The History of Inequality in the United States

Homelessness is one of the main problems plaguing the United States today, with low income earners at a higher risk of becoming homeless than previous years. There have been countless laws and ordinances put in place throughout the country in hopes of solving this growing problem but many of them have failed to address one of the main things causing this issue, economic inequality and the unequal distribution of wealth in the United States. Although there are many non-profit organizations working not only to get people off the streets, but to prevent them from becoming homeless in the first place, they are facing an uphill battle until the United States government addresses its country’s current unequal distribution of wealth. Throughout this essay I will be discussing the strategies multiple non-profit organizations, including the one I worked with last semester, are using in their battle to combat homelessness, the relationship between economic inequality and homelessness in the United States, and my experiences working with LifeMoves, formerly known as InnVision Shelter Network.

Income concentration in United States has changed along with the spending patterns of the individuals. This has induced and widened the pay gap between the wealthy and the middle class. One individual’s demand is now another’s necessity which is why the income ladder is hard to grab now. Although financial aid by the government does help the middle class students to acquire good quality education, but this is not enough as the wealthy can get what they want even if they possess lesser prospects.

Living in a peaceful world would mean that no one (and I mean NO ONE) would go hungry or be without basic medical care; denying individuals access to food, clean water and basic medical care is both in-humane as well as ignorant. The inhumanity of denying food to individuals who cannot by no fault of their own feed themselves when we have supermarkets, refrigerators, and pantries over flowing a bounty of food. Turning away from a person who is hungry, while the US as a nations spends more on its household pets than it does in donations to local food bangs demonstrates ignorance of our understanding that perhaps the stem of violence both here and overseas could be stymied if we’d only offered not only bags of rice but a safe place to grow

The United States is currently experiencing increased income inequality and a large gap between rich and poor that continues to grow. After the Wall Street meltdown in 2008 and the recession that followed, economic recovery has been extremely slow and the inequality of America’s income distribution seems to be intensifying. Since the recession, the top one percent of earners in the US has experienced notably higher percentages of income growth, while the incomes of the middle class have become frozen with little to no significant increases. This has led to a substantial concentration of wealth. Many Americans have become skeptical and concerned about the chance of upward mobility in such an unbalanced economy. Education inequality is

(1) The question of economic and social mobility is important to the question of inequality because less economic and social mobility is an indicator of inequality. Unequal access to resources for children in their formative years, affordable higher education, private business ownership, and inheritances all perpetuate weak economic and social mobility.

The study of inequality in America is vital to understanding the complicated political and social issues in America. Barrington, Illinois, my home town, is the picture of upper-middle class suburbia. It is a town with very little inequality, and very little diversity, but one which reveals some basic truths about inequality in America. One must first look at a snapshot of what Barrington socioeconomic structure is, then evaluate this structure through the theories of inequality. After these, and a quick evaluation of preconceived notions on Barrington’s inequality versus the real data, and a comparison of Barrington’s data to that of the United States as a whole, some conclusions can be drawn. These data reveal a strong correlation between Barrington’s lack of economic inequality, and lack of demographic and social diversity.

Social inequality exists in the United States through the Elite’s power to maintain their dominance in the United States capitalist system. The Elite Ruling class is made of the upper class and this class of individuals share similar ideology and are the members of the United State’s Superstructure. The Elite Ruling Class members of society are the decision and policy makers in the United States. Research and history has proven that many policies and decisions made by the Elite Ruling Class serve their own interest and promote their ideas. These decisions are the source of the inequality in the United States and it contributes to their ability to maintain their dominant status. The inequality is trickled down to the other classes through social policy and social institutions that affect our lives everyday citizens. A major example of this social inequality can be seen in the United States housing market or home ownership. A significant amount of studies, statics and data supports the evidence of social inequality within the US housing market or home ownership. The following passages will discuss social inequality in the United States as it is connected to Karl Marx’s theory of capitalism’s power and influence of the Elite Dominant i.e. the Ruling Class view as it relates to homeownership within the United States. Karl Marx’s theory however focuses mostly on economic s and the difference between upper and lower class not race. It is also important to point out that the Elite

Instead, it tacitly insists that inequality is the price we pay for growth. The fact is that almost all American adults need to work -- those with children, those without. Many work two jobs, with no hope for a raise or promotion of any kind, because employers are too greedy. Many are one illness, or car breakdown, away from homelessness. Poverty robs not only your pocket book but also your mind and your spirit. Poverty also keeps a person isolated and lonely and sometimes bored. Also we live in a society that requires money. Monetarily poor don't have money so add being on punishment to the list of ills a monetarily poor person suffers. Even working people with health insurance can be thrown into poverty. Health care costs, premiums, deductibles,

Why is it that American women get paid 77% less than the average male does? Is it because people in America are sexist? Or is it because American men feel that a woman made more than the men it would cause a shift or balance of power at home or in the economy in total. The structural function of today’s economy is becoming more and more diverse. More women are becoming better educated, which gets them a better paying job. But the dysfunction of today’s economy and social issues is everywhere no matter what job a female gets. If a man with the same qualifications as a female and they both were to get the same job. The man would get paid more, causing a conflict in the workspace between employees. If the country were to fix the situation between

Economic inequality still exists in America. Although, Martin Luther King, Jr fought to see the end of inequality in America, he spoke that his dreams became nightmares as he continued to visit cities with high rates of poverty. The data, seemingly, reveals the highest rates of poverty are in the southern States. “. . .California, Georgia, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and Florida had the largest poverty increases, with the 2013 poverty rates in these states more than 4 percentage points higher than in 2007. There was, worse yet, a concomitant increase in the depth of poverty: In 36 states, the gap between a poor family’s total income and the poverty threshold increased between 2007 and 2013, yet another indication of a growing economic vulnerability

The OECD says that since the mid- 1990s more than half of all jobs created in the member states has been in non-standard work. According to the members, households that depend on such work have higher poverty rate than other household and that this has led to greater inequality. In 34 states is says that 10% of the population earn 9.6 times the income of the poorest 10%. Some believe it’s because of the wide gap in education. It is happening in the most unequal countries, which leads to leads effective workforce. There is no difference in inequality but some studies showed that it slowed down during the financial crisis and now it is growing again.

Every individual in this world genuinely appreciates the value and privilege of any sort of monetary value. Although money has thoroughly revolutionized the world’s system of survival, it also seems to have brought about corruption to the minds of many. Despite the United States’ overall discouragement of its unpleasant history of various forms of discrimination (which have supposedly been fully eradicated), economic inequality remains prevalent throughout the country through conflicts between the rich and poor, carelessly handled morals, and the monetary pressures of modern day education.

I agree that America does deal with distinctions all over the country ranging from all including education, race, religion, and gender. America is the ‘Land of the free’. Every woman, man, a child has the human right to freedom from any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on gender, race, color, national or ethnic origin, language, religion, political or another opinion, age or any other status. Which has the purpose or effect or impairing the enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms it’s true that everyone in the community should understand many things. But not everyone would like to understand anything that deals with race, religion, gender and race, especially when it comes to race. I also agree when

Out of 164 countries the United States ranks as the 12th wealthiest country in the world. Despite being one of the wealthiest nations on earth, America has an immense amount of inequality. This inequality exists in income, wealth, power, and education. The United States is a country that often promotes the ideology that it was built for people coming from unestablished economies in need of equal rights as well as better jobs in order to support their families. The media often portrays this false illusion of this country being the land of equality and opportunity. Yet people are pulled into the country with a jaded understanding of the opportunities and restrictions that are actually prevalent. Moreover there is an abundance of natives who

Class is the relative location of a person or group within a larger society based on wealth power, prestige, or other valued resources. In other words, class can be defined as a socioeconomic status in which one’s capital defines their class position thus giving us a ranking of financial status. This categorization of class position is based on economic status that can be determined through income, profession, or inherited wealth. Blue collar (working class), white collar, and upper class (professional services) are the three class categories based on economic status. This class structure is society’s way of determining between the haves and have-nots. One’s ability to be aware of the class system and one’s place within it is known as class consciousness or class standing.