In the report A New Form of Social Dislocation in the Inner-City Ghetto, William Julius Wilson analyzes three research studies conducted in Chicago between 1986 and 1993. In these studies, Wilson identifies a new type of poverty, which he coins jobless poverty. Jobless poverty represents the growing number communities that are compromised of a high percentage of unemployed individuals. These communities have the same recurrent themes of isolation in inner-city ghettos where the surrounding area is abandon, desolate or deserted of economic opportunities and community benefits. In contrast to living in employed poverty or unemployed poverty in neighborhoods of high employment, jobless poverty causes negative effects that lead to individuals and their families becoming stuck in a continuous cycle of jobless poverty. As a result of these negative effects, it is important to consider policy solutions that would address this growing problem and provide opportunities for individuals to escape the cycle of jobless poverty. The most affective solutions to jobless poverty are more mixed-use developments and a larger public transportation networks. Since the 1950s, jobless poverty has been on the rise. In 1950, 69 percent of all black males aged fourteen and older living in the inner-city ghetto neighborhoods of Chicago were employed (Wilson 160). In 1960, 64 percent of all black males aged fourteen and older living in the inner-city ghetto neighborhoods of Chicago were employed (Wilson 160). However, by 1990 only 37 percent of all black males aged sixteen or over living in the inner-city ghetto neighbor-hoods of Chicago were employed (Wilson 160). These increases have led to disproportionately high rates of unemployment in inner-city g... ... middle of paper ... ...by preventing access to potential places of employment and to positive network influences. Therefore, to solve the growing problem of jobless poverty the government should look towards developing mixed-use developments without strict zoning laws and increasing the public transportation infrastructures in cities. Works Cited Burt, Ronald S. "Structural Holes." The Inequality Reader: Contemporary and Foundational Readings in Race, Class, and Gender. Ed. David B. Grusky and Szonja Szelenyi. 2nd ed. Boulder, CO: Westview, 2011. 597-601. Print. Wilson, William J. "Jobless Poverty." The Inequality Reader: Contemporary and Foundational Readings in Race, Class, and Gender. Ed. David B. Grusky and Szonja Szelenyi. 2md ed. Boulder, CO: Westview, 2011. 159-69. Print. "Zoning." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 24 Nov. 2011. .
More than Just Race: Being Black and Poor in the Inner City (Issues of Our Time)
In The Working Poor: Invisible in America, David K. Shipler tells the story of a handful of people he has interviewed and followed through their struggles with poverty over the course of six years. David Shipler is an accomplished writer and consultant on social issues. His knowledge, experience, and extensive field work is authoritative and trustworthy. Shipler describes a vicious cycle of low paying jobs, health issues, abuse, addiction, and other factors that all combine to create a mountain of adversity that is virtually impossible to overcome. The American dream and promise of prosperity through hard work fails to deliver to the 35 million people in America who make up the working poor. Since there is neither one problem nor one solution to poverty, Shipler connects all of the issues together to show how they escalate each other. Poor children are abused, drugs and gangs run rampant in the poor neighborhoods, low wage dead end jobs, immigrants are exploited, high interest loans and credit cards entice people in times of crisis and unhealthy diets and lack of health care cause a multitude of problems. The only way that we can begin to see positive change is through a community approach joining the poverty stricken individuals, community, businesses, and government to band together to make a commitment to improve all areas that need help.
Inner City Communities are often areas which are both densely populated and deteriorating(quote). The areas and its residents have strongly been correlated with social and economical disparity. Residents of inner city communities have been plagued with problems including: “high unemployment, poor health care, inadequate educational opportunities, dilapidated housing, high infant mortality, and extreme poverty” (Attitudes and Perceptions, n.d). Though the inner city communities have been stricken with
America’s working-class poor, especially those of color often feel neglected, inadequate, and deprived of hope. Mos Def demonstrates the distress of those living in poverty when he expresses, “ Working class poor: better keep your
When a child is growing up he is frequently asked what he is going to do for money when he gets older. The more this question is asked to them, the more they feel like they have to have money to be happy in life. After many tries of trying to make a stable life at a low paying job, a criminal life maybe more appealing to them at they may start living life under the gun. As stated by William Wilson in When Work Disappears, “Neighborhoods plagued by high levels of joblessness are more likely to experience low levels of social organization, they go hand in hand.” In Chicago for instance, in 1990 there was only one in three in the twelve ghetto communities that had held a job in a typical workweek of the year. When there are high rates of joblessness bigger problems surface such as violent crime, gang violence, and drug trafficking. (Wilson P356-362)
Rothenberg, P. 1998. Race, Class, and Gender in the United States. New York: St. Martin's Press.
"The Poverty Of Equality." American Spectator 45.3 (2012): 26-30. Academic Search Complete. Web. 16 Dec. 2013.
By creating the ghettos, African Americans were residential separated from other races. These ghettos were created to keep the African American race down. When it comes to income, most black families who lived in these certain areas were unemployed and very poor (William, 1980). Most of the jobs that were available, were far away from the ghetto, and the blacks didn’t have the requirements that were needed for that particular job. When blacks were to look for a job, it wasn’t easy because they would have to deal with racial discrimination, which was another reason why they continued to be
In relation to the Critical Race Theory, the idea of the “gap between law, politics, economics, and sociological reality of racialized lives” (Critical Race Theory slides). The critical race theory gives us a guide to analyze privileges and hardships that comes across different races and gender. For example, analyzing how and why a “black” or “indigenous” woman may experience more hardships versus not only a “white” man, but a “white”
Accordingly, this theory takes certain points made by other theories of poverty and puts them in the context of race, making it a more comprehensive explanation of poverty. In examining labor, non-work among black men aged 25-40 without high school degrees has been increasing at a more rapid rate than the rate for non-work among white men in the similar situation since the 1970s. The theory of labor markets in explaining poverty summarizes that those who do not work steady jobs or work regularly are more likely to be poor. If black men are not working as much as they used to, it should explain why poverty among black people is higher than it is for white people. The reason for their non-work can be explained by a number of reasons, including disincentives, labor markets, and culture, but it is best explained by institutional problems and structural
Both qualitative and quantitative studies on migration and poverty suggest that migration is selective with respect to income and earning capacity. Fitchen (1995) and Lichter et al. (2010) examined the role that migration plays in the relationship between poor people and poor places. Fitchen’s (1995) study described an eastern New York town experiencing increasing welfare caseloads and urban exodus. Vacated buildings and storefronts in the downtown were bought up by out-of-town investors, subdivided into multi-dwelling apartment buildings, and leased to low-income residents. Fitchen further described a trend of progressive movement, where people were displaced to less urban areas, resulting in a process of migration to rural areas that
Wicks-Lim, Jeannette. “The Working Poor.” New Labor Forum (Murphy Institute). 21.3 (2012): 17-25. Academic Search Complete. Web. 18 Oct. 2013.
Imagine your life with no food and no home at all; looking for something to eat in the trash cans and living under the 91-Freeway, scary isn’t? Well, if the government doesn’t do anything this will become reality. Poverty and homelessness has been a major issue in the USA. According to Emily Alpert Reyes, a writer in the Los Angeles Times newspaper, about 8.9 million people in California live under the federal poverty limit ($23,021 annually for a family of four); in Los Angeles, about 25.9% of the residents live with income below the poverty level. The poverty rate in Los Angeles has been increasing in the past years because city revenues are in long-term stagnation and expenses are climbing (Kantor, Brian, and Contreras-Sweet). Poverty and homelessness in Los Angeles can be prevented by providing services to the homeless, increasing taxes and creating more jobs.
Poverty is a major problem in the United States today. Social, economical, political, and cultural factors all contribute to poverty. Education and economic development are two major issues that will help prevent poverty. The United States Census Bureau defines poverty as an "economic condition in which people lack sufficient income to obtain basic needs for food, housing, clothing, health services and education." In other words, poverty is powerlessness, a lack of representation and freedom. Poverty is an issue that the world faces everyday.
Slums were a distinctive feature of European and US cities during the Industrial Revolution. The principal attraction of squatting is the possibility of incremental development and building improvement which leads to a phased spreading of the costs. The urban edge is the societal impact zone where the centrifugal forces of the city collide with the implosion of the countryside (Romaya and Rakodi, 2003). Today’s slums pose a problem of a different nature: because of multiple market and policy failures and unsanitary conditions, life in the slum might constitute a form of poverty trap for a majority of their residents (Marx et al, 2013). Poor human capital and poor avenues for human capital investment lead to a lack of social mobility across generations of slum residents.