Haves and Have Nots Seminar - Moody Middle School

"I recently analyzed data on national living standards from three different sources encompassing 160 countries. I compared the living standards enjoyed by the poor and by the middle class to inequality measures from two sources. These comparisons consistently showed that once the developed nations of Europe, Asia, and the English-speaking world are distinguished from the developing world, there is a tendency for countries with more inequality to have higher living standards below the top." This article basically states that though income inequality sometimes causes the lower percent of earners to be poorer, studies show that in many cases, there is a higher standard for living in places with income inequality, as well as saying that income inequality only used to be a more major issue in the past.

This article talks about the pros and cons of income inequality. It mentions it's affects on the lower and middle class. It also talks about both political views from the two very different parties.

"Of the 17 Henrico County public schools that failed to earn full accreditation from the state, all but one are in the eastern side of the county."    I believe this article shows that there is a distinct difference between students and their schools in the eastern and western counties of Henrico. In addition, the educational opportunities provided to them also vary, and the learning environment they're placed in has a positive and negative effect as well. I think that these differences are growing, and that this is visible to the county and the parents and students of Henrico, in-which they''re doing all they can so that these students of the eastern counties don't fall even further behind.

"Letting every employee have an identical opportunity to use a restroom located up a flight of stairs may be "identical" treatment but it is hardly equal treatment for a worker who uses a wheelchair. " This entire article talks about what the ADA is and what it is supposed to do; yet also talks about what the ADA is not doing. Additionally, it talks about how the demand for equality for the disabled and how that is what the ADA should be doing; thus not fully delivering on the promises that the ADA made when created.

"The report finds that a black or Hispanic student is nearly four times more likely to be enrolled in one of the city's poorest performing high schools than an Asian or white, non-Hispanic student. According to review of 2009-10 data, none of the city's strongest schools are located in the poorest neighborhoods of Harlem, the South Bronx, and central Brooklyn. Schools with the highest scores are found in northeastern Queens, the and the Upper East Side. As a result of New York City policies, black, Latino and low-income students have very limited access to those schools."

The article I have chosen clearly depicts the general population's ideas on education inequality. It gives statistics to build upon my point in the seminar and examples.

"The report finds that a black or Hispanic student is nearly four times more likely to be enrolled in one of the city's poorest performing high schools than an Asian or white, non-Hispanic student. According to review of 2009-10 data, none of the city's strongest schools are located in the poorest neighborhoods of Harlem, the South Bronx, and central Brooklyn" This article talks about how the opportunity gap is not only in different economic classes, but also through different ethnicities.

"Family income is now a better predictor of children's success in school than race." The NY Times article of "No Rich Child Left Behind" explains the intricacies of living in the poor, middle, and the rich classes; and how each have an overwhelming academic gap in between them. In this article it explains how much has changed since the 20th century, and how we are becoming very slow to picking up on the problem; even though it's staring right at us. In addition to this, this article describes that even race has become a lesser problem than the gap between the middle class and the poor.

"But we don't need equal resources because a lot of the schools, especially in the Fairfield District, need more resources because they have more challenges." This article describes the distribution of more resources to schools in the east-end of Henrico. It sheds light on how equal distribution of educational resources is not longer working to aid Henrico schools's current situation. Therefore, Henrico should put more effort towards helping poorer schools by providing them with better resources.

Kristen Larson, vice chairwoman of the Richmond School Board, says the city's school buildings have been allowed to decay for so long that at Fisher Elementary, "one staff member came to me and said, 'There's a 20-year-old leak in a classroom.' " This article talks about the neglect of Richmond city schools. One of the things that leads to a quality education is a building that is in good condition. Comparing the schools described in this article it can be said that HCPS provides a better space for students to recieve thair education then richmond city.

This article relates to income inequality because it describes how inequality is a "three headed hydra." The article describes the three heads as income inequality, consumption inequality, and wealth. The three are related by the author and he/she raises key questions about which measures of inequality we should be concerned with.

"America needs a vibrant and prosperous middle class to drive economic growth. Unfortunately, with the increasing economic inequality of the past several decades, the United States has become less of a middle-class nation, and those in the middle have found themselves increasingly financially squeezed and struggling to get by. It is time that policymakers take action to reverse these trends by working to boost middle-class incomes and to ensure that the essentials of a middle-class lifestyle remain affordable. " This article shows how income inequality has become an increasing issue in the U.S. over the years. It depicts how as the issue has been increasing, America's middle class has actually been shrinking. It shows the struggles of the middle class against the issue through statistical data as well.

America's middle class has begun to shrink in the last 20 years due to the rich becoming even richer and the poor becoming even poorer. As income inequality has grown in the US, the size of the middle class has shrunk astronomically. For example, in 1979, the middle class was 57% of the US, but now, it is only 42%. This leads to a greater separation between the rich and poor

"America's middle class is struggling. As recent economic data show, middle-class household incomes remain stagnant at a near-25-year low, and the share of the nation's economic gains going to the middle class has fallen to near-record lows. Meanwhile, the costs of middle-class essentials-such as child care, higher education, health care, and housing-have rapidly increased. Beyond these well-documented facts, however, another long-term trend affecting the middle class has received somewhat less attention: As income inequality has steadily grown in the United States, the actual size of America's middle class has shrunk." This article explains various effects of income inequality on middle class citizens. It discusses the decrease in middle class households over time. Due to income inequality, less than 50% of American households can actually be considered "middle class".

"The achievement gap between children from high- and low-income families is roughly 30 to 40 percent larger among children born in 2001 than among those born twenty-five years earlier." According to a recent study, children that have a higher household income tend to do better in school as opposed to children with a lower household income. This is mainly because the higher income students get more educational opportunities, and this is beginning to form an "opportunity gap" between the two groups of students.

"Family income is now nearly as strong as parental education in predicting children's achievement." This article is an excerpt from a book Whither Opportunity in which the author describes a rapid increase of growth between the rich and the poor's availability to education. Not only this, but it describes how the incomes of parents are affecting not only their children's everyday life, but their futures as well.

"Statistics on the gap between rich and poor around the world are stunning. Crédit Suisse says people with a net worth of more than $1 million represent just 0.7% of the global population, but they have 41% of the world's wealth. Meanwhile, those with a net worth of less than $10,000 represent 69% of the population, but just 3% of global wealth." This article shows how people who are wealthy only represent a little percentage of the global population. This also shows how people who aren't as wealthy represent a large percentage of the global population, but don't have as much money as the wealthy people who only represent a small global population. This article shows that a small amount of people are in possession of the most money, while the large amount of people are poor or not wealthy.

Crédit Suisse says people with a net worth of more than $1 million represent just 0.7% of the global population, but they have 41% of the world's wealth. Meanwhile, those with a net worth of less than $10,000 represent 69% of the population, but just 3% of global wealth. This article talks not only about unbalanced wealth is but the effects of this gap. This article also talks about what different regions think about the topic.

"The gap between aspiration and reality could hardly be wider. Today, the United States has less equality of opportunity than almost any other advanced industrial country. Study after study has exposed the myth that America is a land of opportunity." This article explains how and why our country has lost one of the things that it prized the most, equal opportunity. With many examples this article goes into detail on just how wide the gap has become, and how the rags to riches American dream has burned to the ground. 

"The U.S. Constitution  promises to "insure domestic tranquility," to "provide for the common defense" and to "promote the general welfare." Taxes make these things possible. Taxes pay for the good roads, clean air and water, safe food and drugs, and strong military that Americans value. Taxes make it possible for businesses to thrive, for children to attend school and for hospitals to care for the sick. Tax dollars pay the salaries of firefighters and police officers. Taxes pay for the emergency workers, shelters and services needed when the nation is devastated by natural disasters such as Hurricane Sandy. So maybe the federal income tax should get a birthday party. It has, after all, given us civilization. " This article talks about how taxes are important to our government. It talks about how taxes came to the way they are now and how they pay for important things. It talks about how they pay to keep our country and community safe and first aid. Taxes pay for a lot of things and most of those are very important to our everyday lives.

"All told, the federal government spent nearly $250 billion in 2011 paying more than 23 million Americans some type of disability claim. That's about 7% of the overall population, and 16% of the workforce." This article is mainly about the rise of disability and why it is happening. It provides information about the amount of people receiving disability claims, when money for these claims may run out, what actions will be taken when it does, and the influence of the recession on the amount of people with a disability to work.

This article describes the rapid growth of disability claims and payments despite many advances in medicine and technologies in other fields. The article also contains statistical examples of how this is affecting the economy. 

" In 39 states, welfare pays more than the starting wage for a secretary." This article explains how the majority of states offer a total potential government-provided welfare benefit that is higher than the annual pretax wage of many common jobs. The article also includes a chart comparing the annual welfare benefit and the annual pretax wage earned in a given job in each state.

"The opportunity to learn-the necessary resources, the curriculum opportunities, the quality teachers-that affluent students have, is what determines what people can do in life." Linda Darling-Hammond, Professor of Education at Stanford University This includes information such as the different percentages of experienced teachers in different counties, states, cities, and districts. It mentions data about the education gap between different races in the US. It also gives information on how the access to high-level courses varies by state, and reasons and ways to close the opportunity gap.

In this article, they talk about opportunity gaps in America. They also talk about racial discrimination when it comes to getting a good education.

"Some economists have long argued that a widening income gap suppresses economic growth and job creation, and may be one reason this economic recovery doesn't feel like a recovery at all." This article represents my viepoint on the issue of income inequality. Although there are a few benefits to different incomes, the cons outweigh the pros. People of the middle and lower classes have been discovered to spend more of their income then the wealthy. This causes an overall decrease in the economic growth of the country. This is just one of the many bad effects income inequality has on America. Other effects include the greater lifespan of rich people compared to poor people, and the difference in the quality of education that children receive.

""The 400 richest people in the United States have more wealth than the bottom 150 million put together," said Berkeley Professor and former Labor Secretary Robert Reich on a recent CNNMoney panel on inequality." This Website really makes you think about how money is distributed in America today, but you also still have to think didn't these rich people earn their money? I mean don't you think it would be unfair to take their money away and give it to other people if they earned it a worked hard for it?

""The 400 richest people in the United States have more wealth than the bottom 150 million put together," said Berkeley Professor and former Labor Secretary Robert Reich on a recent CNNMoney panel on inequality. Meanwhile, the median wage earner in America took home 9% less last year than in 1999. But the rising income gap is manifesting itself in American society in other ways too. Social scientists have long said income inequality is bad for society. Yet popular measures of social stability -- crime rates, voter non-participation -- have been going down over the last couple of decades." The article talks about how income inequality is very bad for america and that it needs to be discussed. It effects economic growth and ever peoples' lifespan.

"The 1940s to the late 1970s, while by no means a golden age (as evidenced, for example, by the perpetuation of gender, ethnic, and racial discrimination in the job market), was a period in which workers from the lowest-paid wage earner to the highest-paid CEO experienced similar growth in incomes. This was a period in which "a rising tide" really did lift all boats. This underscores that there is nothing inevitable about top incomes growing faster than other incomes, as has occurred since the late 1970s. The unequal income growth since the late 1970s has brought the top 1 percent income share in the United States to near its 1928 peak." This article explains the ever increasing income inequality in modern day society. It verbally and non-verbally describes how the income of the top 1% of America is rapidly occupying a greater percentage of the income of all the populaces of the United States of America and that the income share of top one percent is nearing the peak it reached in 1928.