Race and ethnicity & gender and Age - Essay Example

RACE AND ETHNI & GENDER AND AGE Chapter 9 The historic slavery and successive socio-economic and political discrimination towards the Black Americans is still haunting the country to date. Although there are several minority groups, the Black America are used as the epicenter of the problem. Despite significant increase in government efforts towards elimination of the hatred between the Black America minorities against the White, the spirit of discrimination is deep rooted and has been with successive generations.

Critical analysis of past literature on the demographic structure of the United States and the governments affirmative action policies indicates that Black American have progressively got attention (Paige & Witty,2010). The difference is that this debate has been politicized such that the republican claim that the attention is skewed and too much on the Black American minority especially during the Obama administration. In-depth assessment of the factors surrounding the action of government towards reduction of the socio-economic gap between the majority white and black America minority is still facing some challenges.

There are significant socio-economic reforms that the government has initiated including scholarship for education to the Black American minority, healthcare insurance cover and increased efforts towards absorption of the minority in government jobs. Other racial and ethnic minorities in the U.S., such as Latinos, Asian Americans, and Native Americas have been feeling overlooked. However, this is not true since the general term under which the government reforms towards poverty reduction and increased income distribution is the poor rather than Black America(Paige & Witty,2010).

Considering that most of the social challenges face Black American particularly crime, the public is made to see them as the more talked about minority community. It is therefore imperative that the government expand its social welfare agenda and cover all the economically disadvantaged regardless of their cultural identity provided all the minority groups are bonafide citizens of United states of America. It is therefore evident that the notion of too much attention to the Black America is a mere political tool to entrench the spirit of unfair income distribution.

Chapter 10The increasing social welfare reforms include healthcare insurance for the elderly. This is social security measure focused on prolonging life. The dilemma in which the society finds itself is regarding a decision on whether to eliminate retirement or raise the age of retirement. There is a complex concept in income distribution with particular emphasis on reconciling the extended retirement age and keeping the growing youth size employed. It is imperative that creative and critical approach is taken in regard to improving the overall welfare of the society (Binstock, et al.2006). The best approach is to keep retirement age average and not prolonged.

This means that the increasing young and energetic lot can join the workforce and their output appropriately apportioned to the older population. Considering the vulnerability of the society to several socio-economic crimes that are attached to unemployment especially among the young people, it is important that they are absorbed into employment. This can be achieved by measures like economic stimulus programme which will mean expanded government expenditure. It is worth to note that the cost of keeping the unemployed sustained with basic social needs would be high but the burden will be shouldered by the citizens on employment.

This will significantly expand income per capita size and help the country to fund healthcare insurance policy and sustain extended retirement age rather than eliminating it.ReferencesBinstock, R. H., George, L. K., Cutler, S. J., Hendricks, J., & Schulz, J. H. (2006). Handbook of aging and the social sciences. Amsterdam: Academic Press, an imprint of Elsevier.Paige, R., & Witty, E. P. (2010). The black-white achievement gap: Why closing it is the greatest civil rights issue of our time. New York, NY: AMACOM, American Management Association.