Question

CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING PROPOSITION:

"The way income and wealth inequality (stratification) has changed over the past decades in the United States today is beneficial for our individual citizens as well as serving the greater good of our American Society."

You must answer all three questions:

1.     Describe your position regarding the statement above.

2.     Present specific data from chapter 8 or articles that you believe support your conclusions.

3.     If you were "in charge" of this country how would you re-design the effort/reward system so that children of the Upper, Middle, Working and Lower Class families all had equal chances to participate in the socio-economic competition for success??

I need help with these questions, thank you!!

***HERE IS INFO THAT SHOULD HELP ANSWER THE QUESTIONS***

November 2, 2013, New York Times

By Mark Rank

Few topics in American society have more myths and stereotypes surrounding them than poverty, misconceptions that distort both our politics and our domestic policy making.

They include the notion that poverty affects a relatively small number of Americans, that the poor are impoverished for years at a time, that most of those in poverty live in inner cities, that too much welfare assistance is provided and that poverty is ultimately a result of not working hard enough. Although pervasive, each assumption is flat-out wrong.

Contrary to popular belief, the percentage of the population that directly encounters poverty is exceedingly high. My research indicates that nearly 40 percent of Americans between the ages of 25 and 60 will experience at least one year below the official poverty line during that period ($23,492 for a family of four), and 54 percent will spend a year in poverty or near poverty (below 150 percent of the poverty line).

Even more astounding, if we add in related conditions like welfare use, near-poverty and unemployment, four out of five Americans will encounter one or more of these events.

In addition, half of all American children will at some point during their childhood reside in a household that uses food stamps for a period of time.

Put simply, poverty is a mainstream event experienced by a majority of Americans. For most of us, the question is not whether we will experience poverty, but when.

But while poverty strikes a majority of the population, the average time most people spend in poverty is relatively short. The standard image of the poor has been that of an entrenched underclass, impoverished for years at a time. While this captures a small and important slice of poverty, it is also a highly misleading picture of its more widespread and dynamic nature.

The typical pattern is for an individual to experience poverty for a year or two, get above the poverty line for an extended period of time, and then perhaps encounter another spell at some later point. Events like losing a job, having work hours cut back, experiencing a family split or developing a serious medical problem all have the potential to throw households into poverty.

Just as poverty is widely dispersed with respect to time, it is also widely dispersed with respect to place. Only approximately 10 percent of those in poverty live in extremely poor urban neighborhoods. Households in poverty can be found throughout a variety of urban and suburban landscapes, as well as in small towns and communities across rural America. This dispersion of poverty has been increasing over the past 20 years, particularly within suburban areas.

Along with the image of inner-city poverty, there is also a widespread perception that most individuals in poverty are nonwhite. This is another myth: According to the latest Census Bureau numbers, two-thirds of those below the poverty line identified themselves as white — a number that has held rather steady over the past several decades.

What about the generous assistance we provide to the poor? Contrary to political rhetoric, the American social safety net is extremely weak and filled with gaping holes. Furthermore, it has become even weaker over the past 40 years because of various welfare reform and budget cutting measures.

We currently expend among the fewest resources within the industrialized countries in terms of pulling families out of poverty and protecting them from falling into it. And the United States is one of the few developed nations that does not provide universal health care, affordable child care, or reasonably priced low-income housing. As a result, our poverty rate is approximately twice the European average.

Whether we examine childhood poverty, poverty among working-age adults, poverty within single-parent families or overall rates of poverty, the story is much the same — the United States has exceedingly high levels of impoverishment. The many who find themselves in poverty are often shocked at how little assistance the government actually provides to help them through tough times.

Finally, the common explanation for poverty has emphasized a lack of motivation, the failure to work hard enough and poor decision making in life.

Yet my research and that of others has consistently found that the behaviors and attitudes of those in poverty basically mirror those of mainstream America. Likewise, a vast majority of the poor have worked extensively and will do so again. Poverty is ultimately a result of failings at economic and political levels rather than individual shortcomings.

The solutions to poverty are to be found in what is important for the health of any family — having a job that pays a decent wage, having the support of good health and child care and having access to a first-rate education. Yet these policies will become a reality only when we begin to truly understand that poverty is an issue of us, rather than an issue of them.

Mark R. Rank is a professor (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. of social welfare at Washington University and a co-author of the forthcoming book “Chasing the American Dream: Understanding What Shapes our Fortunes.”

One factor to look at is the safety net for the middle class and the poor, such as health care, Medicare and social security. Remember Medicare and Social Security aren’t entitlements per se because people who currently receive them paid in all their working lives to support others.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-healthcare-obamacare/trump-administration-cuts-grants-to-help-people-get-obamacare-idUSKBN1K102W (Link to an external site.)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2018/06/19/house-gop-plan-would-cut-medicare-social-security-to-balance-budget/?utm_term=.9484bf91ab17 (Link to an external site.)

Another thing to look at is what corporations do for employees such as pensions.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/get-there/wp/2014/09/05/nearly-a-quarter-of-fortune-500-companies-still-offer-pensions-to-new-hires/?utm_term=.e84ef123a5ec

Next is the tax cut. Did it help American workers??

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/what-did-corporate-america-do-tax-break-buy-record-amounts-n886621

The Trump administration is thinking about another tax cut. Who will it benefit??

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/30/us/politics/trump-tax-cuts-rich.html?emc=edit_th_180731&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=571808210731

However, some good indicators are that the unemployment rate has gone down since the recession from 10% in late October 2009 to 4% in January 2018. ?

https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000

Also mortgage interest rates are still low at 4.5%, down from 6.00 in 2008.

http://www.freddiemac.com/pmms/pmms30.html

LET ME KNOW IF YOU NEED ANYTHING ELSE FROM ME

Answer 1

Indeed there have been tremendous changes in the US civilization over past few decades in terms of their social stratification as well as mobility. In US, a small portion of the population has the means to the highest standard of living. The Federal Bank study shows that a mere one percent of the population holds one third of our nation’s wealth. Wealthy people receive the most schooling, health care services as well as the larger decision making power. Many people think of the United States as a ‘middle-class society’ wherein few people are rich, few are poor and most are in the well-off category holding the middle of the social strata. However, it has been observed that there hasn’t been an equal distribution of resources or wealth. Many people have lower incomes and struggle to make ends meet. Level of employment and occupations tend to play a role in this as well. The financial crisis of 2008 changed the economic picture for all Americans and helped the richest among us grow their holdings, even as income for the rest of the people has remained stagnant.

While many of the leaders have invariably understood and pointed fingers at the specific problems of the country, its inequality and other issues, none have been able to deal with effectively in a way that leads to resolving the problem once and for all. Some of the measures that can be adopted in order to cater to them are as follows: Many of the implementation plans haven’t worked in a way that increase the mobility and allow people from the lower income groups to utilize opportunities for their growth. Therefore, the quality of schooling, family structures and inequality are some factors that are to be tapped in order to ensure the overall well-being and economic structure of the nation.