CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF CLASS INEQUALITY IN THE U.S. 1
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The author defines class inequity as unequal opportunities and rewards for different positions
for people in a given society. The inequities are further subdivided into three social class
divisions: the upper class, middle class, and lower class (Santrock,2015). The upper class
comprises few wealthy individuals, unlike the lower-class families deficient in society and
have limited opportunities (Santrock,2015). Furthermore, social inequity emerges through
society's understanding of gender roles and the prevalence of social stereotyping.
Causes of inequality in the U.S.
CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF CLASS INEQUALITY IN THE U.S. 2
Divergence of productivity and compensation of employees. Generally increase in
productivity by an employee should follow increase in income for the worker, but is not the
case because most companies after realizing increase in output they do not raise wages for
workers instead they keep increasing the share capital for the company.as a result the income
inequality gap increases widening the gap of haves and have-nots.
Market factors such as globalization, education, and skill-biased technological change.
Through globalization, the U.S. has been able to source raw materials from Asia and other
disadvantaged countries due to an increase in income inequality (Santrock,2015). Education
level similarly defines the skills, expertise, and competencies one has for different
occupational classes. The education level varies for other persons, and it widens the inequity
in society because not every person will afford to pay for quality education
(Santrock,2015). Skill-biased technological change in production favored skilled workers over
unskilled ones. Although technological change is aimed at improving relative productivity, it
also widens the gap in income inequality.
Race and gender disparities. The issue of race and gender is a significant concern in the U.S.
because there is no equity when hiring people of a different race (Santrock,2015). Asian-
Americans earn a little bit higher compared to the rest of Americans (Santrock,2015). Study
shows that African-Americans don’t stand a chance to employment over white Americans
even if they both have similar qualification hence widening the inequality gap.
Immigration. Over the years, America has seen an increased number of immigrants to the
USA. The immigrants comprise both skilled and unskilled. The immigrants have depressed
the income for the least qualified and school dropout Americans. Most immigrants with better
skills take up jobs meant for the American people leaving most with little skills unemployed.
CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF CLASS INEQUALITY IN THE U.S. 3
As a result, the inequality gap keeps on increasing, creating more conflict between Americans
and immigrants.
Consequences of inequality
Living in an unequal society can lead to stress and anxiety, and such complications can be
harmful to people's health in an organization. When let to escalate, this problem leads to
mental illness, obesity, depression, addiction to drugs, and untimely deaths
(Santrock,2015). The income inequality leaves people with more questions than answers as to
why they live in a society where others are more advantaged to others' disadvantage
(Santrock,2015). The inequality creates more problems in society as many will not access even
primary healthcare.
High-income disparities correlate to economic growth. Income inequality is a factor for
economic development (Santrock,2015). Continued income disparity is an indicator of a
growing economy since more jobs are witnessed despite differences in incomes. There is the
creation of more jobs, but the wages are not satisfactory to employees. Where wages are
deemed unsatisfactory, the workers remain unproductive. This has seen workers in unions
organize demonstrations pushing for an increase in wages.
Income inequality and social inequality increase the incentive to commit crimes. The
imbalance in society poses an increase in criminal activities among the low-income earning
group; thus, the mortality rate also increases (Santrock,2015). Increased crime is a deterrent
factor to thriving economic activities. The crimes include prostitution, the sale of prohibited
drugs, alcoholism, and robbery.
CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF CLASS INEQUALITY IN THE U.S. 4
Economic inequality promotes political inequality. Most wealthy individuals get more
political advantage over less wealthy individuals when running for elective posts
(Santrock,2015). Running a successful campaign requires relatively huge financing, and this
favors wealthy individuals. Less wealthy individuals stand no chance in running a successful
campaign over their affluent counterparts because of income inequality in society.
Sociological explanation of class inequality
Meritocracy model. It simply means to rule by those with merit. It implies that if we have a
group of people possessing various talents in society and that the talents are unequally
distributed, the ones with more skills should occupy important positions (Santrock,2015). This
ensures that such people are encouraged to develop their abilities and provide financial
incentives to do so. In simple terms, they are supplied with a prospective job to generate
income in compensating with time spent in education. In general, society remains with
inequality at all times.
Functionalist theory suggests that inequality is functional for society because individuals
with promising talents are encouraged to develop such skills through lengthy times in
education and training with higher income prospects after completing their training. This
concept explains continued inequality in society.
The problem of inequality in society has remained an unsolved puzzle for leaders to solve.
The widening of the inequality gap in incomes has seen the deterioration of individuals'
health because of the consequences associated with income inequality (Santrock,2015).
Generally, it affects the well-being of citizens (Santrock,2015). Also, the issue of gender
inequality has been emerged as a national issue but remains unresolved.
