self-Perpetuating causes of the poverty gap in the U.S.
This paper considers the existence and the causes of the poverty gap in the U.S. And puts forward the hypothesis that it is a self-perpetuating problem. Issues considered include education, health and government policy. The bibliography cites 4 sources.
The Income Gap
There is a well-known saying: "The rich get richer and the poor get poorer." This appears to be true in the United States. In the "land of opportunity" the income gap is larger than any other industrialized nation (Stille), and its continued existence is a self-perpetuating, negative cycle.
The evidence for an increasing income gap is clear, whilst the richest 10$% of the U.S. have seen their income increase by 34% since 1989, the equivalent increase for the poorest 10% is only 1.3% (Stille). However, there is not total agreement regarding the manifestation and current trend of this poverty gap. In 1962, Michael Harrington wrote a book; the Other America, in which he told readers African-Americans that were working had an average income of only 58% of their white counterparts, furthermore that more than 50% where not working (cited in Michael). However, this was an improvement on the former years, as this was up by 17 points on the figures from two decades before. The gap was still large, but decreasing in its size (Michael).
With this rate of decrease it was projected that equality would be reached at some point after the year 2000 (Michael). The release of the U.S. census data that become available in 1999 also indicated a fall in the poverty gap; with the gained in total income being...
Income Gap Income disparity does not allow those living in poverty to climb out and join the middle class, and keeps the most wealth, power, and privilege in the hands of a select few. Topic Sentences to introduce references Census Income Data Worsening American Income Inequality: Is World Trade to Blame? Income and Wealth Inequality in the United States A Tool for Measuring Income Inequality The Two Nations This paper analyzes income levels in the United States. Specifically,
For instance we can take the examples of African-Americans, the events and issues show that some ethnic groups had to struggle hard to stay ahead in the social fabric of American society. Conclusion The living conditions of poor and middle segment of the society are main indicators of the health of economy and income distribution. While in developing nations the plight of the poor and even middle segments of society is
Wealth Inequality from a Macroeconomics PerspectiveIntroductionBoushey reports in Unbound that �the very richest households�the top 1 percent�save 51 percent of their income, while those in the bottom 20 percent save just 1 percent.�[footnoteRef:2] The income gap between the top 1 percent and the 99 percent in the US has only increased since the Great Financial Crisis of 2008, when the Federal Reserve responded to the bursting housing bubble with three
The income and wealth gap continues to grow at a faster and faster rate because there is ever more power to affect policy provided to those that have such substantial incomes. Education and Healthcare There are other less direct ways in which the income gap is self-perpetuating, as well, establishing a system that purports to be meritocratic -- based on merit, where everyone has an equal chance to succeed based on
Various factors are taken into consideration when calculating the income distribution, out of which the nominal income is most common. Aside form this, attention should be given to consumption levels of both subsidy products (food, clothing, housing) as well as to luxury products and services. In addition, several social and demographic criteria of the population must be considered, such as the level of education, housing facilities (personal property or rental),
Income Distribution Gap The global fiscal crisis will be borne by the millions of people who do not have a share in the benefits that were derived from the global economic expansions that occurred previously. Not only has the gap widened between low wage earners and high wage earners in nations across the globe, the world's income gap distribution has widened. Economists have long concluded that a limited degree of
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