Red Inequality In America
Everyone in America has the opportunity to succeed financially, however, this opportunity is not equal for everyone. One's social class, income, and education all factor into their opportunity to succeed. If you are on the lower end of the spectrum it may not just require a strong work ethic to succeed you may also need some sort of luck or talent in order to do so. Social class can help people get a head start to reaching financial success but it can also hold people back. It may affect the quality of education one receives which in turn may result in higher/lower income. Everyone has different obstacles to face in life but these obstacles are not impossible to overcome. Financial success would mean you are able to keep yourself and those dependent on you alive and secure, you can pay the bills, and have some degree of upward mobility. All Americans have
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the opportunity to do these things but it may be more difficult for some than it is for others.
Everyone in America has an opportunity to succeed financially but that opportunity is certainly not equal, that is an extremely qualified statement considering specific circumstances. In Source I, he emphasizes the fact that social class has a huge impact on everything else in people's lives. There is not as much social mobility in America as we would like to think, in Canada and much of Western Europe it is deemed easier to improve your living conditions. We lack social mobility because of the depth of poverty in our country. Children tend to follow the same educational path as their parents. Successful families will pass on their advantages, while poor families will continue to be trapped. Source I also states that the pay tilt in America is toward educated workers. Meaning people who do well in school and are good learners, will get well-paid jobs- become “high earners”. The children who show up prepared for their school days are more likely to succeed when learning. Upper-income families can invest more in their children's education. Families in poverty, however, cannot afford to spend as much, as they have bigger things to worry about like putting food on the table. The U.S. is less unionized than our peers leading to health issues like obesity and diabetes that may limit one's education/employment.
Nowadays the more education you get the better off you tend to be. The more money you have in general (social class) the more likely you will get a better education and get a better paying job. Kids in poverty may not be able to afford everything that others can which may taper their learning or how much of an education they receive. Your education most likely determines what job you get and what your income level will be. This affects people’s lives and the lives of their children. The poverty cycle tends to be a domino effect. but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible, hard work and determination or even a certain talent can get people far and even just being lucky can help people succeed.
One’s social class depends on how much money the individual makes.
Poverty the lower section of social class means you don’t make a sufficient amount of money, meaning you aren’t able to buy the necessities to be successful. If you are able to you are more likely to succeed. According to Source F, there are two types of inequality in social class that we have in America. But the one type we are most concerned with is called Red Inequality. Red Inequality is between those who have college degrees and those who do not. This affects the middle class, the average people in our society who make up the majority of our society as well. Statistics show that college graduates around the 1980s made about 40% more than those who did not go to college. Today that number has jumped up to 75% more. It also suggests that college grads have more benefits such as, being more likely to get married, less likely to get divorced, less likely to have a child out of wedlock, less likely to smoke, less likely to be obese, be more active in their communities, have more friendships, etc.. Which would also make them more likely to
succeed.
Source M shows the wealth distribution in America. It shows that about 85% of the wealth belongs to the top 20%. Ideally, that group would only obtain about 32% of the wealth and the lower two classes would obtain about 25% of the wealth. But in reality, the bottom two classes together obtain .3% of the wealth in America. There are ways we could improve the wealth distribution. Raising the minimum wage could help tremendously. Source E is a table that shows how much it would help to raise the minimum wage. If the Federal Minimum Wage was raised to $9.00 it would take an estimated 300,000 out of poverty and if it was raised to $10.10 then we could take an estimated 900,000 people out of poverty, giving them a bigger chance to financially succeed. The problem with this is that a lot of the upper class don’t think the wage gap and wealth distribution is this big. Source B is a political cartoon that shows a lot of the wealthy people don’t believe in the wage gap. This most likely because it is benefiting them. Yet they would the people that have the control over changing it, but why would they change something that they don’t have a problem with?
But even if People are born into the lowest social class and are in poverty doesn’t mean they can’t succeed. If they have a strong work ethic and are focused throughout school they can make it far on scholarships. Or even if an individual is gifted in some way whether it be in sports or within the arts that may also get them scholarships so they can go to college. Pure luck is another factor, you may just get lucky and win the lottery and have it turn your life completely around, have it get you back up on your feet.
Some may argue that people who are in poverty and don’t get a good education have no opportunity to succeed financially in America but that’s not true because of things like luck and talent. Some say that everyone has an equal opportunity especially compared to earlier times because most Americans have higher incomes than their parents, but this could be simply because the country has grown richer, there is inflation. Yes, everyone has an opportunity but this opportunity is certainly not equal.
America is thought to be a place with endless opportunities. Where people came to start over and improve their life in earlier times. It is still a place with lots of opportunities but these are not the same opportunities for all people, they have never been and I don’t think the opportunities will ever be fully equal.
the opportunity to do these things but it may be more difficult for some than it is for others.
Everyone in America has an opportunity to succeed financially but that opportunity is certainly not equal, that is an extremely qualified statement considering specific circumstances. In Source I, he emphasizes the fact that social class has a huge impact on everything else in people's lives. There is not as much social mobility in America as we would like to think, in Canada and much of Western Europe it is deemed easier to improve your living conditions. We lack social mobility because of the depth of poverty in our country. Children tend to follow the same educational path as their parents. Successful families will pass on their advantages, while poor families will continue to be trapped. Source I also states that the pay tilt in America is toward educated workers. Meaning people who do well in school and are good learners, will get well-paid jobs- become “high earners”. The children who show up prepared for their school days are more likely to succeed when learning. Upper-income families can invest more in their children's education. Families in poverty, however, cannot afford to spend as much, as they have bigger things to worry about like putting food on the table. The U.S. is less unionized than our peers leading to health issues like obesity and diabetes that may limit one's education/employment.
Nowadays the more education you get the better off you tend to be. The more money you have in general (social class) the more likely you will get a better education and get a better paying job. Kids in poverty may not be able to afford everything that others can which may taper their learning or how much of an education they receive. Your education most likely determines what job you get and what your income level will be. This affects people’s lives and the lives of their children. The poverty cycle tends to be a domino effect. but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible, hard work and determination or even a certain talent can get people far and even just being lucky can help people succeed.
One’s social class depends on how much money the individual makes.
Poverty the lower section of social class means you don’t make a sufficient amount of money, meaning you aren’t able to buy the necessities to be successful. If you are able to you are more likely to succeed. According to Source F, there are two types of inequality in social class that we have in America. But the one type we are most concerned with is called Red Inequality. Red Inequality is between those who have college degrees and those who do not. This affects the middle class, the average people in our society who make up the majority of our society as well. Statistics show that college graduates around the 1980s made about 40% more than those who did not go to college. Today that number has jumped up to 75% more. It also suggests that college grads have more benefits such as, being more likely to get married, less likely to get divorced, less likely to have a child out of wedlock, less likely to smoke, less likely to be obese, be more active in their communities, have more friendships, etc.. Which would also make them more likely to
succeed.
Source M shows the wealth distribution in America. It shows that about 85% of the wealth belongs to the top 20%. Ideally, that group would only obtain about 32% of the wealth and the lower two classes would obtain about 25% of the wealth. But in reality, the bottom two classes together obtain .3% of the wealth in America. There are ways we could improve the wealth distribution. Raising the minimum wage could help tremendously. Source E is a table that shows how much it would help to raise the minimum wage. If the Federal Minimum Wage was raised to $9.00 it would take an estimated 300,000 out of poverty and if it was raised to $10.10 then we could take an estimated 900,000 people out of poverty, giving them a bigger chance to financially succeed. The problem with this is that a lot of the upper class don’t think the wage gap and wealth distribution is this big. Source B is a political cartoon that shows a lot of the wealthy people don’t believe in the wage gap. This most likely because it is benefiting them. Yet they would the people that have the control over changing it, but why would they change something that they don’t have a problem with?
But even if People are born into the lowest social class and are in poverty doesn’t mean they can’t succeed. If they have a strong work ethic and are focused throughout school they can make it far on scholarships. Or even if an individual is gifted in some way whether it be in sports or within the arts that may also get them scholarships so they can go to college. Pure luck is another factor, you may just get lucky and win the lottery and have it turn your life completely around, have it get you back up on your feet.
Some may argue that people who are in poverty and don’t get a good education have no opportunity to succeed financially in America but that’s not true because of things like luck and talent. Some say that everyone has an equal opportunity especially compared to earlier times because most Americans have higher incomes than their parents, but this could be simply because the country has grown richer, there is inflation. Yes, everyone has an opportunity but this opportunity is certainly not equal.
America is thought to be a place with endless opportunities. Where people came to start over and improve their life in earlier times. It is still a place with lots of opportunities but these are not the same opportunities for all people, they have never been and I don’t think the opportunities will ever be fully equal.