Economic Issues Poverty & Unemployment

Unemployment means that all Americans are not equal……… Unemployment can lead to poor health low self respect low standard of living (poverty) poor housing or homelessness poor education crime

Unemployment is not shared equally amongst ethnic groups and it is a major problem in American Cities. Unemployment is increasing and is hurting the ethnic minorities more than the whites. In 2003, the unemployment rate for Blacks was double that of Whites. Also Blacks do not earn as much as Whites. Black earnings are only two thirds those of white earnings. This can be explain because: - Blacks drop out of school earlier - Even when Blacks and Whites have equal qualifications, black earnings are lower. - Discrimination still exists when hiring for jobs.

However…. many minorities are reaching top jobs than decades ago with better education, especially for API’s leading to improved job prospects and greater earning potential. Less racism than decades ago has also helped. We now have an African American as President of the USA.

Poverty in America Many Americans cannot afford the basic necessities What do you consider to be a necessity? The American Dream would have us believe that all Americans are rich and enjoy a high standard of living. However the American Reality is that all Americans are not equal and there are millions of poor people in the USA. food house sanitation water healthcare clothes transport

Factors which can lead to poverty: Unemployment Low paid jobs Low educational achievement Discrimination Single parent families Welfare cutbacks The poverty cycle

Who are the poor? Ethnic minorities are three times more likely to suffer from poverty than whites. A child who lives in a poor family will not get the same opportunity for education or healthcare as a child in a well-to-do family. The poverty rate for African Americans was 24.7% in 2004 and 21.9% for Hispanics. Nearly 1 in 3 black children suffer the effects of poverty in the USA The overall US poverty rate increased to 12.7% in ‘White flight’ (middle class white people leaving to live in the suburbs outside the inner cities) has left many ethnic minorities living together in poverty in the inner cities – ghettos.

Welfare Reforms Poor Families have also suffered the effects of cutbacks in welfare. In 1996, ‘Temporary Assistance for Needy Families’ (TANF), was introduced. This provided welfare payments on condition that people worked for their welfare. It provided childcare payments so that single parents (mainly mothers) could go and work a forty hour week for their welfare. It also imposed a lifetime limit of five years on welfare payments. This ‘Welfare to Work’ programme forced many people to find work and it eventually removed others from welfare for ever. This benefited America as long as the American Economy was increasing, as more jobs were available, however since 2000, the US economy has been getting weaker, and poverty has again increased.

This has left many children and single parent families living in poverty in the USA. The majority being ethnic minorities!

Questions Questions 1-7 on page 43 of Ideology and Emerging Nations Book.