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Institutionalized Inequalities
Inequality and the gap between the rich and the poor in the United States have been on the increase. Particularly, institutionalized inequality continues to hinder the ability of minority groups in the United States to achieve the American Dream – achieving one’s highest potential and creation of equal opportunities. The social explorer data reveals some of these inequalities, particularly among African Americans, by making comparisons of different factors such as education level, income, employment status, and poverty. These factors are key measures of a person and a community’s position in relation to realizing the American Dream. Some of the factors for which data is available are key measures of well-being and can be relied upon to establish patterns of institutionalized inequality. The data analyzes the demographics of four different regions (Camden City, New Jersey, Scarsdale village, New York, Auburn city, Washington, Seattle city, Washington,) against that of the United States population in general.
The data collected ranges from education levels, dropout rates, income level, employment status, unemployment rates, occupations, and poverty status. The fact that the data touches on so many aspects makes it more reliable for use in analyzing the potential existence of inequality. Camden City has a population of 75,550 out which 16030 (21.2%) are white, and 34297 (45.4%) are black or African American. Therefore, in Camden City, the majority of the population is African American. On the other hand, Scarsdale Village has a total population of 17,856 out of which 14,354 (80.4%) are white, and 161 (0.9%) are black or African Americans. In Auburn City, the total population is 77,440 out of which 52,828 (68.2%) are white, and 3,732 (4.8%) are black or African Americans. In Seattle City, out of a population of 688,245, 472,347 (68.6%) are white while 48,884 (7.1%) are black or African Americans.
On education levels for population 25 years and over, only 1.6% of the population of Scarsdale City, predominantly white, has less than high school education compared to the predominantly black 31.8% of Camden City. Therefore, more African Americans, compared to whites, have less than high school education. In Auburn and Seattle, where African Americans are significantly few, less than high school education rates are also lower (12.1% and 5.8% respectively) compared to Camden City that has an African American majority. Besides, only 31.1% of Camden City’s population above 25 years has a college education compared to 94.8% of Scarsdale Village. Similar trends continue to higher levels of education in both cities. Clearly, the predominantly white Scarsdale Village has a better literacy level compared to that of Camden City that is predominantly African American. Furthermore, while there is a 0% dropout rate in Scarsdale Village, there is a 6.1% dropout rate in Camden City.
Data on employment status also reveals similar patterns in which Camden City leads the other cities in the number of the unemployed and those not in the labor force. The city has the least percentage of employed persons and the highest percentage of those not in labor force compared to the other three cities in this analysis. Data also shows that only 4.4% of employed civilians in Camden City work in high paying jobs such as management, business, and financial operations occupations compared to 35.2% of those in Scarsdale Village. Clearly, the predominantly white Scarsdale Village is more privileged on the types of jobs available compared to the predominantly African American Camden City which has higher percentages of civilians working in transportation and material moving occupations, construction, extraction, and maintenance, and office and administrative support occupations.
Another striking difference between Camden City and Scarsdale Village is on the median household income. The median household income for Camden City is a low $26,741 compared to the high $256,095 of Scarsdale Village! The difference is huge. The Camden City median household income falls below the United States median household income by almost half while that of Scarsdale Village exceeds that of the United States and Camden City by over four times and nine times respectively. Incomes below the poverty level in the last 12 months are also significantly higher in Camden City compared to the other three cities meaning that African Americans are more likely to have incomes below the poverty level.
The differences between Camden City and Scarsdale Village are clear representations of the inequalities that exist in the United States. African Americans and other minority groups continue to live in poverty created by inequality in employment, education, and social infrastructure. According to Hedges and Joe, per capita income in Camden is $11,967 (72). The city is one of the poorest in the United States. It is characterized by poor education, high levels of crime and violence, poor nutrition, inadequate and poor housing, unemployment, inadequate manufacturing capacity, waste, and political corruption, all characteristics common in poverty-stricken societies. High levels of crime due to drug and substance abuse and unemployment result in insecurity and huge spending on maintaining the police force to combat rising insecurity (Hedges and Joe 73).
Lack of manufacturing also means that there are no jobs in Camden with drug dealing and selling scrap metal being the main jobs in the city. The hospitals in the city are in poor condition, and so are other social amenities such as schools that lack funds. Most students fail exams and cannot graduate from high school. As a result, they cannot land well-paying jobs and end up in crime and drugs. Rank defines this situation as cumulative inequality that disadvantages people from such a community (108). The poor diet, poor education system, high numbers of school dropouts, high levels of violence and crime, homelessness, and poor political infrastructure and corruption make it difficult for children born in such areas disadvantaged compared to those born in areas with better living standards, amenities, diet, less crime and violence, and high incomes (Rank 117).
For instance, in Camden City, the library was shut down due to lack of funds, there are dozens of homeless families, and the education and health systems have deteriorated, crime and violence persist, and there is persistent political corruption that prevents any meaningful changes from happening. The murder rate in Camden City is seven times the national average, and 58% of children live below the poverty line (Sawyer). In addition, approximately one-third of teenagers have been arrested, and kids are likely to go to bed hungry every day (Sawyer). School kids are forced to split their time between school and work to fend for themselves and their families and end up having poor grades due to work (Sawyer). In addition, former residents of the area had suffered from racial segregation, discrimination, and some were evicted from their properties. Children born in such a city are certainly disadvantaged and are less likely to succeed compared to children from affluent neighbourhoods. Therefore, their ability to achieve mobility and the American Dream suffers from the onset and in the unlikely scenario in which they succeed, they certainly use more effort and skill compared to children from affluent neighbourhoods as in Scarsdale Village.
The coronavirus pandemic has exposed not only underlying inefficiencies in the US healthcare system but also inequalities in income and how they affect the well-being of disadvantaged Americans (Scott). The United States has one of the most expensive healthcare systems that make it challenging for the poor to seek treatment for preventable conditions. As a result, the country has one of the highest mortality rates from preventable conditions amongst developed countries (Scott). However, the healthcare system is only a representation of the greater inequality problems in the US. Despite being the richest nation on earth, the United States has very poor people, particularly people of color, who live below the poverty line. These people cannot afford healthcare insurance or out of pocket costs. The coronavirus pandemic has only highlighted the problem of inequality in the United States. Persons and families that are already impoverished are more likely to avoid seeking care even when they develop symptoms of coronavirus as they do other conditions due to the high costs of basic care (Scott). While the rich and middle class can afford privatized healthcare, poor people are more likely to die from the coronavirus and other conditions if the structural inequalities in incomes, infrastructure, and education in the United States persist.
Works Cited
Hedges, Chris, and Joe Sacco. Days of destruction, days of revolt. Bold Type Books, 2014.
Rank, Mark Robert. “Reducing Cumulative Inequality.” Toward a Livable Life: A 21st Century Agenda for Social Work (2019): 94.
Sawyer, Dian. Waiting on the world to change. ABC. Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/49759014
Scott, Dylan. “Coronavirus is exposing all of the weaknesses in the US health system. Vox, 16 March 2020.