In the United States, there are many inequalities and injustices in the housing market which directly affect black people. A wealth and income gap exists between black and white Americans, and segregation still exists on a large scale because of issues exacerbated by the housing market. Of the largest metros, 268 are not expected to integrate for over 100 years (Matthew). The rate of integration has been halted by land use regulation, such as “laws plainly designed to exclude multifamily or affordable housing” and “zoning restrictions” (which also have been shown to perpetuate segregation) (House). Native-born blacks are segregated at a rate three times higher than native-born British blacks (Iceland). This segregation is a result of …show more content…
This unfair treatment raises housing pricing for blacks (who already experience wealth inequality as a direct result of this system) and forces them to stay in poor neighborhoods, effectively taking away their opportunities to get better jobs or education opportunities away from poor segregated areas. Many blacks are forced to stay in these poor neighborhoods because of damaged infrastructure. Highways and roads often cut off in poor neighborhoods and fail to connect these communities with the rest of society, as well as education or employment opportunities (Matthew). Essentially, the housing market denies blacks the same opportunity to live in well-advantaged areas with whites. This denial in opportunity forces black people to live together in small poor neighborhoods away from the rest of society. The financial strain from former exclusionary policies still disproportionately affects the distribution of wealth among minorities, which causes blacks to remain poor. This causes black families to be affected by “asthma, lead poisoning, heart disease, and neurological disorders” (Matthew) at much higher rates than other races due to their living situations and lack of access to good health care. The underlying injustices of the housing market exacerbate issues of unfair wealth-distribution, education opportunity, and quality of living for black people in …show more content…
He begins by describing the “State of Nature,” or rather, the nature of human beings before the introduction of political associations (Munro). This State of Nature begins with two basic premises: God gave the earth to mankind in common, and that God has given everything the earth provides to be used by mankind to support the utmost comfort of their being. This means that all sustenance belongs equally to every person, and every person has a right to use that sustenance for their survival and comfort. While no person has original private domain over an object, Locke believes that because everything is for mankind’s use that there must be a way to allocate property. In order to come to own a possession, one must mix their labor with it: “Though the earth, and all inferior creatures, be common to all men, yet every man has a property in his own person: this nobody has any right to but himself. The labour of his body and the work of his hands, we may say, are properly his” (Cahn). For example, when a person gathers apples from a tree, he has mixed his labor while removing the apples from the common state of nature, therefore making them his property. Locke does outline some restrictions when it comes to property ownership. A person can only take as much from the common state of nature as will leave
David J Lynch says that, “ [s]ocieties that manage a narrower gap between rich and poor enjoy longer economic expansions”, however, in the United States the gap between the have and have-nots has widened (source C). “This country is just getting worse and worse and worse … and that is not a recipe for stable growth” (source C). If we do not do something soon our capitalist country will fall. In order for the income inequality gap to lessen to create a more stable economy the government must invest in education and unionize workers and not provide higher taxation for the top one percent.
John Locke is a seventeenth century philosopher who believed that government should be based around the people rather than the power of one person. Equality and property were two factors that Locke considered to be the key to a great society. Locke begins his writings with a discussion on individual property and how each man body is his own property. This leads Locke into the argument that man can obtain property only by using his own labor. an example Locke gives is the picking of an apple. The apple is the property of the man who used his labor to pick it. He goes on to say “A person may only acquire as many things in this way as he or she can reasonably use to their advantage”. With the discussion of property Locke leads into the discussion of trade and monetary value stating that it is natural of man to w...
Racial segregation has been a tactic used to isolate certain populations from success, while concentrating wealth amongst specific communities. San Francisco is a quintessential example of how an exceptionally affluent city is able to segregate poverty-stricken individuals from one of the worlds most prosperous economic regions Since the inception of the tech boom two facts have become evident, the wealth of Silicon Valley has risen exponentially, and the black population has plummeted. In a city where the top five percent of workers earn over $400,000 annually, 20 percent of the population still earns less than $30,000. From a monetary standpoint the numbers alone are staggering, but when taking into account racial components, health disparities
Wealth inequality and income inequality are often mistaken as the same thing. Income inequality is the difference of yearly salary throughout the population.1 Wealth inequality is the difference of all assets within a population.2 The United States has a high degree of wealth distribution between rich and poor than any other majorly developed nation.3
First, Locke believes that everyone has the opportunity to cultivate the land that they own, which ideally is a proportionate share of the surrounding environment, and nothing more (Locke, Sec. 36). Locke’s theory of property is not just relative to physical entities, it can be an intellectual entity as well. An individual may have certain experiences and knowledge, develop theories and come to their own conclusions. Publishing said works are seen as property in the eyes of Locke as well. Another strength would be the logic of Locke’s argument, if you input your labour, that commodity becomes your own. Truth of this can be seen in section 33 of Locke’s Second Treatise of Civil Government, when Locke suggests that labour increases the value of land exponentially because when people own land themselves, they are more likely to increase the productivity of that land. According to Locke, the true value of land does not stem from the land, rather the labour invested in it. Locke’s theory however, does not take into account the processes in which someone becomes an owner. One of the main stances Locke outlines in his theory of property is that he equates property to being a natural right. Locke deems the right to private property to be equally important as life and liberty, however they cannot be
Income inequality not only harms us fiscally, but also affects our mental and physical wellbeing; therefore, it is important to identify the right ways to control wealth distribution among people.
In this state of nature, according to Locke, men were born free and equal: free to do what they wished without being required to seek permission from any other man, and equal in the sense of there being no natural political authority of one man over another. He quickly points out, however, that "although it is a state of liberty, it is not a state of license," because it is ruled over by the law of nature which everyone is obliged to obey. While Locke is not very specific about the content of the law of nature, he is clear on a few specifics. First, that "reason, which is that law, teaches all mankind who will but consult it" and second, that it teaches primarily that "being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life liberty or possessions." Hence, right from the beginning, Locke places the right to possessions on the same level as the right to life, health, and liberty.
From slavery to Jim Crow, the impact of racial discrimination has had a long lasting influence on the lives of African Americans. While inequality is by no means a new concept within the United States, the after effects have continued to have an unmatched impact on the racial disparities in society. Specifically, in the housing market, as residential segregation persists along racial and ethnic lines. Moreover, limiting the resources available to black communities such as homeownership, quality education, and wealth accumulation. Essentially leaving African Americans with an unequal access of resources and greatly affecting their ability to move upward in society due to being segregated in impoverished neighborhoods. Thus, residential segregation plays a significant role in
Income inequality has affected American citizens ever since the American Dream came to existence. The American Dream is centered around the concept of working hard and earning enough money to support a family, own a home, send children to college, and invest for retirement. Economic gains in income are one of the only possible ways to achieve enough wealth to fulfill the dream. Unfortunately, many people cannot achieve this dream due to low income. Income inequality refers to the uneven distribution of income and wealth between the social classes of American citizens. The United States has often experienced a rise in inequality as the rich become richer and the poor become poorer, increasing the unstable gap between the two classes. The income gap in America has been increasing steadily since the late 1970’s, and has now reached historic highs not seen since the 1920’s (Desilver). UC Berkeley economics professor, Emmanuel Saez conducted extensive research on past and present income inequality statistics and published them in his report “Striking it Richer.” Saez claims that changes in technology, tax policies, labor unions, corporate benefits, and social norms have caused income inequality. He stands to advocate a change in American economic policies that will help close this inequality gap and considers institutional and tax reforms that should be developed to counter it. Although Saez’s provides legitimate causes of income inequality, I highly disagree with the thought of making changes to end income inequality. In any diverse economic environment, income inequality will exist due to the rise of some economically successful people and the further development of factors that push people into poverty. I believe income inequality e...
Black people tend to want the same. Society tends to find danger or a sense of uncomfortableness when dealing a race that is not their own. Therefore, Cashin insinuates that the supposed “segregation” is actually coming from society itself. However, Cashin does provide examples countering the argument that it all stems from the home buyers. She discusses various lawsuits in which the realtor is the guiding hand in perpetuating these non-diverse communities. Cashin also explores integration with African Americans and white neighborhoods. Ultimately, those who try to integrate suffer more struggles and racism than their white counterparts. Lastly, Cashin concludes her findings by providing ways in which cities have tried to integrate neighborhoods. She specifically applauds public works
Locke theorizeds extensively on property, privatization, and the means an individual can use for increasing his property. Initially, in the state of nature, man did not own property in the form of resources or land. All fruits of the earth were for the use of all men,“and nobody has originally a private dominion, exclusive of the rest of mankind, in any of them, as they are thus in their natural state” (Locke 353). In this state, people could appropriate only what they could make use of. It was unfair for one person to take more than he could use because some of that natural commodity would go to waste unless another man might have made use of it for his own benefit (360). Locke felt that God gave the bounties of nature to the people of earth and they, by default, should treat these bounties rationally. This rationalistic theory discourages waste.
Soon they'll be displaced due to high rent and gentrification of their neighborhoods. Gentrification is described as the process of renovation and improving a district so that it conforms to a middle-class taste. When wealthier people start moving back into urban district, there is an increase in rent and property values, and changes in the district's character and culture. Often it is used negatively it has been the cause of painful conflict in many American cities often associated with race and economic fault lines. These neighborhood changes are viewed as a failure of social justice, in which wealthy people, usually White Americans are praised for “improving” the poor neighborhoods. At the same time displacing minorities low income residents by skyrocketing rent and economic change. Many aspects of the gentrification process are desirable. Who wouldn't want to see reduced crime, new investment in buildings and infrastructure, and increased economic activity in their neighborhoods? However, it is a problem when low-income residents are pushed out of their homes. Although, Gentrification has been affecting many urban cities racially and economically.Where are the displace low income minorities going to go? You need the first month’s rent, the last month’s rent, and a security deposit. Then there’s the cost to move, if they they already can't afford the rent or save enough money for a down payment on a house where is the money going to come
From the podcast I’ve learned that government policies and practices helped contribute to some of the racial segregation that we see today. We saw an example of this in the podcast when talking about redlining, the act of drawing a line around areas highly populated with African Americans to ensure that banks would not provide loans for those communities. Another example from the U.S. housing scholars shows that “the primary reason for the creation of public housing was to prevent blacks from moving in white areas of the city” (Hannah-jones 2015). So we see that segregation is something that was created by the government and that in most cases blacks are discriminated against when looking for housing in white communities. A common solution to racial segregation could possibly be integration, but discrimination and acts such as redlining makes it almost impossible for African Americans to get housing in white communities. Voborníková (2014) speaks on discrimination and residential separation by stating, “that it is impossible to integrate minorities into general society when residential segregation remains” (pg 43). While Racial segregation is still a prominent issue today another perspective from current articles show that in some cases blacks and whites favor same race neighborhood. According to Fitzsimons (2012) “60 percent of black
Taking this class is one of the best decision that I made. At first I was hesitant to take this class and simply just want a credit. All of the topic that we discussed in the class are mind blowing and increasing our awareness about our society.
Housing and Urban Development decided that there needed to be some changes within their own system, this resulted in major cutbacks in staff and reorganization. This was known as the 2020 Management and Reform Plan of 1997. The plan was to cut staff and mold 300 HUD programs down to 70 programs. This is not too successful (HUD, 2007). According to Morton J. Schussheim's (1999), “housing is a tale of two cities”. In one city there are the American success stories of the two in three families that are owners of their own homes. The other city is full of those who live below the poverty line and finding affordable shelter is still an issue (p.31). Those that suffer from working low wages and rent burdens, overcrowded living quarters are usually residents of large cities such as Los Angeles and New York City but also in small rural towns and areas as well (Schussheim, 1999, p.31). Segregation also plays a huge part in the topic of housing. Low-Income families are heavily segregated throughout cities (Schussheim, 1999, p.