Racial disparities are evident in the United States as portrayed through the ever-increasing wealth gap between blacks and whites. Inequality is mostly experienced in the areas of income, education, and asset ownership especially ownership of homes. In the US, adult whites are more likely to own a house and access college education than blacks. Today the majority of folks living in poverty are blacks.
After the Second World War, the American government made purchasing of homes very easy but with this offer the black community was left out. The effects of this approach of discrimination are up to date felt and the black community suffers its consequences. America’s market-oriented and embeddedness perspective has clearly shown the inequalities of racism. This can be changed and better approaches are made to resolve the issue.
Factors influencing ratio disparities
In the labor market, racism should be a thing of the past by now and the authorities want the public to believe so. However, there are key factors that suggest otherwise with regards to racist activities. Major decisions made in workplaces show that racism is a major influence on decision-making. Ethnicity has been found to influence major decisions and to play a critical role in an organization while making decisions on whether or not to hire. Ethnicity and racism have for a long time been factors of considerations in workplaces.
In crime, more black people are prone to imprisonment as compared to whites. Research reveals that the chances for a black male to go to prison are high about 28 percent as compared to the 4 percent possibility of a white male going to jail (Vallas, Finlay, and Wharton 96). The social-economic status also greatly contributes to racial disparities in a significant way. Individuals born in the slums are more exposed to criminal engagements presented to them as normal life. Unlike the whites, many African Americans live and are brought up in the slums hence they are more likely to engage in criminal activities.
Research has shown that a black adult male seeking employment has lower chances of getting a job as compared to a white adult male with criminal records. Low educational background is another factor that has contributed to racial disparities. The black communities have limited access to education and academic facilities. Due to poor financial backgrounds, black communities rarely pursue degree programs hence they are undermined in the labor market due to lack of formal expertise.
Inequality in the US labor market
The labor market in the United States has been compromised by forces of ethnicity and racism in its operations. Discrimination being the major explicit sign of ethnicity and racism has increasingly become the norm in the job market. Regardless of whether it is direct or indirect, discriminative actions are the main causes of inequalities in the entire labor market (Royster 165). The impacts such actions have on the workforce are subjects that require consideration. The black community has since the times of slavery been seen as the weakest source of labor.
Today, blacks are discriminated against due to a lack of formal competitive academic qualifications. This has been the case for quite some time and the black communities have always been facing unfair judgment and discriminative disqualification (Royster 170). The US has a very racial labor market as the black community complains often. Wage inequality is more rampant with the gap between the black’s and white’s wages growing even wider (Vallas, Finlay and Wharton 112).
This can however be attributed to the fact that academically the whites are more qualified compared to the blacks. This gives the whites an upper hand when it comes to employment. It is for this reason that the gap is increasing with the blacks missing the chances and opportunities that their counterparts enjoy.
Effects of social disparities on the US labor market
Equality promotes trust and honesty in the workplace hence inequality is a possible obstacle for trust to thrive. Inequality promotes uneven distribution of resources which is a dangerous way of dealing with the economy. Trust makes people relate in harmony and friendship. In a workplace, co-relation is of paramount importance and vice-versa. As this research has established, inequality can end up creating chaos. In a country where discrimination is rampant, public involvement in matters of national interest drops significantly.
Discrimination makes the black community feel neglected and defeated (Vallas, Finlay, and Wharton 56). This makes them do things that may send them to jail to serve a term. Social disparities have kept the black community out of influential positions in the job market. This has consequently led to low income and hence low-end spending. It also has led to the decline of personal purchasing power on the blacks which could harm the economy grossly. These effects are the reasons why the problems that the blacks face are recurring year-in, year-out.
Social inequality is a potential cause of hatred and can create enmity between members of the two races. This is a possibility which if not considered and addressed appropriately may instill permanent hatred between the two races. A country that is divided into the lines of ethnicity and racism is more likely to stagnate economically. This is because for a country to make steps forward economically there has to be an element of friendship among the citizens. Inequalities in the labor market in the United States can cause a major breakdown of the economy. Guarding the labor market is the most important responsibility of the leaders.
Immigration and social organization
Los Angeles is the city where every immigrant relocates to. The city is characterized by the huge number of immigrants who have settled and worked there. The country, according to Waldinger and Lichter, received immigrants who were unskilled and had no education (266). The authors argue that this was a calculated move to persuade unskilled immigrants into America’s economy. The rise in numbers of immigrants was allowed because it would become America’s source of labor.
America has been labeled the “land of immigrants.” Even the current natives did migrate to America hence the name the land of immigrants. The blacks migrated to the United States in many distinct circumstances. The most popular one was the slave trade through which a bigger percentage of the immigrants in the United States ended up there. Immigration in the United States has been beneficial to the states especially economically in form of labor (Waldinger and Lichter 56). This is how the labor market was initiated and developed and has since grown to be the biggest labor market in the entire world. It was through immigration that the United States formed a very strong labor market.
Works Cited
Royster, Deirdre. Race and the Invisible Hand: How White Networks Exclude Black Men From Blue Collar Jobs. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2003. Print.
Vallas, Steven, William Finlay and Amy Wharton. The Sociology of Work: Structures and Inequalities. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2009. Print.
Waldinger, Roger and Michael Lichter. How The Other Half Works: Immigration and the Social Organization of Labor. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2003. Print.