CRJ 306 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Median Income, Economic Inequality, Social Capital
24 Oct 2021
School
Department
Course
Professor
Race, Ethnicity, Social Structure, and Crime
Economic Inequality
- One of the surest things we know about wealth is that it is passed on from one generation
to the next
- Unfortunately, pretty much the same is true about poverty
- In these respects, wealth forms an important part of the social capital that shapes a person’s
advantages, or lack of advantages, in life.
- Three Important Patterns of Economic Inequality in America:
1. The large gap between rich and poor, without regard to race or ethnicity
2. The large economic gap between white Americans and communities of color,
particularly African Americans and Hispanics
3. The growth of the very poor - a group some analysts call an underclass - in the last
40 years
- Standard Measure of Economic Inequality
- Income Wealth
- Unemployment Poverty Status
- According to the U.S. Census:
- In 2019, 10.5% of Americans, or over 34.0 million people, live in
poverty. Down 1.3% from 2018.
- The Nature and Extent of Inequality in the U.S.:
- A large gap between rich and poor, without regard to race or ethnicity
- A large economic gap between White Americans and racial minorities
- The growth of the very poor - a group some analysts call an underclass - over the
past 30 years
- Median Family Income
- U.S. Census Bureau data reveals wide gaps between racial and ethnic groups
- In 2019 the median family income for:
- Whites - $61,349
- Hispanics/Latino - $46,882
- African Americans - $38,555
- Poverty by Ethnicity
- According to the 2019 U.S. Census Data, the poverty rate by race:
- Native American - 25.4%
- African American - 18.8%
- Hispanic - 15.7%
- White - 9.1%
- Asian - 7.3%
- Wealth
Document Summary
One of the surest things we know about wealth is that it is passed on from one generation to the next. Unfortunately, pretty much the same is true about poverty. In 2019, 10. 5% of americans, or over 34. 0 million people, live in poverty. The nature and extent of inequality in the u. s. : A large gap between rich and poor, without regard to race or ethnicity. A large economic gap between white americans and racial minorities. The growth of the very poor - a group some analysts call an underclass - over the past 30 years. U. s. census bureau data reveals wide gaps between racial and ethnic groups. According to the 2019 u. s. census data, the poverty rate by race: Wealth cushions a family against temporary hard times, such as a loss of a job or illness. Wealth is passed to the next generation.
