Inequality and Poverty

Imagine that you and your next door neighbor were going to run a foot race. Then, your neighbor's friend holds you stationery until your neighbor has completed a great portion of the race. Finally, your neighbor's friend releases you so that you may complete in the race. Sprinting vigorously and freely, it would be nearly impossible to win. Could you win or at minimum, could you be any type of competition? This analogy is equivalent to the governmental position taken in the 1960's particularly 1968--the year that the Civil Right's Act was enacted. But, why mention the Civil Right's Act, everyone is equal now right? Wrong! The act was a success on paper, but failed to do the most important thing, and that is to give people in poverty opportunities in order to survive in the United States but instead, they failed to provide a substantial financial system, particularly for the minority. Without finances--hopes and dreams are just hopes and dreams that are never to materialize. As whites in America lost their 'supreme' status due to the abolishment of discrimination based on race, those that could move out of the city in order to segregate themselves from minorities, and into newly established suburbs did so. This exodus stripped many urban areas of the needed resources and funding needed for repairs and replenishment of governmental property in the areas that were fled, further exacerbating the equality issue. The topic of inequality and poverty is very delicate, but with careful observation, one would conclude that the U.S. has not paid enough dues to repair a history of atrocities. As the U.S. operates under partial capacity, inequality and its direct relationship with poverty in America is the result of citizen refusal to right governmental wrongs that have relinquished minorities of hopes, dreams, ambition, and dignity.

Throughout the history of the United States, there has been a constant battle with the inconsistency of poverty against wealth. The United States being one of the wealthiest nations in the world, with all its resources-still has many people struggling economically. As a society, we are to blame for the inequalities that arise through unequal education, job opportunities, and racism. We are simply a society that glorifies the rich, and forgets the poor. Although race is far from being the only type of inequality that Americans face, it is the most evident. In addition, age is also another factor that should not be excluded as a mode of unfair treatment since the elderly are just as susceptible to being exposed to oppression. In a nation of fast-paced technological advances, the seniors of today are considered broken goods. Without a consistent, sustaining wage, this nation is throwing away everyone and everything that is unable to feed the economic machine. The elderly are expected to wither away and die, when they were once sitting in our positions at some place of employment or fine educational institution. As the saying goes, "Once a man, twice a child", the elderly and our youth are social targets left to have someone else help supply their needs. Seeing that both groups are being neglected, the wisdom that we receive from the elderly, and in contrast, the vitality of our youth- is at risk. Regrettably, as our children today grow into adulthood, they are confronted with the harsh reality that with the way the government is operating and slowly neglecting its citizens, and without a strong political voice, they are contorted into a position of disadvantage. Be it so, if they are the product of uneducated parents then the future of the children is utterly bleak. And while the President and his 'elite' company enjoy dinner parties, the nation's children and elderly alike suffer through the night's hunger just as my husband did while subdued in poverty. As people in society age, we must come to grips with a dismal future as social misfits.

In astonishment, most of the American majority does not view minority groups as being a great contributor to U.S. society particularly--economically. As many minorities seek to attain wealth and status in America they are strained to leave any cultural or traditional ways behind closed doors when they enter into the workplace. Many do this to avoid being excluded, and as an attempt to become more equal to other fellow work colleagues, also many feel that white "supremacy" still exists- even in a subtle way. Nonetheless, once one accomplishes such a difficult task, the obstacle of earning a substantial income to maintain a decent standard of living is still a grueling task. According to Professor Harris, a teacher of political science at San Jose State University, approximately 60% of jobs in America are obtained through personal relationships and associations. This notion demonstrates that because many non-minority groups own businesses, and they tend to hire relatives and the like -many minorities are often excluded from attaining the "better" position within a company, and because many minority families we not able to leave a legacy for their family members to carry on, many minorities often miss out on opportunities to also be able to create a legacy that can continue to thrive- and the cycle continues.

Today, many families in America work several jobs just to make ends meet; yet, sometimes the ends don't meet. As the financial vice tightens, more minorities are resorting to menial sources of employment such as janitorial, or parking attendants, or car wash employees. Notably "affirmative action" it is not what it seems to be. Indeed, "affirmative action" has been in existence long before the talk of legally meeting quotas to allow minorities to attain decent jobs and access to educational institutions. Unfortunately, the practice of "affirmative action" is the very act that excluded minorities in America from upward mobility. When a qualified individual doesn't receive a job to feed their family because of exclusion due to fear and ignorance this is the "affirmative action" that has realistically been an institution for hundreds of years. Alternatively, the legal term Affirmative Action is not viewed as positive in America because most business owners are not minorities. The continuous resistance to employ a qualified, disadvantaged individual over a best friend's sister's nephew's cousin--whom the business owner "trusts"--is fair from kosher behavior. Shamefully, this practice is not mentioned as form of discrimination in the company of many white Americans, instead they chose to label it nepotism. Moreover, the U.S. government could have done something honorable, for instance, adopting a system similar to Germany, where they do not tolerate discrimination whatsoever, as a direct approach

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