Income Inequality In Miami Dade Essay

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Recommended: Symbolic interactionism and conflict theory

Nicknamed “Capital of Latin America”, Miami is one of the most diverse cities in the United States, especially with the concentration of Hispanics. With an estimated Gini index of .503, Miami-Dade County has the second highest income inequality in the United States behind New York County, NY (Census, 2012). The overlapping relationship between these two chart leaders is that they are also among the most racially diverse counties in all of North America (Bee, 2012). The purpose of this paper is to analyze the income inequality present in Miami-Dade and argue how the racial and ethnic diversity is likely one of the fuels of this form of inequality. With the assistance of secondary sources, empirical evidence will be translated into this paper and assist with the argument. The latter section of this paper will focus on functionalist and conflict perspectives of the posed argument and it will serve the purpose of edifying the inequality presented in addition to complementing the statistics provided. Income Inequality in Miami Dade By examining household income, the determination and extent of income inequality within the county is possible. In this context, household income includes wages, social security benefits, interest earnings, dividends, etc. Relative to the U.S, the higher income inequality can be observed by looking at the disparity in household income between mean and median (Miami-Dade County Department of Planning and Zoning, 2007). There are few places in America where the contrast between the rich and the poor are as stark. In Miami, while the rich are cruising on their yachts and going in on $400 bottle service, the poor have to black out their windows because they can’t afford air conditioning. Although I am not dis... ... middle of paper ... ...and ethnic minorities must assimilate into that society (Andersen and Taylor, 2013). Symbolic interactionism looks at two issues in relation to race and ethnicity. They first look at the role of social interaction and how it reduces racial and ethnic hostility. Second, they look at how race and ethnicity are socially constructed. Finally, conflict theorists present the argument that class-based conflict is an inherent and fundamental part of society (Giddens, 1996). So, the argument would be that racial and ethnic conflict is tied to class conflict and that in order to reduce racial and ethnic conflict, class conflict must first be reduced. For the sake of this study and argument, I will continue with a focus on the conflict and functionalist theorists perspectives because I feel they provide the most modern insightful outlooks into this present form of inequality.

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