Poverty and economic inequality are a global threat towards economic development of a given country and often result in poor living conditions among the workforce in the region. Poor people cannot afford basic commodities like proper shelter, a balanced diet and enough money to feed their children (Ehrenreich, Arlie and Henry 282). Poverty comprises of two areas that are relative and absolute poverty. Relative poverty results from having income values lower than the average country's income values. On the other hand, absolute poverty involves having an income value that cannot maintain a minimum standard of living. Economic inequality is the disparity between different individuals or a country's population based on the economic well-being of the parties involved. It can be measured using three core metrics that is wealth, consumption and income. This report will shade light on the reasons leading to poverty in a society and further handle the issue of economic inequality. Recommendations on best practices to be used in promoting economic justice will also be explained.
Poverty results from many reasons. One of the reasons the author raises is lower wages for workers. Thirty percent of employees provide their service for less than eight dollars per hour (Ehrenreich, Arlie and Henry 280). The money from such jobs is so small and cannot sustain basic needs. With the increase in gas and rental costs, these workers cannot afford to live a good life as most of them seek shelters in very worrying environments such as trucks or live with more than two people in one shelter. The author further states that his monthly pay is $1040, and he ends up spending $517 on food, gas and laundry ( Ehrenreich,Arlie and Henry 290). The money he gets from his workplace is so small that he is forced to look for an alternative job and perform double shifts just to raise funds for basic needs. Lower wages indeed plays a huge role towards poverty escalation. Workers earning lower salaries cannot afford a good house evident through the landlord sharing a room with the bartender just to cut cost on housing.
Poor management style also leads to high poverty levels. Having an aggressive and a nonprofessional Manager will result in the firing of workers. The author explains that the manager Philips is always rebuking his workers creating discomfort among workers. Most of the workers who are involved in such quarrels are laid off. Furthermore, such managers pile lots of work on the employees and maintaining their lower pay. The firing of worker leads to unemployment thus promoting poverty in the society. The author compares the management style of Philip and Jerry and acknowledges that the latter is more calm and professional (Ehrenreich, Arlie and Henry 285). Constant change in the workforce is evident in the new cook Jesus who is a recruit in the company following sacking of his predecessors.
Having unskilled workforce also leads to poverty. Most of the low-skilled laborers like bar attendees and hotel waiters are often a subject of low wages (Ehrenrich, Arlie and Henry 279). As a result of lack of skills by these individuals, they are often exploited by managers and given extra duties at less pay. Society should be equipped with the highly skilled workforce to fight poverty. Poor people cannot afford to pay for medical insurance and are often a victim of poor health services leading to the inability of performing duties efficiently.
Wealth disparities and inheritance results in a different type of inequality called racial bias. Substantial wealth transfer offers unequal economic resources and opportunities for the diverse group of people used in the case study. The author analyzes four families these are Vivian's, Kathryn, Ackerman's and Elizabeth's. Of the four families, Vivian's family does not get any inheritance from her parents this puts her in a dangerous condition in case of job loss (Shapiro 277). Vivian, who has a vision of buying a house and providing her children with education, may not realize her dream as a result of lack of assets and total dependence on income earned from her work. Kathryn's family, on the other hand, will maintain their good lifestyle after job loss as they will draw money from the inherited assets. Alternatively, they will use their average life assets to cater for their needs if the problem persists. The Ackerman's' family will comfortably sail through this issue thanks to their enormous financial asset; the only readjustment they will make is sacrificing their expensive lifestyle that involves several vacation. Their resources secure an important status for them and also ensure a better education for their children. Cumming's family will not be affected by the loss of job for a very long time because of the massive Elizabeth's inheritance.
The cases presented by the author clear shows inequality among the four groups (Shapiro 278). Wealth is important to an individual stand, social status and quality of their children education. The level of asset inherited has a significant impact on the wellbeing and opportunity for the persons involved. Having cases of racial inequality produces unequal opportunities to the various families and hence may end up affecting both the parent and his children future. Wealth confers privileges and advantage to one common group than the other group.
Family wealth can decline over time by donating the money to the charitable and non-governmental organization. Giving such money will enable children from an impoverished background to get a good education and achieve economic balance. Donating the money will help in reduction of financial muscle of wealthy persons while promoting equal opportunities in the society. A good example of such organization is the Bill Gates foundation that seeks to help the needy children through donations and sponsorship. Using the money for humanitarian reasons in the event of a natural disaster such as earthquakes is also recommended. Lastly limiting the amount of inheritance and assets for your children will also bring about some level of equality between the poor and the rich.
Work cited
Shapiro, Thomas M. The hidden cost of being African American: How Wealth Perpetuates Inequality. Oxford University Press, USA, 2004.
Enrenreich, Barbara, Arlie Hochschild, and Henry Holt. "Nickel and dimed." (2012).
