Question

What about poverty and inequality in the U.S.? What segments of the population are most vulnerable to the effects of inequality? What are the prospects for social mobility in the U.S?
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Answer 1

Poverty and inequality in the United States

Poverty in the United States of America refers to people who lack sufficient income or material possessions for their needs. Although the United States is a relatively wealthy country by international standards, poverty has consistently been present throughout the United States, along with efforts to alleviate it, from New Deal-era legislation during the Great Depression to the national War on Poverty in the 1960s to poverty alleviation efforts during the 2008 Great Recession.

Measure of poverty-

The U.S. federal government uses two measures to measure poverty: the poverty thresholds set by the U.S. Census Bureau, used for statistical purposes, and the poverty guidelines issued by the Department of Health and Human Services, which are used for administrative purposes. Poverty thresholds, which recognize poverty as a lack of those goods and services which are commonly taken for granted by members of mainstream society, consist of income levels. On the other hand, poverty guidelines are simpler guidelines that are used to determine eligibility for federal programs such as Head Start and food stamps.

Poverty current data-

According to a 2020 assessment by the U.S. Census Bureau, the percentage of Americans living in poverty for 2019 (before the pandemic) had fallen to some of lowest levels ever recorded due to the record-long economic growth period and stood at 11.1%. (adjusted for smaller response during the pandemic) However, between May and October 2020, the economic effects of the pandemic dragged some eight million people into poverty.

The official poverty rate in 2018 was 11.8 percent, down 0.5 percentage points from 12.3 percent in 2017. This is the fourth consecutive annual decline in poverty. Since 2014, the poverty rate has fallen 3.0 percentage points, from 14.8 percent to 11.8 percent.

In 2018, for the first time in 11 years, the official poverty rate was significantly lower than 2007, the year before the most recent recession.

In 2018, there were 38.1 million people in poverty, approximately 1.4 million fewer people than 2017.

Between 2017 and 2018, poverty rates for children under age 18 decreased 1.2 percentage points from 17.4 percent to 16.2 percent. Poverty rates decreased 0.4 percentage points for adults aged 18 to 64, from 11.1 percent to 10.7 percent. The poverty rate for those aged 65 and older (9.7 percent) was not statistically different from 2017.

From 2017 to 2018, the poverty rate decreased for non-Hispanic Whites; females; native-born people; people living in the Northeast, Midwest, and West; people living inside metropolitan statistical areas and principal cities; people without a disability; those with some college education; people in families; and people in female householder families.

Between 2017 and 2018, people aged 25 and older without a high school diploma was the only examined group to experience an increase in their poverty rate. Among this group, the poverty rate increased 1.4 percentage points, to 25.9 percent, but the number in poverty was not statistically different from 2017.

Income Inequality in the United States: Stats and Facts

. Income inequality facts show that the top 1% earns forty times more than the bottom 90%.

In America today, the gap between the top 1% income and the bottom 90% income is widening daily. The top 1% earns, on average, more than forty times than the lower-income earners. Essentially, one person out of 100 earns 40 times more than 90 others in the group.

. The top 0.1% of income earners own as much wealth as the bottom 90%. combined.

Senator Elizabeth Warren’s proposed Ultra Millionaire Tax highlighted more difficulties. The 0.1% of top income earners own the same amount of wealth as the bottom 90% combined. That is, 200 000 wealthy families own as much as 110 million regular families in America. This points to significant inequality in America.

41.4% of people in America are classified as low-income or low-income families.

Income inequality facts show that 41.4% of people living in America today are classified as low-income or poor families. Those qualifying as low-income families earn $28,700 a year.

. The average income for low- and middle-class earners increased by around 140% between 1970 and 2019

Low and middle-class families both saw a similar increase in their basic salaries during the review period. By contrast, the US wealth distribution 2019 stats show that upper-income families earned around 164% more money over the same period.

. In 2015, about 46.4% of employees earning under $15 an hour were aged 35 or older.

Employees over thirty-five might find it challenging to improve their lot because they’re likely to have families. Those earning under $15 an hour are unlikely to be able to afford extras. They’re less likely to be able to take positive steps such as studying.

Social mobility of U.S.A.-

US social mobility has either remained unchanged or decreased since the 1970s. A study conducted by the Pew Charitable Trusts found that the bottom quintile is 57% likely to experience upward mobility and only 7% to experience downward mobility.