USA - socio economic inequality

Question 1

education
PEE

Answer 1

• education allows for better life opportunities, way to escape cycle of poverty
• funding for schools in US comes primariy from two sources > roughly half coming from the individual state government and th rest coming from property and sales tax within school districts
• results in areas with higher property prices, mainly white neighbourhoods, will have better funded and equipped schools.
• divide between States
• SD gives 30% more to poorer schools
• Nevada gives 52% less money to the most serves schools
• significant social and economic inequality
  EG - white individuals graduation rates in 2023 were 90% versus 81% for black individuals

Question 2

education links with unemployment
REE

Answer 2

• ethnic minorities may struggle to find employment for a number of reason
  ^ racism , language barrier and lack of opportunities
• recent success in the increase of black and hispanic individuals living with in the American middle class
• black Americans are still two times more likely to be unemployed than white individuals
• recent 20203 figures do show this ethnic divide is starting to shrink and black unemployment area is now at it lowest ever rate of 5%
• there is also evidence of inequality within the workplace
• with 41% of black men had experiencing discrimination , racism or unfair treatment within employment
• reflects clear divide and ongoing issues not only outside of employment
  EG > black men on average only earn 87cents for every $1 a white male makes

Question 3

poverty
PEE

Answer 3

• the USA has one of the highest rates of poverty
• roughly 38million people living under the poverty line
• richest 1% tend to live in cali, NY vs poorest live in Mississippi & Louisiana
• differences in types of employment with these states
• southern states have higher rates of transportation and construction jobs compared to sates like NY that are economic hubs
• transportation and construction jobs tend to be less stablele and offer lower wages they also have less chance of promotion so dont open up much opportunities for high success
  -with black individuals commonly being seen to highly populate these states and be in low wage types of employment they are therefore more likely out experience poverty
  EG > this contributes to 27% of black people living in poverty in the USA which is over twice the rate compared to white people

Question 4

poverty links with healthcare
REE

Answer 4

• private medical insurance to cover medical bills
• currently insurance or a family of four can cost up to $20,00 with single coverage payments costing roughly $300 a month.
• significant strain on lower income families
• insurance policies also have ‘excess’ meaning the individual will still have to contribute a certain amount of the cost of bills, this can be a much as $1000
• Obamacare made it compulsory for all companies either to over 50 employees to offer medical coverage to staff
• covers basic or minimum value care plans that might not cover long term illness or conditions
• statistically ethnic minorities are less likely yo have any form of medical insurance
• direct result of poverty and a lack of money
  EG > 9% of white individuals dont have medical insurance in the US, however this figure is 13% for black individuals and 21% of hispanics

Question 5

crime and prison population
PEE

Answer 5

• majority of crime in the USA is committed in the inner cities and tends to be concentrated in disadvantaged areas
• these ares tend to have higher levels of ethnic minorities
• more likely to experience crime as a result
• statistics also suggest that this may stem more likely to commit crime or be involved in crime
• despite making up for 13.6% of the overall population , black individuals make up 37% of the prison population
• having a criminal record in the US can have a significant affect on employment
• being unable to find a stable job can result in individuals being unable to escape high crime neighbourhoods
• if a victim of crime they will suffer extreme insurance costs and medical bills
• many black and hispanic individuals experience racial profiling at the hand of the police
• this can result in police brutality
  EG > police brutality statistics show that black individuals are 2.6 times more likely to be killed bh police than white individuals

Question 6

crime and its links with geography
REE

Answer 6

• the are that you grow up in can have significant impacts on life opportunities
• ‘ghettos’ is a term used to describe suburban areas that have strong links to crime, gang activity and poverty
• traditionally ghettos tend other have higher proportions of ethnic minorities living in them
• this therefore increases their likelihood of both experiencing and committing crime
  EG > areas such as Compton in California have a crime rate that is 208% higher than the national average and 61% of its population are either black or hispanic