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How do crime rates reflect inequality
The correlation between crime and poverty
The correlation between crime and poverty
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Out of the total population in Mexico, twenty million are considered to live in extreme poverty. (DePalma, nytimes.com) In The Pearl by John Steinbeck, (which takes place in Baja California, Mexico) the main character and his wife live in very poor conditions; however, just a few miles away from their village, lives a rich town. This presents a major gap in the quality of life between these classes. The answers to the questions discussed in this paper (i.e., “To what extent is this financial gap in Mexico?” “Why does this gap exist?” and “What could we have done to prevent this gap?”) provide a basis of understanding of this topic. Although The Pearl was written in 1945, this paper will be focusing on these issues in present-day Mexico.
The first goal of this paper will be to analyze the extent of this gap in Mexico. Economic inequality has become so apparent that poor criminals are kidnapping wealthy citizens for sums of money. A study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development found that, Mexico, out of the other 30 countries in the study, had the largest divide between the rich and the poor. (Economic Survey of Mexico, oecd.org) It is almost certain, then, that the wealthy will stand out as targets. And because of this, the rich have to go to extreme measures to protect their personal safety. “With drug-related violence spinning out of control and kidnappings a proven money-maker for criminal gangs, members of Mexico’s upper class find themselves juggling the spoils of their status with the fear of being killed.” (Lacey, nytimes.com)
On the other hand, the rich are not the only ones who find themselves at a disadvantage from this inequality. The treatment of the moderately poor is improving slightly; however...
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... 2008. Web. 10 May 2014.
"Long term solutions to disruptive income inequality." Mountain Math Software, n.d. Web. 10 May 2014.
"Mexico Data." World Development Indicators. The World Bank Group, n.d. Web. 10 May 2014.
"Poverty in Mexico: An Assessment of Conditions, Trends, and Government Strategy." Poverty Analysis. The World Bank Group, n.d. Web. 10 May 2014.
Reardon, Sean. "The Widening Academic Achievement Gap Between the Rich and the Poor: New Evidence and Possible Explanations." Stanford University, July 2011. Web. 10 May 2014.
Sutter, John. "7 ways to narrow the rich-poor gap." CNN. Cable News Network, 1 Jan. 1970. Web. 10 May 2014
"The Causes of Poverty in Mexico." Advanced Composition for Non-Native Speakers of English. Eslbee.com, n.d. Web. 10 May 2014.
"What can be done to improve income inequality?." SparkNotes. SparkNotes LLC, n.d. Web. 10 May 2014.
3. What are the effects of this wealth inequality in the US and what causes it, as well as some possible solutions and their ramifications, will all be discussed and answered below. There has always been a wealth gap between the richest and poorest in society. However, in the past decade, the wealth gap between the richest and poorest citizens in the US has been growing rapidly. In the 70s and 80s, the wealth and income growth rate for both poor and rich people were similar, however, between the years 2009 and 2012 the top 1% income increased 31% while for the bottom 20%, their income actually dropped and for the vast majority of Americans, the average yearly income only increased by 0.4% [4].
Stone, Chad, Danilo Trisi, Arloc Sherman, and William Chen. "Center on Budget and Policy Priorities." A Guide to Statistics on Historical Trends in Income Inequality. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 6 Nov. 2013. Web. 03 Dec. 2013. .
Edelman, Peter. "Poverty in America: Why Can't We End It?" The New York Times. The New York Times, 27 July 2012. Web. 15 May 2014.
When we hear discussions or read articles about drug wars, killings, and illegal immigration into the United States, many of us immediately think of Mexico. As a nation, Mexico is a much greater country than these commonly referred to issues. Mexico is a country with a broad history, deep family culture, and an economy fueled by oil and tourism. The United States Department of State (USDS) offers a broad range of information on countries outside the US, including Mexico. I found a wealth of information about Mexico through the USDS Background Note provided on their website located at www.state.gov. I will outline for you the key information found in this report, and others, related to the Mexican economy, culture, and more.
The highest earning fifth of U.S. families earned 59.1% of all income, while the richest earned 88.9% of all wealth. A big gap between the rich and poor is often associated with low social mobility, which contradicts the American ideal of equal opportunity. Levels of income inequality are higher than they have been in almost a century, the top one percent has a share of the national income of over 20 percent (Wilhelm). There are a variety of factors that influence income inequality, a few of which will be discussed in this paper. Rising income inequality is caused by differences in life expectancy, rapidly increases in the incomes of the top 5 percent, social trends, and shifts in the global economy.
Throughout its history Mexico has had many revolutions. The most famous perhaps is the Mexican Revolution from 1910-1920. The people of Mexico were getting tired of the dictator rule of President Porfino Diaz. People of all classes were fighting in the revolution. The middle and upper classes were dissatisfied with the President’s ways. The lower and working class people had many factors such as poor working conditions, inflation, inferior housing, low wages, and deficient social services. Within the classes everyone was fighting; men, women, and children all contributed to the fight for freedom from Diaz (Baxman 2). This revolution proved to be the rise and fall of many leaders.
Income inequality not only harms us fiscally, but also affects our mental and physical wellbeing; therefore, it is important to identify the right ways to control wealth distribution among people.
Reich, Robert. "Why the Rich Are Getting Richer and the Poor Poorer." Mountain View College Reader. Neuleib, Janice. Cain S., Kathleen. Ruffus, Stephen. Boston: 501 Boylston Street, Suite 900. 2013 Print.
"Growing Income Inequality and the Education Gap." Economist's View. N.p., 8 May 2006. Web. 12 Dec. 2013.
Income inequality has affected American citizens ever since the American Dream came to existence. The American Dream is centered around the concept of working hard and earning enough money to support a family, own a home, send children to college, and invest for retirement. Economic gains in income are one of the only possible ways to achieve enough wealth to fulfill the dream. Unfortunately, many people cannot achieve this dream due to low income. Income inequality refers to the uneven distribution of income and wealth between the social classes of American citizens. The United States has often experienced a rise in inequality as the rich become richer and the poor become poorer, increasing the unstable gap between the two classes. The income gap in America has been increasing steadily since the late 1970’s, and has now reached historic highs not seen since the 1920’s (Desilver). UC Berkeley economics professor, Emmanuel Saez conducted extensive research on past and present income inequality statistics and published them in his report “Striking it Richer.” Saez claims that changes in technology, tax policies, labor unions, corporate benefits, and social norms have caused income inequality. He stands to advocate a change in American economic policies that will help close this inequality gap and considers institutional and tax reforms that should be developed to counter it. Although Saez’s provides legitimate causes of income inequality, I highly disagree with the thought of making changes to end income inequality. In any diverse economic environment, income inequality will exist due to the rise of some economically successful people and the further development of factors that push people into poverty. I believe income inequality e...
"For the commercial insurgency, border controls are perfunctory in "free trade" areas, and there is still a great demand for goods that are linked to smuggling" (PRISM Issue No 3). President Calderon's term in office has seen numerous arrests and significant cooperation with U.S. law enforcement, and intelligence activities, which has negated the freedom of movement the cartels once enjoyed. It has also prompted them to seek other venues to keep their revenue flowing. The arrests aren't without criticisms. Due to recent arrests of ...
Hart Research Associates, 2010. Reich, Robert. “Why the Rich Are Getting Richer and the Poor Poorer.” The Work of Nations.
Mexico faces economic trouble as there are more workers than there are jobs that are available. The problem for Mexico is that half the nation’s population is under twenty years old. Making it hard to get a job even in prospers time as millions of people who reach working age go out to look for a job every year (Stein 70 ). Another problem that Mexico suffer from is that about seventy percent of the nation lives in poverty, and half of them live in dire conditions(Stein
Income inequality continues to increase in today’s world, especially in the United States. Income inequality means the unequal distribution between individuals’ assets, wealth, or income. In the Twilight of the Elites, Christopher Hayes, a liberal journalist, states the inequality gap between the rich and the poor are increasing widening, and there need to have things done - tax the rich, provide better education - in order to shortening the inequality gap. America is a meritocratic country, which means that everybody has equal opportunity to be successful regardless of their class privileges or wealth. However, equality of opportunity does not equal equality of outcomes. People are having more opportunities to find a better job, but their incomes are a lot less compared to the top ten percent rich people. In this way, the poor people will never climb up the ladder to high status and become millionaires. Therefore, the government needs to increase all the tax rates on rich people in order to reduce income inequality.
Stewart, Charles T., Jr. "Inequality of Wealth and Income in a Technologically Advanced Society." The Journal of Social, Political, and Economic Studies 27.4 (2002): 495-512. Print.