Causes and Conditions of Poverty and Economic Inequality in the US - Literature review Example

Causes and Conditions of Poverty and Economic Inequality in the US Amidst the glorious economic successes of the United States, the strong tendrils of poverty and inequalities have proved insurmountable obstacles to uproot from the American Society (Eitzen & Smith 23). In an attempt to understand the scope of these two thorny issues in American society, various scholars have since delved into their root causes as well as how they overlap (Collins & Yeskel 17). In the process of salvaging the causes of poverty and its conditions, many theories have emerged as attempted responses to the paradox of poverty as demonstrated in the reprinted work of Mills (13). This paper, therefore, presents a dissected approach to the various myths that different scholars have proposed and argued for to be the cause of poverty and inequality in the United States (Collins & Yeskel 41). In the dissection of the myths associated with poverty and inequality, these factors are given a contemporaneous approach to understanding the current state in comparison with the America in the 70s or 90s. A global phenomenon that cuts across racial difference is poverty. With the modern measures put in place to keep poverty at bay, an approximated number of about 15 percent of Americans still lavish in poverty (Iceland 42). The lowest rating of poverty level in U.S. have never gone below 11.1% which was recorded in 1973 and has kept its oscillation to the highest percentage standing at 15.2 percent as was recorded in 1983 (Mills 16). What then causes poverty to defy all the different measure placed to keep out of a record or at least keep it under check? According to Eitzen et al. (22) a mere rising of the question resurrects another thorny issue, inequality in the United States. Again what are the causes and conditions of state of inequality in the U.S? These questions raised against a nation that have since been seen as an epitome of success if not successes, creates a puzzle that scholars have since spent sleepless nights to solve (Collins & Yeskel 43). Different scholars have pointed to different factors that may in one way or another caused and continue to cause poverty, as well as the inequalities. Notably inequality, as will be also noted, has its strong bearing and maybe containment of poverty among many residents in the U.S. (Iceland 18). To begin with a considerable number of American people work at low-wage jobs that provide for the pittance for their only survival. Study conducted by Census Bureau as quoted by in the reprinted work of Mills (28) indicated that almost a third of American people- an approximate of 104 million people- receive an annual pay below twice the poverty line, that is less than $38000 for a family of three (Iceland, 2012). Eitzen et al. (25) and Collins together with his colleague Yeskel (24) in their work both observed in their study that there have been a dramatic rise in inequality especially at the top of pay scale while on the lower part of the scale, the pay stagnated or declined drastically. This stagnation at the lower scale of the income distribution led to enlarging wage inequality (Mills 34). This created inequality inhibited community growth, and it also reduced the possibilities of reducing poverty. Further inequality also weakened both civic and social life that once enabled a collective decision-making that in a way was important for the growth and flourishing of a healthy society (Iceland 53). Another aspect contributing to poverty prevalence in the US is the rampant family dissolution. This results in children being raised by the single parents or specifically by female headed families (Haymes 31). As demonstrated by the study done by Economic Policy Institute as quoted by Iceland (43) showed that poverty level among families headed by the single mother is above 40 percent. Initially these families could get assistance from welfares that set some cash to help these low-income mothers and children, but this has since died and it is no more thus leaving the affected families to wallow in poverty entirely (Haymes 24). Eitzen et al. (34) did observe that in the mid-90s, a considerable number (more than two-thirds) of the children from poor families received assistance from welfare such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. This somehow boosted the life of these families but for a short time since the welfare later started to dwindle (Mills 47). Further, the rampant family dissolution has also been pointed out by many scholars as one factor that keeps the poverty epidemic within family safety and thus crippling any attempt to eradicate it (Iceland 46). According to Collins and Yeskel (53) the high divorce rates, reduced marriage rates, the constantly growing no-marital birth rates have caused a doubled share to the children living in single mother households. In this regard, Mills (45) in the reprinted work added that poverty within a mother-headed family is almost five times greater that poverty in a married-couple families. Paradoxically, as we juggle the puzzle of the 99% of American living extremely below the poverty line, the other end of social spectrum is the 1% of the wealthy social group (Haymes 27). This wide and constantly widening economic gap have seen to it that poverty remained and always remains on its course (Mills 32). This gap has also been caused by the historical racial and gender discrimination that have seen America go through many historical epochs yet it remained untarnished (Collins & Yeskel 42). The minority who are said to be disproportionately poor are a composition of approximated percentage of 27 comprising of African-Americans, Latinos and American Indians (Haymes 21). This does not however indicate that the white population is all wealthy since a slight percentage of the white people are also living below poverty lines (Eitzen et al. 44). In this regard, Iceland (43) argued that this inequality could be viewed from three different perspectives, namely: inequality resulting from the exclusion from labor market (the stably employed workforce); inequalities generated from within labor markets (well-paid laborers and poorly paid laborers) and inequalities resulting from non-labor market income (the wealthy and non-wealthy class of people). Financial crises in an advanced economy results into adoption of financial liberalization and adjustment policies by the country grossly affected (Iceland 42). This subsequently causes adverse effects on the distribution of wealth and so is the income inequality. In other words, the financial crises cause adverse effects on the general economic growth and so worsen the income distribution (Collins & Yeskel 26). And this rising income inequality becomes a principal driver for the rise of a poverty level even in once stable economy (Haymes 14). After his official declaration of war on poverty in 1964, President Johnson as quoted by Iceland (43) stipulated appropriate measures that were to be taken to ensure the war against poverty is won. These measures included maintenance of high levels of employments, acceleration of economic growth, a fight against discrimination, improvement of labor markets, etc. (Haymes 11). As though he had prophesized about the future, the solution to the paradox of poverty is borne within the recognition of everybody’s importance in uplifting the economy of the United States (Collins & Yeskel 47). This provokes, therefore, an equal treatment of every local citizen in his/her contributory role in the economy. In a great share, marginalization that is but a form of unequally treatment of others because of their racial or color complexion also did contribute heavily to the poverty prevalence (Collins & Yeskel 49). In other words marginalization in the American contemporary economic society generated hugely by lack of proper employment opportunities for people from marginalized groups, resulted in those people living entirely in poverty (Iceland 31). This also contributed largely to creating the currently witnessed American economic inequality. According to Eitzen et al., (43), America has historically recorded a constantly growing social inequality. Reflecting on a study done in 2001 by Economic Policy Institute, Iceland (52) observed that the income of the largest part of the local American citizens that mark out 99 percent of the entire population have ever stagnated or drastically declined, whereas the income of the few top one percent has since soared. This unequal income distribution is also caused by the high unemployment rate that is witnessed mainly in the minority concentrated regions (Iceland 51). These two factors have a very influential contributory role in causing the constant or rising poverty rate. Interestingly, a way from blame the system theory to justify poverty, Haymes (28) while quoting from Richard Herrnstein and Charles Murray’ s work title The Bell Curve, argued that at times instead of blaming the cause of poverty in the cultural system or the few rich people., the poor themselves are also to blame for their situation. Herrnstein and Murray developed blame the victim theory in which they argued that the poor people have a deficit within them which is identified as a psychological disposition that somehow is closely connected to culture of the day (Haymes 14). According to this theory, the poor people have a certain pattern of cultural values which creates in them a difficulty in delaying gratification and planning the future (Haymes 16). In other words, their strong impulse for immediate pleasure denies them the ability to save for the future (Haymes 27). Iceland (31) affirms this assertion when he noted that poverty can be properly be explained as an existent outlook or a particular way of life which is practically present-oriented and so has no value attached to work, sacrifice, self-improvement or service to family, friends or community. According to Eitzen et al., (47) these dispositions may have their founding adaptation from the historical discriminatory acts that a particular community have undergone, and then they become much more internalized psychological dispositions in an individual. In agreement, Mills as presented in the reprinted copy (27) observed that people seldom grasp the connection between their patterns of living that the historical making in which they might have participated. Failure to note the interplay between man and society, of oneself and the world make not to be able to cope with their problem (i.e. Poverty) so as to control the structural transformation that lies behind them (Mills 37). Some scholars have also observed that expensive health provision and insurance have also contributed to widening the inequality gap as well as entrench poverty (Collins & Yeskel, 43). Due to the high cost of treatment owing largely to the costly new tests and drugs, defensive medicine practice by physician and inefficient systems, the poor people would not afford. As a consequence, therefore, they will deteriorate in health and their productivity (Eitzen et al. 39). References Collins, Chuck & Yeskel, Felice. “Economic Apartheid in America: A Primer on Economic Inequality & Insecurity.” (New York: New, 2000). 1-57. Eitzen, Stanley, D., Zinn, Baca, M. & Smith, Eitzen, Kelly, “Social Problems (12th Ed.).” (Boston: Ally & Bacon, 2012):10-96 Haymes, Maria, V. “Latino Poverty in the New Century: Inequalities, Challenges, and Barriers.” (New York: Haworth, 2000): 11-34 Iceland, John. “Poverty in America a Handbook. 2nd ed.” (Berkeley: University of California, 2006): 1-93. Mills, Wright C. “The Promise from the Sociological Imagination.” (Oxford University Press, Inc. 2000): 1-54. Read More