User:Lbrenner/CH 09 Economic Inequality

CH 09 Economic Inequality Darlynn Brenner

Our book, Think Race and Ethnicity by Mona Scott, defines economic inequality as the "status of disparity between the earning power and wealth accumulation of one group when compared to another group. It's not just about the type of money people earn and jobs they have but also the education levels and unemployment statistics that come along with it. This chapter will show us how discrimination is tied into the economic inequalities.

The economic inequalities can be measured in several ways, through wealth, wages, and socioeconomic status. This means that a person's eduation, experiences, income, and family's income also matter; this information will help us see how the differences in people's SES can contribute to economic inequalities between a person that has gone to a university and graduated and a person who went to a 2-year community college.

 Wealth, Income, and Natural Capital Darlynn Brenner

Sociologists compared the inheritances between white and black families and found that the levels of inheritance depended highly on their abilities to invest money and their class backgrounds. A person's amount of inheritance depended entirely on whether or not their family member had the wealth to give.

There is also a major difference between wealth and income, wealth being what has been inherited and how much in assets a person has and income being how much a person earns from their jobs. This means that even if a person had millions because it was an inheritance from a dead family member, they are wealthy but they have no income because it didn't come from a job they have. It is the same as saying that a person had no wealth because they have no assets and nothing in savings but have an income because they are earning money from a job they hold.

         Native Americans

This racial group has never been properly recognized in our country's history.

Before the Whites arrived and settled in North America, Native Americans didn't see land as something anyone owned but rather it was something they coexisted with and paid respect to as it allowed them the means to survive. In 1862, the Homestead Act allowed the Whites to legally remove the natives from their land and gave it to White Farmers for free with the condition that he and his family would live their and farm for 5 years. Even though the Natives were supposed to be compensated for their benefit, mismanagement of the funds left these people with nothing. Over the years, these Native Americans fell into poverty and depended on the casinos and other for-profit endeavors to help their families survive. This was all because their land, along with all their resources, were stolen from them and given to the Whites.

          African Americans

This racial group has been facing inequalities in the US for the longest time next to the Native Americans.

After the Civil War freed slaves, they started the climb and struggle to equality. Right after the war, many did not have options as they didn't know a life outside of slavery so they stayed on as sharecroppers to their former masters. There were laws passed that kept these people at the bottom of the food chain and wiped out many of their progressions to make sure they would not grow in wealth or power. Though there were many programs to help "people", these same programs only benefitted the Whites. Government help excluded agricultural workers, the GI bill only helped those who could attend college and not many schools admitted blacks, the Home Owners Loan Corporation did not issue one loan to a black family, and the President's New Deal excluded Blacks from participating in any asset building programs.

           Latinos

We have a large Latino population here in the US who work incredibly hard to provide for their families yet still are considered to be part of those in poverty. They work hard for a low income and have little to no wealth, mainly because they relocate here from south of the American/Mexican boarder with little to no possessions. They come here in search and hope for a new life and many work tirelessly for little earnings to send back home to their families. This is an unfortunately great example of the difference between income and wealth.

Even though the majority come here to work and send money home, they are not allowed to be here legally and many American citizens make sure the Latinos are aware of their unwelcome status. It has become even more shockingly apparent from the Trump supporters in the 2016 Presidential Race.

In 1821, Mexico won its independence from Spain but lost much of their land to the US in 1848 after the war and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hildago. In 1824, the Monroe Doctrine promised to not interfere in Latin American livelihoods. The US however plowed through to take over what is now Texas. The Whites felt that this was part of the Manifest Destiny. Just like there were policies and laws that made sure the African Americans could not catch up in wealth or ever have the opportunity to, there were laws and policies enacted to keep Latinos down and out of the race as well.

             Asian Americans

Asians also came here in search of better lives for themselves and their families. Many, too, came looking for work to be able to send money home to their families. They arrived here about the same time as the Irish but unlike the Irish, the Asians were not quickly assimilated and welcomed. Once here, Asians faced the same discriminatory laws and policies that African Americans and Latinos had been facing for some time, in 1882 the Chinese Exclusion Act denied them the right to emigrate here to control the Chinese population in America until about 1960. When the Japanese came and brought their successful agricultural techniques, the US passed the 1924 Alien Land Act to prevent non-US citizens from owning land. Despite this, they were able to continue to be successful until WWII when they were forced to sell their assets and live on internment camps.

After the war ended, Communist takeovers in Southeast Asia drove people here in 1975 to "repopulate" the US and many have been able to climb the economic ladder. Even though many have been successful, many immigrants are still living in poverty with only their US born children being able to find their way out.

I found a video on youtube that surveyed 5,000 Americans on how they thought wealth was distributed in America. The stats are quite eye-opening. Keep in mind that this video is over 4 years old so the numbers have changed dramatically, and not in the best way. Wealth Inequality in America

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