IDENTIFYING THE BARRIERS TO FREEDOM FROM POVERTY AND INCOME INEQUALITY

We have begun a series of blogs discussing the subjects of poverty and income inequality in  America.  We think that the

subjects are important because freedom from poverty or to change one’s income status is fundamental to American democratic values.  We live in a constitutional democracy where, in theory, every person has a legal right to move through the classifications of the poor, middle class, upper middle class, super rich, and back again.  In other words, we do not operate within a caste system. 

 

While we are a democracy, the system that governs our economic activity is capitalism, and it impacts democratic principles and process.  In America, capitalism has often been tempered with socialism.  Democracy does not guarantee poverty will not exist.  Poverty may occur as a result of a lack of an economic inheritance or the failure to accumulate wealth for a variety of reasons.  Economic inequality can result from a failure to exploit available resources or through a denial of access to such resources.

As we indicated in our earlier blog, Poverty in America:  Where Do We Start and Who Should Address It? income inequality and poverty negatively affect the lives of millions of Americans.  Here we offer two visions that shed some light on the challenges that must be overcome if Americans are to solve this problem.  For those who have visited the countryside, this first vision will likely resonate.  For city dwellers or those who are unfamiliar with the countryside, it might be less effective.  

Imagine for a moment that there exists a beautiful meadow.  In this meadow, the terrain is generally level and the sod is dense and soft.  There are fruit trees and a variety of other

plants and vegetation that serve its inhabitants.  The sun shines on every corner of this meadow, except when it is shielded by the clouds that moderate the sun’s heat.  The wind blows, but not too strongly.  Here Americans work and play and each has a fair opportunity to take advantage of the benefits of this meadow.  Beautiful homes are constructed with well-manicured lawns and safe places of worship.  There are rules governing the behavior of its occupants, but the rules apply equally to all who live there.  In this meadow one lives the American dream.

We now move to a second vision, a jungle.  Many Americans

must traverse this jungle before accessing the meadow.  The

jungle consists of thick underbrush, large trees with low hanging limbs often inhabited by threating reptiles and holes often deceptively dangerous terrain waiting to trip-up the unwary traveler.  In this underbrush are snakes of all varieties and other dangerous animals.  This jungle lacks access to medical services and job training.  There are waters to cross, some navigable others not, and in some locations, rapids.  In other locations, one finds marshes.  For the untrained, unguided, reckless, foolish or poorly equipped, the passage is life threatening.

The second version is intended to highlight the real-life obstacles that one must overcome to reach the meadow, unless, of course, one is born in the meadow.  Those born in the jungle begin in poverty as the descendants of slaves and the heirs of slavery’s legacy.  Those inhabitants were  not

allowed to accumulate wealth, thanks to redlining, sexual discrimination and other barriers.  African Americans were denied the right to vote and deprived of government programs from which other Americans benefited.  Many in this jungle were born with or contracted a disease or suffered a debilitating defeat.  A poor neighborhood with poorly equipped schools and parents who were themselves powerless, due to ignorance and poverty, stopped others.  In this jungle are people reduced to poverty because of calamitous medical bills, from unanticipated illness.  

For some, the jungle was navigable until the jobs left due to globalization, i.e., companies that  once provided jobs left

because of cheap labor in Viet Nam, Pakistan, China, or India.  For others, the companies did not leave the jungle, but many of the jobs did, lost to mechanization and technology.  Fewer workers were needed for the few remaining jobs, because technological advancement reduced the demand for manpower.  For others, the jobs in the jungle remained but wages stagnated because unions were stripped of their capacity to demand of employers a living wage or even an increase in the minimum wage.  Yes, there are people who find themselves in this jungle, though, they did not elect to be there and would leave if shown a way out and the barriers to their exit were removed.

We want every person who wants to reach the meadow to have every opportunity to do so.  In the days and weeks ahead, we will share with you our views on how access to the meadow can be gained i.e., how these barriers might first be identified and then removed.  We hope that you will share with us your views.  We believe America’s life depends on us finding a way through.