US%20Society

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US Society

• classless society
• majority believe they are middle-class
• system produces many winners
• strong work ethic
• self-reliance important
• what about the losers?

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USA Today survey Jan. 2000
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Problem Areas

• 1 inner-city problems
• 2 break-up of families
• 3 dealing with criminality
• 4 agreeing on gun laws
• 5 reducing inter-ethnic friction
• 6 polarisation of wages

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Inner-city problems

• White flight
• wealthy move out of cities
• result less tax income for urban areas
• unequal conditions
• schools, health care, policing, transport etc.
• higher unemployment rate in cities

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2. Break up of families

• urban families caught in a vicious circle
• increasing wealth gap
• low-paid, insecure jobs
• domestic friction
• increase in divorce statistics
• lack of (male) role model

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Criminality

• zero tolerance policing has reduced crime
• but criminality still high
• increase in teenage criminality
• gang culture
• many crimes drug related
• solution - tougher penalties?
• three strikes law,
• increased use of capital punishment
• prison population over 2m. - and rising fast

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4. Gun laws

• gun ownership increasing
• divisive issue
• NRA powerful lobby group
• constitutional right to own a gun
• people feel the need to protect themselves
• laws vary from state to state
• increasing number of massacres

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5. Inter-ethnic friction

• salad bowl not melting pot
• ethnic ghettos in cities
• Hispanics - poorly paid, often illegal, problems
  integrating
• Afro-Americans - feeling of being unfairly
  treated
• Asians - successful minority, facing resentment
•  

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6. Polarisation of wages

• top 20 doing well
• bottom 20 falling behind
• minimum hourly wage 5.15
• increasing frustration, apathy, resentment
• greater social differences potential danger for
  the future

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However!!

• unemployment is low
• most people are happy with their lives
• more social mobility than in Europe
• even for ethnic minorites
• the American dream is still alive