Inequalities in society have numerous adverse effects on the population. In the United States, social inequality is associated with different factors, such as poverty. After the Great Recession, a big income gap developed. According to Segelken (2014), income disparities had huge impacts on families and increased child abuse and neglect. The majority of child maltreatment cases are experienced in poverty-stricken communities seen in micro-levels. Most poverty infested communities are hotspots for crime, drug abuse, and violence (Jarman, 2016) . This is not often an exception to parents, who are involved in activities, such as abusing drugs. Drugs have huge effects on users, and in this case, parents who abuse drugs or are stressed by their living conditions may mistreat or completely neglect their children. Children abuse can be either physical, sexual, or emotional. According to Segelken (2014), societies without social and health disparities experience few cases of child mistreatment and abuse.
At the macro-level, children in low-income areas feel like they are to blame after being mistreated. In this case, most children are subjected to presupposition; this means that they end up feeling degraded. Children are very vulnerable, particularly on the emotional and mental levels. Feeling degraded and less important increases stress in the children, and in most cases, they end up in depression while others join criminal groups, where they feel more "valued" and secure. The Effects of child abuse can be seen after understanding the micro and macro levels of child maltreatment. Research has shown that children subjected to abuse and maltreatment when growing up may take the same behaviors from their parents. Mostly, children from low-income areas never make it to the top, which adds to the pile of poverty, crime, and substance abuse, which consequently leads to mistreatment of their children.
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Discrimination and Social Inequality
Discrimination had been dominant in the United States back in the 20 th century. It is, however, on its decline due to various anti-discrimination laws that have been enacted. Often, discrimination occurs based on unwanted characteristics, such as skin color. Individual discrimination occurs when an individual discriminates another based on their perceived characteristics. On the other hand, institutional discrimination is discrimination of a minority group in society due to prejudice. Discrimination has adverse effects on social equality. Social inequality, which is often contributed by income disparities, is accelerated by individual and institutional discrimination (Sanders-Phillips, Settles-Reaves, Walker, & Brownlow, 2009) . The income gap between the poor and the rich in the society can only be achieved by offering equal opportunity to every member of society. Securing well-paying jobs for the people living in poverty would improve their way of living.
Discrimination reduces opportunities for individuals from discriminated communities. For example, the African-Americans, who are a minority group in the United States, are highly discriminated by the whites. The stereotype that they are criminals and violent makes it hard for them to change their lives for better. Even though a labor anti-discrimination act was enacted, most employers never prefer hiring African Americans. The majority of them, some of them learned, find themselves working on a minimum wage job. This salary is not enough to offer them a decent life, leaving them to live in poverty. This leaves education and crime as the only way for a better life. Education is also a problem for children from poverty-stricken neighborhoods. Most parents can not raise enough money to pay for their children's school fees. Children who make it to school are often discriminated against and experience difficult lives at school. Finishing school is a miracle considering the challenges experienced. In short, individual and institutional discrimination limits the chances of the discriminated group of getting better opportunities, such as well paying jobs and education, which would improve their lives, and consequently, reduce the income disparity gap.
Solution to Social Inequality
Social inequality does more harm to society than good if there is any. Every member of the community must advocate for social justice to create a better and desirable society. Social inequality can be reduced through active intervention by the government through enactment of various measures aimed at promoting the well-being of its citizens. First, the government and the department of labor should increase the minimum wage. Currently, the minimum wage per hour is $7.25 (Department of Labor, n.d.) , this amount compared to the average rent, which is around $1,405 per month, is not enough to raise a family and live a decent life. The government should consider increasing this amount to allow citizens living on minimum wage to live a decent life. The government should provide more support to working families living under the poverty line. Most citizens living in poverty have families to raise, the government should support these families in raising their children and having a decent life by encouraging higher rates of saving and reducing the cost of building materials. Programs that enroll workers in saving and retirement plans should be adopted, while also providing support to workers by providing credit for startups. Also, the quality of education should be improved in poverty-stricken communities. The quality of schools is a major factor that contributes to social inequality. Investment in school programs, while also offering free education can boost economic mobility, while also increasing productivity, which would reduce inequalities in society.
In the past, various measures have been taken to handle social inequality. Federal laws, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, prohibits employers from discriminating employees based on race and other aspects (Esmaili, 2017) . This has increased the number of employees from discriminated groups, which has helped improve their standards of living. The government has made it possible for children to access free public school education. It also provides students with higher education loans. This move has increased the number of learners from minority groups, which is a step closer to achieving social equality.
References
Department of Labor . (n.d.). Retrieved April 5, 2020, from Department of Labor Website: https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/wages/minimumwage
Esmaili, T. (2017, June). Cornell Law School . Retrieved from Cornell Law School Website: https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/employment_discrimination
Jarman, J. (2016). Social inequality and its consequences in the twenty-first century. Journal of the Academy of Social Sciences , 103-112.
Sanders-Phillips, K., Settles-Reaves, B., Walker, D., & Brownlow, J. (2009). Social Inequality and Racial Discrimination: Risk Factors for Health Disparities in Children of Color. Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics . Retrieved from https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/124/Supplement_3/S176
Segelken, R. (2014, February 11). Child abuse and neglect rise with income inequality. Cornell University . Retrieved from Cornell University Website: https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2014/02/child-abuse-and-neglect-rise-income-inequality
