Good Essay About Poverty And Social Inequality

Introduction

When we compare it with other countries, America is considered the most stable country in terms of its economy and standards of living. America is also considered as the country where most citizens enjoy freedom because of equal rights that have been enshrined in the constitution. Even though many believe that this is the truth, the majorities still live in poverty and are also under oppression. This is the truth; hence it should be considered as a serious issue requiring a deeper investigation on the best way to solve it. Because of this, we should carefully analyze features of poverty, how to solve it and the views that people have towards it. According to Locke (2005) in the article Born Poor and Smart, people talk about the stereotypes of social class and how it is hard to make a poor man rich, while Yglesias (2005) argues that, even though, the 20th century has been one of the best, everyone has not been able to enjoy the same kind of life. Moreover, to the Economist (2005), people have rather good views about the middle class.

Features of poverty

One of the things that make people poor is the huge gap that exists between the rich and the poor. This is because there are only a few people who have wealth while a huge majority is very poor with some lacking the most basic needs that they should have (Yglesias, 2010). Technological developments and globalization have led to an inappropriate distribution of resources with the majority of citizens remaining to be poor. For instance, in many countries you will find that only 10 percent owns close to 80% of the wealth while the rest own only 20% of the wealth. This is a clear indication that wealth is not well distributed in the country (Economists, 2005).
These two articles are talking about the same thing that is the huge gap that exists between the poor and the rich. Secondly, according to Economists (2005), in America around four-fifth of the people are controlling only 5.4% of the country’s wealth, while one-fifth controls 50% of the country’s wealth. These articles also explain that poverty in itself contributes to inequality since if you are poor it is very hard to access the best education, health, good job and just any good thing. The rich are very different since they can access most of these things.

People’s views towards the poor and inequality

Many arguments have been brought forth that poverty and inequality exist and are still getting worse than it was, but people still believe that it does not exist. In fact, many people still believe that countries such as America are lands of opportunities. For instance, one person who succeeds in America makes people think that it is possible to succeed only if you can work hard although examples such as these are very hard to come by (Economist, 2005). In the article, Born Poor and Smart by Locke, the narrator tries to explain the suffering that she went through with her mother. However much she worked hard they could not make it in the country. They could only see other people’s unequal manners. This means that intelligence is not taken seriously among the poor. She explains that it would be very hard to come out of poverty without the support of the rich families which further explains the fact that there is inequality within the society (Locke, 2005).

How poverty should be solved

What poverty causes in communities is very much obvious, for instance, it is very hard to enjoy the same kind of life with the rich. What is very crucial is how it can be solved. According to the Economist (2005), the US government had previously tried to solve it. The federal government argued that one of the best ways to solve these issues is reforming schools and helping the poor college student to be able to access education (Economists, 2005). According to Yglesias (2005) the only way to solve this is to increase the amount of taxes that the government takes. He argues that this will help in funding more public facilities so that inequality can be curbed. He further argues that it is the best way because it tackles inequality directly by creating equal access to goods and equal opportunities even to the next generation. He also says that existing services should be protected and expanded so that future generations can have a comfortable access to them (Yglesias, 2010)

Conclusions

All the three articles look at poverty and inequalities from different perspectives. However through what we read from them, we have a clearer understanding of what poverty and equality is. They also explain that poverty and inequality do indeed exist in America hence it is a very big issue that should be considered and looked at how it can be solved by both the citizens and the government.

References

Locke, L. A. (2005). Born Poor and Smart. Writing in the Disciplines,Upper Saddle River NJ; Pearsons Education Inc, 10(9), pp 450-451.
The Economist, S. (2005). The Middle of the Class. Writing in the Disciplines,Upper Saddle River NJ; Pearsons Education,12(2), pp 482-485.
Yglesias, M. (2007). A Great Time to Be Alive. Writing in the Disciplines,Upper Saddle River NJ; Pearsons Education Inc,10(3),pp 464-466.