Social And Economic Equality in the USA

1
Social And Economic Equality in the USA
2
Aims

• Examine the reasons why many Americans are facing
  inequalities and have not achieved the American
  Dream.

3
The American Dream

• In groups make up a list of famous
• Americans who you think have achieved
• the American dream!!

4
American Dream or Nightmare?
Millions of American cannot afford to go to the
doctor
Millions of Americans do not finish school
Millions of Americans are unemployed
Many Americans are living in slum housing
Thousands of Americans are murdered each year
5
The American Reality

• Many Americans have not achieved the
• American Dream and face social and
• economic inequalities.
• This affects people from all ethnic groups
• BUT ethnic minorities are more likely to
• face inequality.

6
Crime in the USA

• Aims
• Justice is not equal for everyone in the USA
• African Americans are more likely to be involved
  in crime and be victims of crime

7
Crime in the USA

• USA is known for its high crime rates
  particularly its high murder rate and crimes
  involving guns.
• In the past 10 years crime rates have dropped in
  the USA.
• This is due to a big increase in the number of
  police on the streets and much harsher sentences
  for criminals.
• BUT the USA is still a more violent society than
  the UK.

8
Crime in the USA

• 12 children are killed each day by gunfire.
• The murder rate
• USA 55 per million people per year
• UK 4.5 per million people per year
• Concern about the number of high school/college
  shootings e.g. Virginia Tech shooting in 2007
  where 32 people were killed.
• Number of inmates in US prisons has increased
  dramatically.

9
Ghetto Areas

• Crime rates are particularly high in the cities
• (urban areas). A ghetto is a run-down area in a
• city. Ghettos have high rates of poverty,
• unemployment and crime.
• Over 60 of African Americans live in inner
• city areas. This helps to explain why they are
• more likely to be affected by crime.

10

• Read page 96 in your USA textbook and answer the
• questions which follow
• 1. Explain why the cost of hiring a lawyer
  prevents some Americans from having equal access
  to justice.
• 2. What evidence is there that blacks are not
  treated equally by the legal system.
• 3. Which state has the highest number of
  executions? Give evidence to support your
  answer.
• 4. The death penalty is less likely to be used
  if the homicide (murder) victim is from an ethnic
  minority group Using Figure 4.12 what evidence
  is there to support this view.
• 5. Using the evidence on page 98 what evidence is
  there that blacks are more likely to be
• a) involved in crime
• b) victims of crime.

11
Health Care in the USA

• Aims
• To identify how Americans pay for healthcare.
• Examine the reasons why some Americans face
  inequalities in health.

12
Group Task

• As a group write down examples of times
• that you have used health care in the UK
• E.g. In hospital to have appendix out

13
Paying For Health Care

• GOVERNMENT
• Medicare over 65s
• Medicaid poor
• Problems
• Not all treatments are covered.
• Some doctors/hospitals refuse to treat you

• PRIVATE INSURANCE
• You pay OR
• Employer pays
• Problems
• Expensive.
• People are underinsured not covered for every
  type of treatment

14
The Cost of Health Insurance

• In the USA it costs the average family
• 9,100 a year for health insurance.
• This is roughly 6,000 pounds!! Could
• your family afford this?

15
Healthcare in the USA

• 58 of the US population are covered by some
  level of private insurance.
• 15 have no insurance cover.
• 27 depended on government programmes.
• 11 of children in the USA are without health
  insurance.

16
Consequences of Being Uninsured

• Lack of routine care which detects and cures
  health problems before they become serious.
• Only getting medical help when a condition is
  serious.
• Twice as likely as an insured patient to be at
  risk of dying when you get to hospital.
• Less access to high cost technology which can
  provide treatments which might help to save your
  life.

17
People live longer
Doctors are paid high salaries
Rising Cost of Health Insurance
Doctors take out expensive insurance policies in
case a patient sues them
New treatments are more expensive
18
Healthcare in the USA

• Read page 99 and answer the following questions
• Briefly outline the US healthcare system
  mention private insurance, Medicare and Medicaid.
• Do all Americans have equality in healthcare?
  Provide at least two pieces of evidence to
  support your answer.
• Ethnic minorities are more likely to be
  uninsured compared to white Americans Using
  Table 4.12 what evidence is there to support this
  statement.
• What are the consequences of being uninsured?
• What are the main disadvantages of the Medicare
  and Medicaid scheme?

19
Inequalities in Health

• Due to the different health care system
• in the USA there are huge inequalities
• between ethnic groups. African Americans and
• Hispanics are more likely to have
• No health insurance
• Lower life expectancy
• Higher infant mortality rates
• Higher rates of low birth rates among babies

20
Education in the USA

• Aims
• Schools in inner city areas (ghettos) have a
  poorer standard of education.
• White Americans achieve more success in education
  than ethnic minorities.

21

• Education
• Success Lack of Success
• Employment Unemployment
• Good Income Low Income

Success in education will affect the overall
quality of a persons life.
22
Types of Schools

• Inner City Schools
• Poor buildings
• Teacher shortage
• Less access to computers/equipment
• Armed police officers on site
• Higher drop-out rates

• Wealthy Suburbs
• State of the art buildings
• Specialised teachers
• Sophisticated equipment
• Little or no drop-out rate
• High achievement in national tests.

23
Inequalities in Education

• of High School Graduates Unemployed
• Whites 7
• Blacks 15
• Hispanics 33
• Even when whites/blacks achieve success in the
• same areas of work, whites earn more than
• blacks.

24
Employment and Unemployment

• Aims
• Identify the effects of unemployment
• Identify the main inequalities in employment and
  unemployment

25
Poverty
Crime
Unemployment
Poor Housing
Poor Education
Poor Health
26
Employment and Unemployment

• Other Points
• Income levels of ethnic minorities are lower e.g.
  Blacks on average earns two-thirds of what a
  White American earns.
• Even when Blacks and Whites have equal
  qualifications, Black earnings are lower.
• There is discrimination in the workplace against
  ethnic minorities when it comes to hiring and
  promoting staff.

27
Poverty

• Aims
• Identify the causes of poverty
• Identify the main inequalities in poverty
• Understand how a circle of deprivation affects
  many Americans.

28
Poor Education
Unemployment
Causes of Poverty
Single parent families
Discrimination
Welfare Cutbacks
29
Circle of Deprivation

• Many Americans find themselves trapped
• in a circle of deprivation children grow
• up facing the same social and economic
• inequalities as their parents with little
• chance of achieving the American Dream.
• Living in inner cities of US cities are the
• underclass people facing extreme poverty and
• more likely to be out of work, living on welfare
• benefits and involved in crime.

30
Housing in the USA

• Aims
• Identify the inequalities in housing in the USA.

31
Housing in USA

• Ethnic minorities are more likely to live in the
  inner cities in poor housing.
• Just under half of all Blacks and Hispanics own
  their homes compared to whites.
• Blacks/Hispanics find it more difficult to get a
  mortgage they have lower incomes than most
  other groups.
• Banks often discriminate against people with a
  ghetto zipcode (postcode). They believe they
  will have difficult getting loans repaid.

32
Segregation in Housing

• During the past 40 years Whites have left the
  inner cities for a better quality of life in the
  suburbs and to escape the growing population of
  Blacks and Hispanics.
• This has led to segregation in the inner cities
  with certain areas dominated by Blacks or
  Hispanics.
• Some of the most segregated cities are New York,
  Chicago and Philadelphia.
• There is even segregation in the wealthier
  suburbs. Many white communities have tried to
  control the buying and selling of local homes.
• Studies have shown when the ethnic minority
  population in an area exceeds 8, whites move
  out. This is known as white flight.

33
Types of Housing
Inner City Ghetto Inner City Apartments Middle Class Suburbs High Class Suburbs




34
Family Life

• In the USA divorce rates are rising and the
  number of single parent families is increasing.
• 30 of blacks are middle class and have a
  traditional family structure two parents and
  two children.
• In the ghetto, over 80 of families are headed by
  a single parent and only 11 are headed by two
  parents.
• In total only 36 of black children live with
  both parents.
• Single parents are more likely to be unemployed
  and living on welfare. Their children are less
  likely to do well at school, more likely to be
  involved in crime and lack positive male role
  models in their life.
• Family life is very important in the Hispanic
  community 64 of children grow up in a
  two-parent family

35
What Causes Social and Economic Inequality?

• Aims
• Identify the main causes of social and economic
  inequality in the USA.
• Examine the evidence that ethnic minorities have
  made social and economic progress.

36
Causes of Inequality

• Unemployment higher levels of unemployment among
  ethnic minorities.
• Education less ethnic minorities finish high
  school and/or college.
• Discrimination particularly against ethnic
  minorities in the workforce.
• Family Structure higher numbers of single parent
  families among ethnic minorities increases the
  chances of poverty.
• Welfare Cutbacks Ethnic minorities are more
  likely to rely on benefits.

37
Causes of Inequality

• Affirmative Action Programmes these have been
  cut back by the government and challenged by
  courts.
• Lack of Political Participation and
  Representation ethnic minorities are less likely
  to vote, so political parties do not chase
  their votes as much as the white vote.
• Cost tackling inequalities cost money and
  political parties are reluctant to raise taxes.
• White Flight/Circle of Deprivation increase
  poverty in US cities.

38
Economic and Social Progress

• Poverty levels for ethnic minorities have dropped
  compared to the 1950s.
• More ethnic minorities are finishing high school,
  going to college and getting into professional
  well-paid jobs.
• Income levels have improved a greater of
  Blacks are classed as middle class.
• Home ownership levels have also risen.

39
Economic and Social Progress

• Despite the progress that has been made
• ethnic minorities are still more likely to
• face economic and social inequality and
• less likely to achieve the American Dream.

40
Affirmative Action

• Aims
• Examine the importance of the Civil Rights
  Movement.
• Define Affirmative Action
• Identify examples of Affirmative Action
  Programmes (AAPs)

41
The Civil Rights Movement

• In the past ethnic minorities were treated as
  second-class citizens in the USA and did not have
  equal rights with whites.
• In the 1950s/1960s the Civil Rights Movements
  campaigned for Blacks (and all other minorities)
  to have equal rights.
• One of the most famous civil rights leaders was
  Martin Luther King.
• Changes in the law were introduced in the 1960s
  to ensure that all Americans had equality.

42
Affirmative Action

• In the 1970s Affirmative Action Programmes were
  introduced by the federal government.
• The aim was to help ethnic minorities overcome
  past discrimination.
• Affirmative Action means positive
  discrimination in favour of a particular group.

43
Affirmative Action Programmes

• Schools busing was introduced to transport
  children around towns to try and achieve a racial
  balance in schools.
• Universities preference was given to ethnic
  minority candidates applying for university.
• Employment companies which had contracts with
  the federal/state government had to ensure that
  their workforce reflected the different ethnic
  groups in the US population and that there was no
  discrimination in hiring/promotion of workers.

44
The Future of Affirmative Action

• Across the USA there has been huge opposition to
  Affirmative Action Programmes.
• In California in 1996, voters passed Proposition
  209 which abolished AAPs in public employment,
  education and contracts.
• A number of states have followed suit and ended
  AAPs.
• The University of California stopped using race
  to decide student admissions the number of
  Blacks, Hispanic and White students who were
  awarded spaces dropped but admissions for Asian
  students increased.

45
The Future of Affirmative Action

• In 2003, the University of Michigan was
  challenged in court regarding its admissions
  policy ethnic minorities were given extra
  points when applications were being assessed.
  This legal challenge was supported by President
  Bush.
• The Supreme Court ruled the university could take
  race into account when admitting students but
  they could not award them extra points.
• Therefore many people feel that the situation
  regarding AAPs is very confusing.