...market capitalism. The high rates of wealth inequality cause the growing financial crisis to persist, lower socio-economic mobility, increase national poverty, and have adverse effects on health and well being. There is no doubt that wealth inequality in America has been escalating quickly; the portion of total income earned by the top one percent has doubled since the beginning of the 1970’s. The wealthy are the main beneficiaries regarding income inequality. In the latest consensus of wealth distribution, the top one percent of Americans owned thirty five percent of the nations private wealth, and the top ten percent took home about fifty percent of all income in 2012. This figure is greater than the bottom 90 percent combined. The question commonly asked concerning this matter: How and why is this becoming so quickly unequal is to be examined. First, we must explain what is meant by the term “wealth.” Wealth is the collection of the assets people own. This includes homes, stocks, savings for pension, and bank accounts, minus all existing debts. The main issue regarding wealth inequality is income inequality. Income equality has grown increasingly in the past 30 years. The top one percent of the nation earns almost twenty five percent of the pre-tax income versus fewer than 10 percent from 1950 to 1975. The wealthiest one percent of households increased their net income by nearly 275 percent from the years 1980 to 2007. This increase trumps the forty percent gain for...
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...Child poverty is an extremely saddening issue, and I found the statistics given in our textbook as well as the websites to be utterly horrifying. I found it shocking how much childhood poverty is evident in the United States as compared to other countries. As one of the most powerful and wealthiest countries on earth, it would only make sense that we have some of the lowest poverty rates in the world; however, that is sadly not the case. Out of 35 countries surveyed by UNICEF, "The United States ranks 34th of the 35 countries surveyed, above only Romania and below virtually all of Europe plus Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan" (Fisher, 2013). The fact that the United States has such a high percentage of child poverty is abhorrent, to...
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...Introduction The number of children facing poverty in America continues to increase for the nation although the United States is one of the wealthiest countries in the world. Frequent discussions of children’s well-being in the U.S. refer to the recent expansion rate in poverty. For example, more than 1.1 million children made the 2009 and 2010 poverty population list; based on the American community survey (U.S. Census Bureau, 2009). This paper analyzes the current extent of poverty and its implications amongst children in the United States. It also analyzes the history, structure, health, strength of poverty, and critical shortcomings that theoretically covers the recognized deprivation of poverty. Therefore, the overall hypothesis for this article reveals the critical effects that poverty has on children and families living in a wealthy country. How is it that poverty continues to increase in such an upper class country? What is Poverty? Researchers and policy makers have endlessly debated the precise definition of poverty. The description of the distinguished word has two inexact concepts: absolute poverty and relative poverty. Absolute poverty insinuates a set of resources and individual must attain to reach some standard of living threshold. For monetary measures, objective income thresholds or poverty line deliberately mirrors the cost of food, housing, affordable healthcare, and other...
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...Child Poverty can be described as a infant whose parents make very little income, and barely have enough to survive our everyday necessities such as bills, food and shelter.The child then suffers from their parents not having much to provide, and this causes the infant to grow in a mental state of depression, which causes the child to lack development in school and struggle through out their life. People who are considered poor usually suffer from low paying jobs that pays less than 30,00 dollars per year (Poverty In United States) or having no job at all. Poverty has been in America for a long time now, and is increasingly growing due to losses of jobs in America. This is causing families to lose their homes and suffer from hard living conditions, such as living in the streets and shelters. In this essay I am going to explain how poverty affects the younger youth and their physical development....
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...Kavan Shah India Rising “We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery would have been made!” –Albert Einstein. India is one of the brightest countries in the world yet is disowned by western powers, America and England. The movie Slumdog Millionaire was directed and written by biased British people. They unfairly and incorrectly portrayed India to the world. Slumdog Millionaire is not an accurate depiction of modern India; it is instead a very innovative, politically stable, and one of the wealthiest countries in the world. Slumdog Millionaire exaggerated the flaws in India’s political system. The movie showed police brutality in the scene where Jamal was interrogated for cheating on the game show. However, that is a rare case and does not occur in most of India. The scene in which police officers watched the violence in the village is also not common in today’s India. In reality India has one of the bravest police forces in the world. When the terrorist attacks of 26/11 occurred, law enforcements agents fought the terrorists to protect the public even though they knew that they would probably die. Finally, India is the world’s largest democracy. Contrary to the opinions of many Western people and as depicted Slumdog Millionaire, corruption has significantly reduced in the government sector. India has a stable democracy and is a global stalwart. The movie showed that the police were bribed by Prem but in modern India...
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...Despite being one of the wealthiest nations, it is alarming the number of African-Americans who go hungry on a daily basis. According to Eric Mitchell, director of government relations at Bread for the World, African Americans suffer from some of the highest rates of hunger and poverty in the country as the lack of jobs that pay fair wages, prevents people of color from moving out of poverty and the recession. (“African-Americans Disproportionately,” 2015). There has been a sudden increase in unemployment and a shocking loss of income since the recession. A wide range of economic data taken before the recession shows that the result of the labor market for blacks was far worse than for whites. (“The State of Working Americans,” 2015). More specifically, research states that of the 104 U.S. counties with a majority black population, 92 percent of these counties also record high food insecurity rates. (Workneh, 2013) In 2013, the median income for African-Americans was $24,864, lower than for all Americans and poverty is the contributing factor that affects nearly three out of ten African-Americans or nearly twice the average rate for the general population. (“African-Americans Disproportionately,” 2015). The crisis is increased by the effects of mass incarceration as African-Americans form nearly half of the total prison population in the country. This makes it extremely difficult for one to provide for their families and many are denied access to programs such as SNAP (Supplemental...
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...inequality should have a clearer data or picture to explain the differences and can be also obtained by using those measures. The “Gini Coefficient” can measure income inequality. Gini Coefficient is the way to measure the distribution of nation residents’ income. Corrado Gini (Italian statistician and sociologist) is the person who developed and published it. The among values of distribution will be measured by Gini coefficient such as income levels. If everyone has the same income, it will be shown as Zero (perfect equality) in the Gini coefficient. Conversely, if Gini coefficient shows one mean that only got one person have the income, as know as perfect inequality. In the United States, there has been growing obviously for income inequality and the gap between rich and others. According to the report of Gini coefficient, united States have the high income inequality and continuously growing. Thus, I will take United States as an example to analyze the causes of income inequality, disadvantages of it and suggest on how to reduce income inequality or the way to overcome the problems of income inequality. Income inequality problem in America The OECD report shows that United States has the worst income inequality compare to any industrialized nation. Also,...
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...York who has experienced the effects of hunger first-hand, recently appeared alongside educational reformists and celebrities on Education Nation to tell his story. Poverty hit the Sutton family so harshly, that often Jahzaire was forced to go to school hungry. “I wasn’t able to focus on my schoolwork and that kind of affected my report card grades…it was very frustrating, because it’s all I could think of, food, when I went to school,” recounted Jahzaire (Strauss). Jahzaire is but one of many children who wind up going to school hungry, and it is negatively impacting their chances of success both in the classroom, and in the real world. In schools,...
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...Economy analyzes the distribution of wealth between the family and the structures of corporate power. The idea that the wealthy, usually become wealthier is stressed in this chapter. Most of the United States income is distributed to the wealthy; “The richest ten percent of all households own eighty percent of the financial wealth in America (1)”. Average families have most of their wealth invested in their homes. As for the wealthiest, most of their wealth is invested in the form of business equity, real estate, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and trusts. This chapter also stresses that wealth does not only create a higher standard of living, but that wealth influences political outcomes. The economic power of the United States is held in large corporations with single corporate owners. Chapter two expands on the information given in chapter one and expands on welfare and education. The main point of the chapter is poverty hurts kids. I will be expanding on the ideas in the two chapters to show that the gap between the wealthy and poverty is extreme and how it effects households, welfare, and education. Section 1.1 concentrates on who owns how much in America, showing the difference between the worker and owner income. “The rich are different from you and me (3)” said F Scott Fitzgerald. The richest ten percent of U.S households own eighty percent of the countries financial assets, such as cash, bank deposits, corporate stocks, and private or public bonds. It is beneficial to be wealthy...
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...comes down to the vast amount of natural resources in the country such as Iron ore a resource craved by many large manufacturing nations, furthering this Brazil has recently been able to capitalise on their offshore oil resources allow them to become self-sufficient for energy an area where they previously struggled and relied heavily on other nations. Gross National Income (GNI) refers to the level of economic activity produced in a country in any one year. Since 2007 Brazils GNI per capita (per person) has nearly doubled, from $6,100 in 2007 to $11,630 in 2012 with a yearly rise around currently around 5% very much likely to continue. (data from http://data.worldbank.org/country/brazil ) This increase in both GNI and GNI per capita shows Brazils continuing success and development. Brazil currently have a GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of $2.45 trillion meaning its ranked 6th in the world charts a massive growth of a once mass poverty stricken undeveloped country (data from http://www.statisticbrain.com/countries-with-the-highest-gdp/ ). The main cause of the GNI increased levels along with its vast levels of natural resources is the increase in industry within Brazil, with the newly discovered resources allowing new sectors and new jobs to be created allowing for more employment leading to higher employment levels. Brazil has areas of mass poverty especially in the capital of Rio de Janeiro however with it’s increased level of output and increase in finance, re-invested has...
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...Who have been the principal winners and losers from globalisation? Globalization affects everyone, whether intended, directly or otherwise; it has gradually increased its presence in our daily lives. In this essay, I will point out who are the ones benefited and the ones injured from it by breaking down the question in four broad aspects: economic, political, socio-cultural and environmental. Seemingly, I will analyse the causals for this particular outcomes and distributions that indicate that globalization is creating further divergence in our world increasingly fragmented and unequal. The globalization winners – predominantly developed countries, the top 1% wealthiest demographic segments, transnational companies (TNC’s), supranational organizations amongst others – deeply embedded in the neoliberal belief that markets are the answer to global growth through trade, fostered by incentives such as low tariffs and interest rates and minimal government intervention find themselves unattached to the markedly less benefited, the losers– developing countries, especially their poorest demographic segments, the low-skilled low-wage percentage of workforce, the unemployed, the minorities, women amongst others – who in turn find themselves trapped in this zero-sum cycle where one either leads globalization or follows it – at risk of falling behind – but not either. Globalization, as most concepts in IPE and other social sciences, is a highly contested concept and encompasses a wide...
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...relative economic standing when compared to other countries around the world. Several aspects make up what is a developing country. These types of countries usually have a relatively lower standard of living, lower economic growth, weak and sometimes corrupt governments, a wide gap between the wealthy and the poor, and a lower gross domestic product per capita. These developing economies can be found throughout the world, but are most common in Latin America, Africa, Asia, Russia and the South pacific. Most other regions are either developed economies, or are on their way to becoming one. This paper will analyze the country of Honduras. It will describe the reasons for it being a developing nation and the issues that cause or are caused by their poor economy. Background Honduras is considered part of Latin America, and more specifically Central America. Among the other six countries in Central America, Honduras ranks the 2nd poorest and has a GDp per capita of $4,700. Nicaragua is the poorest country in Central America and has a GDp per capita of $4,500, only $200 less per capita than Honduras. Apart from the fact that Honduras is a less developed country, it is known for its beautiful beaches and nice weather. It lies approximately 1000 miles southwest of Miami and its Northeastern coast is nearly surrounded by the Caribbean Sea. Inward from the coast, the country changes to have roughly 48,200 square miles of mountainous regions. Government Economic...
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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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...Assignment 2: Poverty and Pollution Charles A. Shipp Professor Stacy Truelove BUS 309 Mar. 3, 2012 Assignment 2: Poverty and Pollution In this case study Cubatão, a poor and developing region in Brazil, is described as a “valley of death” because of the high amounts of pollutants in the area. The local industry is of course the cause of these pollutants which are in turn causing many medical issues for their workforce and surrounding area. Few people are complaining though because the local industry is what is keeping them out of poverty and could not otherwise afford to move elsewhere. On the business side of things the plant was deliberately put in this area because of the fact that it is a poor and developing area. Businesses look at it from a dollar and cents view where it is cheaper and easier to operate in a poorer area rather than a developed area. This view point does not place all human beings on a level playing field it basically states that those who are from richer and more developed countries are valued more than those of whom live in not so fortunate countries. Businesses make the argument that polluting in a third world country is financially better to help keep costs down. The premise of this argument is that operating in a low income country means lower wages and little to no environmental controls that will be enforced. As a business model it makes perfect sense to take advantage of paying lower wages in order to produce your product as well as avoid...
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...Erin Masterson Mrs.Brewer Honors English 10 4 Freedoms Essay Decemberm 10, 2012 Freedom From Want On January 6, 1941 Franklin D. Roosevelt stated that there were 4 essential human freedoms. The third essential freedom was freedom from want. America, even today, still is not free from want. Thousands of Americans are starving, remain jobless, and even abandoned on the streets because they have no homes. We live in the world's wealthiest nation. Yet 14.5 percent of U.S. households—nearly 49 million Americans, including 16.2 million children—struggle to put food on the table. In the United States alone more than one in five children is at risk of hunger. 20 million students receive free or reduced lunch each day; however, less than half receive breakfast and only 10 percent have access to summer feeding programs. Although 81.3 percent of eligible infants are enrolled in WIC, the program reaches just 47.3 percent of eligible children ages 1 to 4. (Bread for the World) The unemployment rate in the United States decreased to 7.70 percent in November of 2012 from 7.90 percent in October of 2012 (Trading Economics ). In the past, from 1948 until 2012, the United States Unemployment Rate averaged 5.80 Percent reaching an all-time high of 10.80 percent in November of 1982 and a record low of 2.50 percent in May of 1953. In the United States, the unemployment rate measures the number of people actively looking for a job as a percentage of the labor force. Each year, more...
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