At the end of last year news reports began to focus on poverty in the United States.
The number of poor Americans hit a record 49 million in 2010, according to census figures reported by Reuters. This census info was taken from the ( 9/14/11) Wall Street Journal article: “Median Household Earnings Fall for Third Year.”
Economics experts expose inequality -- “The Texas model of creating more jobs through low wages seems to be catching on around America,” says former Secretary of Labor, Robert Reich (9/13/11). “Our society has become more and more unequal,” Reich writes on 9/4/11. Economist Jared Bernstein presented chapter and verse on this in 2007.
Reuters also reports -- “Incomes for the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans nearly tripled from 1979 to 2007,” reported 10/26/11. “Five ways income inequality happened,” reported on 10/28/11. “Pockets of poverty grow in the United States,” was the conclusion of a study reported on 11/3/11. More working people turned to NYC shelters in the downturn. Also, inequality dents the U.S. rank in a U.N. development index,” was reported on 11/2/11. The census revealed that poverty rates for the elderly, Asians and Hispanics are higher than previously known. Health inequality added to the problem, according to the Scientific American.
In conclusion, according to this 4/10/12 article, the wider the gap between the rich and those in poverty, the worse it gets for everyone. A Scientific American article explores, “How Wealth Reduces Compassion.” It seems that, “as riches grow, empathy for others seems to decline.”
No comments:
Post a Comment