Soc Essay
In the 2003 article titled Race, class and urban poverty: A rejoinder, sociologist William Julius Wilson points to the apparent major racial differences in terms of unemployment and wages leading to concentrated poverty among the blacks. Joblessness is a major cause of poverty for low skilled blacks (Wilson, 2003). There is relatively greater class polarization among the African-Americans, with many middle class blacks migrating from inner city neighborhoods into suburbs especially suburban black neighborhoods.
Wilson also notes the high rates of incarceration of blacks as compared to their white counterparts, making the former to remain poor in cells and jails. The involvement of many blacks in such illegal activities as violence, gangs, and drug addiction is attributed to their joblessness and sense of hopelessness. A significant proportion of minorities lack such resources as financial stability, family stability, access to good schools, and peer groups that are necessary to effectively compete thus remaining to languish in poverty (Wilson, 2003).
In general, Wilson observes that the rising economic equality in America has adversely affected blacks and similar disadvantaged groups. Economic changes and eroding strength of the nation’s equalizing institutions such as public education, the welfare state broadly defined, unions, and international trade regulations among other factors are responsible for this state of affairs (Wilson, 2003). However, the greatest weakness of Wilson’s view is his shallow suggestion that debates pertaining to urban poverty and race ought to be between liberals and conservatives.
In The Logic of Workfare: The Underclass and Work Policy, academic Lawrence Mead blames the rising poverty on a breakdown of public authority, where the poor were allowed much leeway and thus failed to work enough to alleviate themselves from poverty. It is argued that an increasing proportion of black men refuse to take up available jobs as a result of their unwillingness to work for low wages especially in entry-level jobs that would later link them to better jobs (Mead, 1989). Mead therefore believes that a change in attitudes and behaviors would significantly help them escape poverty. In this regard, better-managed and more demanding working programs are need to make the adult poor work more and consequently reduce poverty and welfare (Mead, 1989). The academic makes a valid point that the culture of working need to be cultivated in all people so that there can be a concerted effort towards fighting poverty. On the other side, what Mead proposes is rather draconian and costly for the government.
Comparatively, sociologist Wilson’s argument as to why to why the underclass and indeed poverty exists is superior to that of Lawrence Meed. This can be evidenced by poverty situation in the United States both at the time and present day. The official government figures from the Census Bereau in 2011, for example, revealed that as much as 15 percent of Americans live in poverty. This translates that in excess of 46 million Americans are living at or below the official federal poverty line. The figures also show that more than half this figure are black or Hispanic.
In other words, the economic gap between the middle class and the affluent is still large, and continues to widen. There are apparent racial differences between the whites and blacks in terms of inequality, which has been on the rise since 1980s. The sharp increase in equality has been propelled mainly by the super-rich whose income has risen tremendously over the years. Indeed there is need to emphasize the aspect of race as relates to poverty statistics, and strive to introduce more functional programs designed to address racial inequalities. This would call for policy makers and implementers to widen their vision and face the increasing challenges of economic class.
References:
Mead, M. L. (1989). The Logic of Workfare: The Underclass and Work Policy. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences 501 : 156-169.
Wilson, J.W. (2003). Race, class and urban poverty: A rejoinder. Ethnic and Racial Studies Vol. 26 No. 6 November 2003 pp. 1096–1114.
