Inequality DB Réponses. Week 11

After reading over the articles there were a few strategies that stood out to me to combat both poverty and inequality. From the Olinksy article, I thought the strategy to increase access to high quality pre-school was extremely important in combating inequality. Olinksy discusses how low-income students are falling behind in academics before they even get to kindergarten due to a lack of access to good pre-schools. This lack of access not only increases inequality between children of low-income and high-income families as high-income families now have an unfair advantage but also negatively impacts child development. Olinksy mentions access to high-quality pre-school also resulting in long-term educational, social and economic benefits from increased earnings and tax revenues breaking the cycle of poverty. While this did not come to mind when initially reading this policy, I believe this actually could be beneficial in efforts to diminish poverty as children will have the advantage of excelling academically, ultimately increasing their likelihood of obtaining employment in the future. 

Another strategy that stood out to me was "ensuring that workers with disabilities have a fair shot at employment and economic security"(meant to address both inequality and poverty) from the Kali and Dutta-Gupta article. I believe this strategy is extremely important in combating both inequality and poverty as people with disabilities are often discriminated against for certain employment options, leaving them forced to live off of government assistance which will most certainly leave them in poverty. People with disabilities deserve to have the same opportunities as able-bodied individuals for the jobs that they qualify for, and should not be forced to live off of government assistance due to inequality in employment. Lastly, the strategy to reform the criminal justice system to end mass incarceration and remove barriers to economic security and mobility for the one in three Americans with a criminal record (meant to address inequality and poverty) from the Kali and Dutta-Gupta article is also a great strategy. As mass incarceration has disproportionately affected African-Americans, inequality not only continues to grow within the legal realm, but also in the employment realm as previously incarcerated individuals struggle to locate employment following their release, and ultimately end up in poverty. Addressing mass incarceration as well as removing barriers to economic security would not only address the inequality faced by African-Americans, but also decrease their likelihood of living in poverty following their release from jail, and allow for them to reintegrate into society and have an equal chance at economic mobility. 

Student 2. Rebecca Felczak

A strategy suggested to combat inequality is raising the minim wage to (Oblinsky, 2014). This would allow folks who work for minimum wage to earn enough to support themselves and their families, and to pay workers more fairly for the value and productivity that they provide to large corporations.  Oblinsky (2014) also notes that raising the minimum wage would benefit the economy in general allowing workers to spend more money in their communities and to participate more in the market which would stimulate the economy and benefit both workers, companies, and put less strain on taxpayers since there will be greater tax revenues available to fund government programs.  Raising the minimum wage cold help to reduce the ever increasing gap between the rich and the poor and address the grossly unequal distribution of resources in the US.  In addition to raising the federal minimum wage, improving retirement security is another method of to combat inequality  (Oblinsky, 2014).  By making retirement plan options available to everyone, there would be less elderly that are fully reliant on safety net programming and the elderly would be able to retire knowing that they can take care of themselves.

Although this is an article about inequality, I think that raising the minimum wage and improving retirement security also address poverty.  If workers received pay that was higher and more reflective of the value and productivity they provide their employers, there would be less people living in poverty.   Workers would have more take home pay for the costs of housing, food, and other basic necessities.  With expanded availability in retirement savings options the elderly would have more financial stability and flexibility.  If everyone was offered retirement savings plans starting from an early age, the poverty rate among the elderly would be lower.  This would give more individuals and families control over their living situations and may relieve some of the chronic stress faced by those living in poverty.