another cost of corruption. Most of the developing countries have massive oil reserve and other natural resources, but that...
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...the wealthy and everybody else. From an investment standpoint it was further noted that the rich were really the only group that mattered, and that everybody else had very little impact in terms of involvement with investment capital. From an analytical standpoint, the spending habits and savings rates of the second group had little to no impact because all of the influential factors for the American economy were coming from the top. In other words, the wealthiest 1% of households earn as much each year as the bottom 60% put together. Furthermore in terms of wealth, the top 1% possessed as much wealth as the bottom 90%. Looking at the data over time, each year the top 1% gained a greater share of the nation’s wealth and it was the top 1% of the population that essentially became the function of the growth in future returns of investment productivity and results. The Citibank analytical team classified the wealth stratification in the United States as a “plutonomy”, defined as a state where “economic growth...
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...Disparity in our Schools If economics has taught us anything it is that throughout human history wealth is unusual and poverty is normal. This can be seen just by looking at the distribution of the world’s income; and yet because of the difference wealth makes on people’s lives it is still something that everyone strives to have. The reason everyone strives so hard to gain wealth is because of the fact that if you have money you can better your own and your family’s life. In many countries including here at home in the United States there is a growing gap between the wealthy and the poor and nowhere is this disparity seen more than in the quality of education received by wealthy and poor students. Not only is there a growing gap here in the United States between its own citizens, but there is a growing gap between wealthy and poor nations as well. The growing gap between the rich and the poor is only going to continue to expand as more and more technological advancements are made by wealthy countries. This means that crime rates are only going to increase along with these advancements. The disparity in education between wealthy and poor students is unbelievable. I have seen the difference in education first hand as I grew up which is why I have chosen to write about the inequality in the quality of education received between rich and poor children. When I was younger I went to an inner city school and compared to the school that I graduated from it was nothing. My...
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...Distribution of wealth has plagued the world since the conception of countries and nation-states. The world’s first cultural centers such as Mesopotamia and Greece harbored rancid poverty along with unbridled riches, and the effect was decidedly negative. The lack of a middle class bred resentment, and the accepted duality of the system made escaping the cycle of poverty a futile goal. In his piece, “The Singer Solution to World Poverty,” Singer challenges the world to attack this inequality, and compels the fortunate population to give away money usually spent on luxuries. Exorbitant displays of wealth have no place in an international climate where entire communities are unable to find nourishment, drinking water, and medical care, and...
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...Poverty; “the state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support; condition of being poor.” If I lived in poverty my life suffering couldn’t be cured by money. My personal sufferings were the cause of conflict, social, and environmental issues. Being in this cycle through life is not by choice but by somewhat by force. By being in poverty we are given less opportunities, education tools to achieve a higher status. The poverty class has a much larger gap than the upper class. Inequality exists in income, wealth, power and education. Education, one of the most powerful tools in America now-a-days, one of the only ways of being able to leave the cycle of poverty is becoming harder and harder for children in poverty to succeed and be able to leave this harsh cycle. Education is difficult for kids in poverty because of the limited amount of resources they are given. They also may be isolated because they might not be accepted by their peers because of the general stigma against families in poverty. Also because their parents may not have completed school and the children aren’t given very much or any support from their parents. Without education not only will it affect the poverty group it would also affect the country as a whole, the country will not be able to progress and this would just create an even greater poverty. Good education is the only means of breaking the cycle of poverty for poor children. However, when there is little access to good education...
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...Poverty Amidst Plenty “India happens to be a rich country inhabited by very poor people”- Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister For the past few decades, India has been categorized as a developing country. In spite of significant landmarks and rapid advancements in various sectors, India has failed to become a developed country. While the nation has been making headlines for economic boom, multitudes of billionaires, construction of skyscrapers, million dollar investments and achievements in technology; the death rates, malnutrition, illiteracy and poverty is multiplying manifold. India is a country which has prosperity on one side of the coin and poverty on the other. It is the stark impact of poverty that hinders the growth of the country. Gone are the days when India used to be a famine land and had to rely on the Americas for the supply of PL wheat. With the advent of the Green revolution, India, not only eliminated famine but also increased its food production and became self-sufficient in food grains. Operation Flood, initiated by National Dairy Development Board in 1970 introduced a National Milk Grid that was effective in reducing the poverty and famine levels. It has also made India the largest producer of milk and dairy products in the world. Agriculture has been the base of India’s economic development with its existence dating back to the Indus Valley Civilization. Today, India is one of the major agricultural economies in the world, in terms of area of cultivation...
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...distraction from which is actually important. Psychiatrist and Coppedge 2 neurologist, Peter Whybrow cautioned, “In an endless effort to acquire more, Americans have lost track of the original American dream founded in personal achievement. Instead of making Americans happy, the acquisition of consumer goods and pursuit of wealth have left many dissatisfied.” (Whybrow, 2) The author is reassuring that material implements do not make one happy, but in fact leaves emptiness. People have consistently been proven to get disinterested with apparatuses. Materialism never ends but only the desire to gain more, which causes poverty and failure. If people would plan ahead for the future it would cause buying things of significance rather than the newest thing just to boast. When trying to achieve one’s dreams frequently greed and selfishness get in the way of preventing the goal of being successful. Robert Atkinson, author and vice president of the Progressive Policy Institute...
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...friends with Alan Revor an artist who is in the process of painting a portrait of a beggar who turns out to be the millionaire Baron Haisberg. Erskine feels compassion for the beggar not knowing that he is a millionaire and shows his compassion for this beggar by given him his last soverign. The beggar aka Haisberg finds this deed so admirable that he gives him a gift of 10,000 pounds that he needs to marry Laura. During the Victorian era when this short story was written much focus was on the disparity between rich and poor partly caused by the industrial revolution. This short story deals with that issue in a somewhat lighter tone and centers on the materialistic impact on life. If you do not have success materially you will also fail in love or marriage as it seems to be required that you posses money in order to obtain marriage. However, in the end the theme of morality often seen in Victorian literature seems to show us that human values will overpower the strength of material wealth. The short story also deals with the proverb: ”You cannot judge a book by its cover” as Erskine is fooled by his intial meeting with the so-called beggar. As mentioned in the short summary, we have different protagonists Hughie Erskine and Alan Trevor are representatives of the middle class. The happiness of the two of them directly depend on goodwill of Hausberg, in Erskin’s case he receives a donation...
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...All over the world, disparities between the rich and poor, even in the wealthiest of nations is rising sharply. Fewer people are becoming increasingly “successful†and wealthy while a disproportionately larger population is also becoming even poorer. There are many issues involved when looking at poverty. It is not simply enough (or correct) to say that the poor are poor due to their own (or their government’s) bad governance and management. In fact, you could quite easily conclude that the poor are poor because the rich are rich and have the power to enforce trade agreements, which favor their interests more than the proper nations. This is a very serious problem in our society today. Poverty is everywhere and it needs to reduced so that our economy will be more stabilized and balanced that it has been. What does it mean to be poor? What does it mean to describe a nation as “developing� A lack of material wealth does not define one as deprived. A strong economy in a developed nation does not mean much when a significant percentage or a majority of the population is struggling to survive. Development usually implies an improvement in living standards such that a person has enough food, water, and clothing, a stable social environment, freedom, and basic rights to have a fair chance for a decent life. Is this actually progress? On the other hand, are we fooled into believing that it is? The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services placed the poverty level for a...
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...Name Course Tutor Date Ideas promoted by Robert Reich in the aftershock The book 'the next economy and America’s future' by Robert Reich is about the disparity in income levels in the Americans economy. The author is concerned about the increasing gap between the filthy rich Americans and the middle-class citizens who are the majority with the capacity to promote economic growth in the American economy. In his works, Reich expresses his sentiment over wealth concentration of the bigger part of the economy in a few hands. He argues that the disparity is the sole reason as to why the American economy is experiencing a recession and not the 1980 crisis. Statistics show that the period between 1930 and 1990 the total income was more distributed equally between the different classes of people. By then the top one percent richest people own below nineteen percent of the overall economy income. Since then the gap between the rich has continued to widen with the top one percent owning more than 23% of the total revenue. The great depression experienced between 1913 and 1928 saw a drastic increase in private credit and clash of the Dow Jones stock index. With time, the American experienced significant recession up to the period between 1947 and late 1970s when rage flattened. At that time for many Americans to survive they drew down savings, more women joined the workforce, and many people worked for long hours. Repair the broken bargain Robert Reich, therefore, recommends rectification...
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...Pwint Professor Prescott English 3 03 05 2013 The Capitalist Capitol versus Desolate District 12 Suzanne Collins’ 2008 book The Hunger Games is about a fictional country that has a reality entertainment show in which boys and girls, two from each of twelve districts, are forced to murder each other until only one is left. In 2012, director Gary Ross adapted Collins’ book into a film. On the surface, both the book and the film version of The Hunger Games seem to be just a form of entertainment. However, if one interprets the two analytically, they are criticizing the inequalities and power abuse in our own capitalist society. Capitalism creates wealth and power inequalities, often leading to the rich abusing the poor. In The Hunger Games, the rich entertain themselves with the blood battle of the poor. Though Ross conveys the inequalities and power abuse mentioned in the book, he also adapts some scenes to make this message easier for the audience to understand. While Collins heavily relies on detailed descriptions and Katniss’ narration to give the message that capitalism forms inequalities and power abuse, Ross uses more visual contrasts to make the film more appealing while portraying the same message. Inequalities in Panem can be vividly seen in the differences in food, clothing and housing between the rich Capitol and the desolate District 12 in both the book and the film. Collins use clear descriptions to portray these discrepancies in capitalism while Ross exposes...
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...Occupy Wall Street Movement Economic implication of Occupy Wall Street: After the sub-prime crisis began in 2007 end and its harsh realities began to come up on the face of financial services, firms such as Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse requested government bailouts which were financed by the taxpayers’ money. From this, outrage ensued and to retaliate, people began what is called the Occupy Wall Street movement, whose aim was to be able to stop the ruthless and selfish profit making mechanism of financial giants. For the same, a protest was held which showed that there is income inequality in the US and these companies as well as the government, while taking this step, has ignored the majority of the society and concentrated only on the affluent minority. In the on-going process, many means of showing ones dislike and anger have been used. For people, the story is about either the closing down of an important economic port to show ones dislike and also going and filling up of jails to going for peaceful agitation on the road. The impact would be on the economic front. Firstly, it has had its share of support from the President, who has assured that proper distribution of resources is done. The means of stopping a port in Portland and thus affecting the trade done from the areas of San Diego, Los Angeles and Oklahoma etc. have already disrupted the trade their and has caused a lot of revenue loss on that front. It has also putting pressure on the government to take corrective...
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