Poverty in Inner Cities of America - Research Paper Example

Poverty in the inner cities of America This paper seeks to create a better understanding of the link between poverty and other social evils in the society. Presently, there is so much poverty in the American inner cities. Slums, ghettos and barrios are some of the names used to refer to inner cities. The names connote racism, ethnicity (people of color) and class (underclass). A song like, “ghetto child” by Robert Kelly has both racial and economic connotations. The common usage of the word ghetto is usually in reference to an urban inner city where the residents are primarily black. The term barrio refers to an urban inner city where the Hispanics are primarily residents. The word slum connotes an area where no ethnic community dominates. Poverty levels are high in slums, barrios and ghettos. It should be noted that not all African- American and Hispanic neighborhoods are poor. Discussions of underclass associate the residents of those inner cities with certain types of behaviors and attitudes. Excessive focus on poorest inner cities can redirect attention from the broader structural aspect of poverty. As a result they may fail to see the important contributions to reducing poverty that straightforward measures like Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) can achieve. Painting a picture of obstinate poverty in inner cities can cause hopelessness among policy makers Most alarming social evils in the society, ranging from use and sale of illegal drug to violence, take place in the inner cities of America. Even though today poverty in the inner cities of America is still a major concern, most Americans do not talk about it. However, when asked about poverty directly, many people will admit that poverty, especially in inner cities of America, is still a major concern. Poverty is a complex phenomenon which is hard to define. It is also difficult to differentiate forms, causes and consequences of poverty. Further, many people do not agree why poverty is a problem in America. Neither do they agree on the causes or consequences. It is therefore difficult to agree on a solution. There are those people who believe the poor are responsible for their condition. Mostly, people who feel the poor are responsible for their circumstances are the middle and upper income earners. They believe the poor can change their circumstances by working hard. This class of Americans feel poor people should not receive welfare benefits from the government. The middle and upper class Americans are careful to avoid working, living or even driving through the inner cities. Inner cities are deadly neighborhoods to them (Jencks, 1998). This means the poor people living in the inner cities have to cope with poverty and social isolation. Isolating the poor intensifies effects of poverty. In the Truly Disadvantaged: The Inner-City, the Underclass and Public Policy, Wilson W., J., 1987 observes that isolating the poor denies them opportunities, main stream resources and role models. This results to a “disproportionate concentration of the most disadvantaged segments of the urban black population (Wilson, 1987 pp 58). The end result of this concentration is teenage parents, school dropouts, drug abuse and many other social evils. Most low income earners believe circumstances that cause poverty are not within the control of the poor. The poor have said drug abuse, lack of meaningful jobs, lack of spousal support in case of single parent families and immigrants are the causes of poverty. Of all the causes of poverty mentioned, drug abuse has been named as the major cause of poverty by majority of Americans. Social and economic inequalities have also been associated with poverty in America. One social inequality is racism and ethnicity. The culture of racism started in the times of slave trade. The culture was further toughened by apartheid in the United States. People of color were not allowed to share in the American dream until in 1960s. The Economic Opportunity ACT of 1964 was seen as an official measure to deal with poverty. The passing of the Economic Opportunity Act was mainly a response to the urban riots of 1960. Many Americans were hopeful condition of inner cities in America would improve. In addition to passing of the Act, there was appointment of the Kerner Commission by the then President of America Johnson to investigate causes of violence. Racism and inequality were major causes of the urban riots of 1960s (Kerner Commission, 1968). The report made recommendations that steps be taken to end in the lives of all people. Americans were hopeful that the steps taken and efforts made at the time will lead to improvement of the conditions of the urban poor. However, recommendations set out in the report by Kerner commission were not seriously adopted. People are no longer optimistic as they were during the passing of the Economic Opportunity ACT of 1964. The society today demonstrates racism by blaming people of color for all things that go wrong. The society should deal with poverty in inner cities for various reasons. Firstly, the poverty in the inner cities influences the character, social and economic life of people who live in them (Tienda, 1991). Effects of living in the inner cities are worse on children and adolescents. If children and adolescents are influenced to make unwise choices due to poverty, they may live with the consequences for their whole lives. The culture of urban inner cities emphasizes on short term goals. Usually, there is no proper funding of schools in urban inner cities. This results to poor quality of education in those environments. There is lack of access to meaningful jobs for those living in urban inner cities (Kain, 1992). All those factors lead to destitution and influence the decisions children and adolescents make. Both the children end up adopting values and practices which are destructive to self. Some of the practices maybe criminal like drug trafficking. The Kerner Commission report of 1968 made observations that the practices make the children better candidates for civil and criminal disorder as opposed to better candidates for employment. As a result they lack the opportunity for entry in the American society. The result is a vicious circle of poverty. Culture of poverty sustains itself, becomes resistant to real change in the structure of opportunities and is passed from generation to generation (Lewis 1965). The second reason why society should deal with poverty in inner cities is because it affects the quality of life of the residents. The culture of poverty in urban inner cities results to a system of violence and unfair relationships (Kerner Commission Report, 1968). America is the most powerful and wealthiest nation on earth. Clearly, there is availability of resources in America. This raises questions as to why poverty is a major concern in the country. Lack of clear definition of the nature, causes and solutions of poverty could be the problem America is facing (Galbraith, 1986) Galbraith described poverty as a most devastating social failure in a greatly affluent age and land. To Galbraith the heaviest burden America has on its social conscience is poverty. He further observes the tendency of American policy makers to view societal problems in terms of the preferred policy strategies. He noted that the preferred policy strategies are the ones which involve reducing the role of the federal government, are relatively cheap and stress individual responsibility. These policy strategies are a new cause of poverty. They reward the poor improperly. Poor rewarding of the poor leads to lack of motivation. They call for limited service and aid to the disadvantaged (towards a new understanding, 2006). Evidently, the way a society views and determines poverty determines the measures it employs to deal with it. For America to effectively deal with poverty, it must make proper diagnosis of the causes and solutions of poverty. Poverty must realistically be defined for better understanding and for realistic solutions to be achieved (Rank, 2004) for a long time; understanding of poverty in America has been shaped by economic structure and individualistic structure. There have been emphasizes that the poor are the cause of their own poverty. Thus the poor are the solution to their poverty since they are the cause. This belief focus on the wealthy of America. Because America is the wealthiest nation on earth, there is an assumption there is opportunity for richness and well being for all Americans (Mithaug, 1996). The assumption is that everyone can live comfortably and modestly with enough hard work. So, the poor are to blame for their poverty. Their poverty results from their own insufficiency. The main focus on the cause of poverty is personality, character such as irresponsibility, lack of morals, laziness, drug and alcohol use, poor saving habits among others (Schwartz, 2000). Individuals with such insufficiencies lack the ability to take advantage of readily available opportunities. Improperly rewarding policies, which do not motivate the poor to work hard or practice moral values, aggravate the problem (Mead, 1992). It appears the problem lies in badly drafted policies which influence unwise decisions by members of the society. There are other people who believe poverty is caused by lack of education, proper skills and marketable training. People without proper training and marketable skills lack adequate human capital to compete in the labor market (Schiller, 2004). The characteristic of a person’s family are also considered. Persons from single parent families or persons with many children will not be in a position to compete in the employment market advantageously. This tendency of blaming the poor justifies the feeling among the middle and upper class Americans that the poor do not deserve help. This is why they are against the social welfare benefit. To them, the poor are getting benefits they have not worked for. The old way of thinking should change because it has not been able to eliminate poverty in America. A realistic approach should be adopted which supports all Americans to achieve prosperity. Inequalities in economic and social structure should be addressed. The economy should produce meaningful, beneficial and properly rewarding jobs. In America today, most jobs are part time. The number of job seekers exceeds the number of available vacancies (Uchitelle, 2006) the new understanding should be based on the belief that we all have a role to play in eliminating poverty. Conclusion and Recommendations To alleviate poverty, America should appreciate economic and social structures that cause poverty. Poverty should not be viewed as a permanent condition, as if the poor will always be poor. Poverty should not be measured by income only. It should be measured based on deprivation. Poverty should not be blamed on the poor. It should be seen as a moral exasperation amidst American prosperity. Poverty affects all Americans and not only the ones living within the urban inner cities. Works cited Economic Opportunity ACT of 1964 Galbraith J., K., 1986, A view From The Stands: of people, politics, military power and the arts. 18 Journal of Law &Policy [Vol. 20:17] Kain 1992, The Urban crisis,: Linking Research to Action. Kerner Commission Report, 1968 Lewis O., 1965, La Vida, A Puerto Rican Family in the Culture of Poverty, San Juan and Newyork, Vintage books Mead M., M., 1992, The New Politics of Poverty: The Nonworking Poor in America Mithaug D., E., 1996, equal opportunity theory Rank M., R., 2004 One Nation Underprivileged: Why American poverty affects us all [20 Journal of Law & Policy Vol. 20:17] Schiller B., R., 2004, The Economics of Poverty and Discrimination, 9th Edn Schwartz J., 2000, Fighting Poverty with Virtue: Moral reform and America’s Urban Poor Uchitelle L., 2006, The Disposable American: Layoffs and Their Consequences Read More