The high poverty levels since the recent depression are worrying since it is slightly more than it was before the recession. According to the Poverty and Inequity Report of 2014, the poverty level in 2012 increased to about 15% from 12.5% recorded in 2007 (Pathway. 2014). Although the poverty level has reduced to 12.7% in 2016, it is clear that it is slightly higher than it was in 2007 (Semega, et al., 2017). The report demonstrates that there are racial disparities in the poverty levels with the whites enjoying better economic status compared to the blacks and Hispanics. The second aspect of poverty is the wealth inequalities which has resulted in the widening wealth gap.
The recession affected three important sectors namely the construction, manufacturing, and financial sectors. Most of the labor in the first two sectors are dominated by the minorities due to their education levels and inability to access opportunities in other industries. The massive lay-off in these industries and the slow recovery process have resulted in the minorities facing long-term unemployment (Pathway. 2014). The widening wealth inequalities are due to the increasing rates also affects minorities more than the whites due to the family wealth over the years. These aspects demonstrate that wealth inequalities based on long-term family wealth and disparities in socio-economic factors that have dominated the U.S. for decades. The next part of the paper illustrates the two factors according to three theoretical perspectives that is the functionalist, symbolic interactionist, and the conflict theory.
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The Big Three Theoretical Perspectives on Poverty in the U.S.
Symbolic Interactionism
The theory bases its arguments on the symbolic attachment of people and the society. The approach views the world to be filled with symbols people use to create meaning and develop the worldview or communicate with each other (Henslin, 2017). Racial disparities that have led to minorities median wages and safety net worth to lower compared to the whites is the preference for manual jobs over white-color jobs. The blacks and Hispanics since the 1960s have engaged in the manual tasks, and sports thus gives more choice in sports than education (Semega, et al., 2017). The American system tends to emphasize on education to succeed since it was founded on white supremacy. The education statistics depict that whites are twice more likely to have higher education compared to blacks hence their higher salaries.
The wealth gaps whereby the rich become richer as the poor become poorer is due to the definition of having a better life. The wealthy tend to invest and save their wealth whereas the middle, and lower class citizens tend to consume their money, for instance, buying houses beautiful dresses that they think are illustrations of improved living standards.
Functionalists
The critical perception of functionalists is that the society operates as a single body with each part performing an essential function similar to an animal’s body (Henslin, 2017). The racial inequalities and the increasing wealth disparities may be due to the purposes of the minorities, middle class and lower class citizens having the role of working for the company owners who are wealthy. The rich employ the others in different categories to produce and earn their money. The wealthy under this perception are the leaders who benefit from the hard work of the poor hence the wealth gap.
The Conflict Theory
The conflict theorists base their arguments on opposing interests (Henslin, 2017). This theoretical perspective is the most suitable framework to analyze the poverty levels compared to the other two theories. The racial disparities whereby the minorities form the highest poverty percentage in the country is attributed to the system’s foundation that promotes racial discrimination. The blacks and Hispanics colleges are worse compared to those of the whites which reduces their ability to compete in the labor market. The top companies also tend to prefer whites compared to the minorities for senior managerial positions (Small, Harding, & Lamont, 2010). These factors are due to the need to maintain the white supremacy by making life more comfortable for the whites and harder for other races.
The wealth gap can also be factored in similar function whereby the wealthy tend to gain money from family businesses through inheritance or the ability for the rich through presidential financing campaign tend to influence decisions made by the government (Small, Harding, & Lamont, 2010). The ability to control government’s decision making result in companies generating high profits at the expense of exploiting the workers who live in poverty.
References
Henslin, J. M. (2017). Sociology: A down-to-earth approach .
Pathway. (2014). The Poverty and Inequality Report 2014. Inequality.stanford.edu . Retrieved November 19, 2017, from http://inequality.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/Pathways_SOTU_2014.pdf
Semega, J. L., Kayla R. F., and Melissa A. Kollar, U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Reports, P60-259, (2017). Income and Poverty in the United States: 2016. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC. Retrieved November 19, 2017, from https://census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2017/demo/P60-259.pdf
Small, M. L., Harding, D. J., & Lamont, M. (2010). Reconsidering culture and poverty. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 629 (May), 6–27.
