IN THE NEWS
WHY IT'S HARDER TO MOVE UP IN AMERICA'S SEGREGATED CITIES
An article, bringing together several reports, explores the relationship between the widely varying economic mobility of American cities and the degree to which those cities exhibit income segregation by neighborhood. "[T]here is a strong, positive relationship between economic segregation and economic mobility. In other words, the more segregated a metro is, the lower the chances for economic mobility across generations."
A recent report on academic comprehension by U.S. 15 year olds found that America's students show much wider variation among their scores compared to other nations, which "had 'higher or comparable math, reading and science scores.' " The American students "vary much more in their learning outcomes than is normally the case." " '[S]ocio-economic disadvantage translates more directly into poor educational performance in the United States than is the case in many other countries' the report said.
OBAMA SPEAKS ABOUT U.S. ECONOMY, INCOME DISPARITY
Video of President Obama's December 4th address in Washington.
IN STATE OF THE UNION, OBAMA WARMS ECONOMIC DISPARITY THREATENS MIDDLE CLASS
A Washington Post summary of the President's address: his main messages, election year implications, and criticism by Republicans.
I CAME TO DUKE WITH AN EMPTY WALLET
Kelly Noel Waldorf writes, "In my four years at Duke, I have tried to write this article many times. But I was afraid. I was afraid to reveal an integral part of myself. I’m poor.” Written for Duke University’s paper The Chronicle, this piece by a Duke senior confronts the difficulties and issues she has experienced as a poor student at the University. She states, “It is time to start acknowledging class at Duke. Duke is great because of its amazing financial aid packages. My ability to go here is truly incredible. Duke is not great because so many of the students fundamentally do not understand the necessity for a discussion of class identity and classism. Duke needs to look past its blind spot and start discussing class stratification on campus to create a more welcoming environment for poor students.”
RESEARCHER LINKS CLASS STATUS WITH FLU SUSCEPTIBILITY
"You don’t decide the circumstances of your birth, such as who your parents are, where you live, or your family’s financial status. But according to the ongoing research of Sheldon Cohen, a professor of psychology at Carnegie Mellon, these uncontrollable factors greatly influence health and wellness."
THE EFFECT OF SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS ON HOW THE BRAIN PROCESSES SOUND
Article explores how the brain waves of students in a low-maternal-education group are “noisier” than those of their higher-maternal-education peers. This means that their brain signals represent sounds less accurately and are less consistent in their representations of the same sound over time. Author Skoe says these findings have major implications for how students learn and process information.
A FAMILY-BASED TRAINING PROGRAM AND DISADVANTAGED PRESCHOOLERS
"Children from low socioeconomic backgrounds frequently have greater difficulty paying attention, often mentally checking out of group lessons or playtime well before other kids do." A 2013 study by the University of Oregon and Willamette University, "found that an eight-week intensive parenting class can do more for a child’s attention span than programming in preschools."
AMERICA'S ECONOMIC DARK SIDE. WIDENING SOCIAL INEQUALITY, RISING POVERTY AND JOBLESSNESS
Stephen Lendman's article is filled with statistics on America's economic class problems, and links to books and documentaries on the issue.
THE "LAST PLACE AVERSION" PARADOX: THE SURPRISING PSYCHOLOGY OF THE OCCUPY WALL STREET PROTESTS
Support for wealth redistribution often dwindles among those not quite at the bottom of income distribution; this may result from a fear that those below them will be able to leapfrog past them.
POLLUTION, POVERTY AND PEOPLE OF COLOR: FALLING INTO THE CLIMATE GAP
Poor communities tend to be situated in the most risk prone areas of our cities and towns, and therefore are the first to be impacted by the increasing number of natural disasters that result from climate change.
MARRIAGE EQUALITY AND THE NEW AMERICAN CASTE SYSTEM
Writer and photographer Sean Santiago ponders class differences and their implications for different LGBT groups, wondering if the relationship of wealthy Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes and his husband, Sean Eldridge, will be used to oversimplify LGBT representation and ignore class and lifestyle variation.
WHEN CLASSES COLLIDE: WORKERS AND GUESTS AT HIGH END HOTELS
A brief article on Rachel Sherman's new book Class Acts: Service and Inequality in Luxury Hotels. Contains link to blog review.
INFERTILITY AFFECTS WOMEN'S LIVES DIFFERENTLY BASED ON SOCIAL CLASS
Women from different socioeconomic backgrounds tend to get diagnosed at different rates, seek treatment to different degrees, and experience social or emotional repercussions differently.
FOOTING THE BILL: CREATING & MAINTAINING SOCIOECONOMIC DIVERSITY AT COLUMBIA
An article looking at the many factors involved in getting to and paying for college, how Columbia students are faring in particular, and several stories of debt and decisions.
GATSBY STAYS ON FARM AS INCOME GAP LIMITS SOCIAL MOBILITY
"The ascent to dazzling affluence achieved by fictional farm boy Jay Gatsby is becoming increasingly less plausible, posing risks for U.S. economic prospects, studies show. 'It really flies in the face of what we believe to be true as a nation, that we have equality of opportunity," said Diana Elliott, research officer for economic mobility at non-profit Pew Charitable Trusts in Washington. "For this current generation of adults, if you're raised in the bottom it's much harder to climb up the economic ladder.' "The reverse also is true. Those at the top of the income scale are less likely to slip down, a phenomenon economists call 'stickiness at the ends.' "
THE NEW DEMOGRAPHICS OF ANTI-SMOKING CAMPAIGNS
The demographics of the country are constantly shifting, and some cities and states are hit with multiple changes at once, such as an aging Baby Boomer population, blooming minority youth population, and poverty. Age and socioeconomic status are two of the biggest correlating factors in smoking rates.
THE REAL REASONS MANY LOW-INCOME STUDENTS DON'T GO TO COLLEGE
The author examines how the labyrinthine rules and processes surrounding scholarships, loans, and financial aid do not account for the messy realities of poor families' lives, resulting in a strong deterrent to going to college.
NEW BOOK CHARTS WHY POOR KIDS FORGO TOP COLLEGES
According to a new book by researcher Alexandria Walton Radford, the issue isn't intelligence or admission rates (which are higher for low SES high achieving students) but application rates. Students from lower socioeconomic classes are less likely to receive accurate information about net costs and other assistance from family and school.
NEW EFFORTS TO BOOST MINORITY STUDENTS STUDYING ABROAD
Very few students of varied racial and ethnic or low-income backgrounds study abroad, and many students feel cost is a big barrier. Some groups are working to improve resources, access, and communication to improve the situation.
INSIGHTS ON WHY SOME GIRLS ARE SKIRTING THE HPV VACCINE
"Poor women need the HPV vaccine the most. But among the girls who begin the vaccine series, minorities and the impoverished are much less likely to complete it. To find out why, the researchers, led by Sean O'Leary, MD, MPH, interviewed the parents of girls with an incomplete HPV vaccination.
HEALTH EXPERTS EVALUATE ROLE OF INTERNET IN ACCESSING MEDICAL INFORMATION
Author Brian Southwell's new book discusses the issues associated with increasing the availability of medical information online. “ Using social media and peer-to-peer networks to teach people about science and health may seem like an obvious strategy," according to the author. "Yet recent research suggests that systematic reliance on social networks may be a recipe for inequity.” Southwell noted in particular that those from poorer backgrounds may not have access to the Internet, which limits their ability to access important information.
"W.J. Rutland III, the assistant chief of parole in Columbus, said it's a misconception that particular drugs are isolated to certain demographics. Meth, one of the most recent popular drugs in Columbus, has the reputation of being exclusively associated with white users; however, the use of meth has the tendency to cross racial lines, including the manufacturing of the drug."
UW STUDY LINKS SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS WITH OBESITY IN SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST KING COUNTRY
"The link between obesity and poverty isn't necessarily a new one. A vast array of studies in the past have drawn a connection between socioeconomic status to obesity rates in the United States and throughout the world. Still, a recent study led by University of Washington Professor of Epidemiology Adam Drewnowski goes further than ever before, finding that folks from South and Southeast King County are far more likely to be overweight than their more well-off local neighbors.
SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS IMPACTS MORTALITY RATES FOR STROKE IN US
"Americans in the highest socio-economic groups have a 13 per cent greater chance of surviving a kind of stroke known as a subarachnoid hemorrhage than those in the lowest socio-economic groups... However, social and economic status have no bearing on mortality rates for [this type of stroke] in Canada."
INCOME DISPARITY AFFECTS HOW SOON STUDENTS ENROLL IN COLLEGE
A new report examined the influence of race, income, ethnicity, and school environment on when students being college and graduate. The biggest disparity was between low and high-income schools, regardless of other factors. Educators say that the disparity affects learning starting very early on.
STEPHEN HUME: DOES INCOME INEQUALITY IMPERIL THE ECONOMY AND SOCIETY?
Berkeley Professor Robert Reich believes greater income equality is the key to improving the economy and preventing future recessions. He discusses many specific approaches that could be taken to improve the situation. He also indicates that the evidence of income inequality was lessened or delayed by three coping strategies of the middle class to maintain living standards: more women in the workforce as most households become two-income, working much longer hours, and dipping into saving an borrowing against home equity.
DULUTH AND MINNESOTA POVERTY LEVELS DIP
"New data is showing that cities with big or multiple colleges have been showing artificially high poverty rates [and]...that income-poor but not really poverty-stricken students are pushing poverty rates up by 5, 10, or even 30 percentage points [locally],,,It's not to say some college students aren't truly in poverty... but most college students aren't in need of government programs to help lift them into the working class. Duluth Mayor Don Ness says, "This second level of analysis show us a more accurate scope of the challenges we face. Poverty is a big problem in our city and it takes many forms."
U.S. FAST-FOOD COMPANIES PROBABLY CAN AFFORD TO PAY WORKERS MORE
Following a misleading and untrue McDonalds budget sample, debunked reports of a 68-cent Big Mac allowing double wages, and nationwide food strikes, TIMES examines the data. While "franchise financial data is private," it is undeniably true that "corporate profit margins across the board have soared in recent years, while the median worker's pay has stayed flat."
IRS RULE LEADS RESTAURANTS TO RETHINK AUTOMATIC TIPS
The IRS will begin counting automatic gratuity charges as taxable payroll, since they are not optional. Most restaurant companies plan to drop these systems, many of which were put in place to ensure wait staff were not denied tips on large bills. Servers are frequently paid significantly less than minimum wage, and depend heavily on tips, particularly because they are received immediately rather than held back with the biweekly paycheck.
INCOME, POVERTY, AND HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE IN THE UNITED STATES: 2012
The Census Bureau's most recent report on median income and poverty rate.
NEW CENSUS DATA UNDERMINE HOUSE GOP'S REASONS FOR CUTTING SOCIAL SAFETY NET
Reese examines the GOP's justifications for their current, 41st attempt to defund the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, in light of the recent census and real moral and economic need for SNAP.
FEEDING AMERICA RESPONDS TO PASSAGE OF HOUSE BILL CUTTING $39 BILLION FROM SNAP
Feeding America expresses their disappointment in the cuts, stating that charity will not remotely manage to make up the difference, and will cause "at least four million individuals to lose their SNAP benefits entirely, 850,000 households will lose an average $90 per month in SNAP benefits, and 210,000 children will lose free school meals."
AMERICA'S SINKING MIDDLE CLASS
The most recent Census inspires a look backwards at the economy, yielding the unfortunate news that despite significant technological advances, America's middle class has not benefited from growth the way the upper classes have and are even worse off as healthcare and education costs rise faster than inflation.
GENDER IS JUST ONE OF THE MANY INEQUALITIES THAT GENERATE POVERTY AND EXCLUSION:
We don't lose points on gender if we admit that class, race and ethnicity also have a role
The United Nations millennium development goals, created in 2000, are set to expire in 2015; there is global discussion on what should come next and how best to meet those goals. The author discusses the many factors which contribute to inequality, and the difficulties with treating them separately. The focus may be on global inequality, but the issues of gender, race, ethnicity, and class are no less important or tangled in the United States.
PRESIDENT ADOPTS CATCHPHRASE TO DESCRIBE PROPOSED RECIPE FOR ECONOMIC REVIVAL
President Obama is pushing a "middle out" approach to improving the economy as opposed to the classic "trickle-down" notion and supply-side economics. The "middle-out" argues that supporting the middle class is not merely nice, but the key to increasing consumer spending and strengthening the economy overall.
HOUSE G.O.P. SETS NEW OFFENSIVE ON OBAMA GOALS
Congressional Republicans planned to gear up against Obama's economic plan, proposed in his Galesburg, Illinois Speech. Divergent plans to fix the economy are holding politicians as an impasse.
OBAMA SEEKS SECOND-TERM JOLT WITH ECONOMIC SPEECH
A summary of Obama's speech about the economy in a visit to Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, and the Republican backlash.
TWO AMERICAN FAMILIES—AND TWO AMERICAS
A summary of the Frontline piece "Two American Families" and what it reflects about the larger American economic situation. Political solutions to the situation are at a standoff.
To watch the documentary:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/two-american-families/
CLASS IS SEEN DIVIDING HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL
An article highlighting the issue of class and money at Harvard Business School; its pervasiveness, its influence on the behavior of students and potential ramifications for their futures, ideas for improvement, and potential reasons behind this increasingly conspicuous distinction.
THE HEALING FACTOR: THE IMPACT OF SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS ON HEALTH
Discusses some of the many health related correlations with class factors, including the correlation between obesity and income below the poverty level, and between sleep problems and education levels. Like a 'trickle-down' approach to the economy, an improved technological health system does not mean health will improve if access problems are not addressed.
LIFE AT THE TOP IN AMERICA ISN'T JUST BETTER, IT'S LONGER
Article examines the stories of three heart attack patients, and the options available to them, from the attack through their varied recoveries. Class correlates with differences in health, and these differences are increasing.
MIDDLE CLASS A MATTER OF INCOME, ATTITUDE
"Everybody loves the middle class … Yet no one can agree on what, exactly, the middle class is...'There's a large difference between what our perception of a middle-class lifestyle is and what the statistics tell us the middle is.' "
HARSH REACTIONS TO WITNESS RACHEL JEANTEL: CLASS, CULTURE, RACE, EDUCATION
An opinion piece using the public reaction to Rachel Jeantel, a prosecution witness in the George Zimmerman murder trial to examine how class, race, and education levels affect our perceptions for one another, and the worrisome biases this likely imparts to the justice system.
SHUTDOWN THREATENS NUTRITION FOR MOTHERS, CHILDREN
Some groups could face the consequences of the government's shutdown more than others, such as those dependent on the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children.
STUDY SUGGESTS CLASS-BASED AFFIRMATIVE ACTION COULD INCREASE RACIAL DIVERSITY
As the Supreme Court considers racially based affirmative action in college admissions, an experimental admissions approach at the University of Colorado suggests that an appropriately complex consideration of class rather than race has the potential to improve diversity across both factors at once.
WHERE YOU LIVE CAN IMPACT INCOME MOBILITY
A video clip by ABC Nightly News about a recent study examining the range in income mobility across regions, and by city, in America.
STUDY FINDS SOCIOECONOMIC CLASS IMPACTS PSYCHOLOGICAL MENTALITY
A 2011 study found a correlation between higher class status and lower empathy and generosity, with implications for funding charities and reducing the gap.
CLASS, NOT RACE, A DIVIDER FOR MANY IN D.C.
Residents discuss different class experiences of the city, and the fact that race and class are different but related factors.
CAN YOU NAME THE U.S. SOCIO-ECONOMIC LEVELS?
A personal account by Donna Rae Scheffert about the many aspects which contribute to one's class level, and the twelve levels she, and the financial workers she counsels, break class down into (from "Generational Poverty" on up to "Ruling Rich").
An interactive graphic by the New York Times, which allows visitors to gauge their own class status based on four factors, occupation, education, income, and wealth; look at how the population spreads out by both income and education, with the pull-down option to see what proportions of class exist by occupation; investigate to what extent class mobility exists and has changed; and see how visitors responded to poll questions about their satisfaction and belief in today's system.
CORNELL GROUP, ITHACANS ADVOCATE FOR LIVING WAGE
The article explains the position of advocates for raising contract worker wages in Tompkins County in light of the estimated $12.62 living wage for the area, and why they believe doing so makes long-term economic sense.
THE STAGNATION OF THE MIDDLE CLASS, IN 1 GRAPH
An NPR summary of the recently released Census data focused on the lack of improvement in median earnings, and some factors that contribute to this stagnation.
POVERTY STUCK AT 15 PERCENT_ RECORD 46.5 MILLION
The Census Bureau reports the sixth straight year that the poverty rate has not improved; this stagnation in spite of other improved economic benchmarks means that overall modest gains have little effect at the lowest income brackets. This problematic statistic takes new meaning in light of upcoming Conservative Congressional plans to cut funding for Federal SNAPs (food stamp programs) and continued commitment to repeal the Affordable Care Act (health insurance coverage).
MOYNIHAN BLACK POVERTY REPORT REVISITED 50 YEARS LATER
In 1966, the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan wrote a report on the dire situation for black Americans. This article briefly discusses what has changed 50 years later, and what is still holding black Americans under the poverty line in disproportionate numbers.
HOW THE POOR, THE MIDDLE CLASS AND THE RICH SPEND THEIR MONEY
An NPR infographic and summary of the 2012 Consumer Expenditure Survey examining the differences and similarities between spending patterns at different income levels.
ESCAPING THE HEAT IN ART'S FORTRESS
A New York Times article considers the availability of air conditioning during a blazing summer as a driving force behind museum visits, as well as the ways that 'suggested' fees appear to be mandatory, keeping some visitors out of museums.
OBAMA PROMOTES HIGHER EDUCATION REFORM IN SPEECH AT HENNINGER HIGH SCHOOL
An article by the Syracuse University student news organization, summarizing both Obama's speech itself and context, such as the crowd's reactions.
A TRANSCRIPT OF PRESIDENT OBAMA'S SPEECH IN SYRACUSE
President Obama spoke to Syracuse students, hosted by Henninger High School, about college affordability for the middle class and what plans are in place or in the works. Contains embedded video of excerpts of his plan and complete speech.
OBAMA ADMINISTRATION SUBSIDIES AP EXAM FEES FOR LOW INCOME STUDENTS
On August 1, the Obama Administration announced plans to help low-income students pay for AP tests, which can in turn lower the cost of college for those students who earn credits, exemption from introductory courses, or graduate earlier. The cost of the test itself is one of many hurdles low-income students face in taking them and accessing a college education.
A book review of The Diverse Schools Dilemma: A Parent's Guide to Socioeconomically Mixed Public Schools by Michael Petrilli, Thomas B. Fordham Institute, discussing the new approaches schools reformers are taking to improve low-income schools and diversity.
'CLASS CONFESSIONS' LAUNCH SOCIOECONOMIC DISCUSSION ON CAMPUS
USA today correspondent discusses the student initiative to create an open discussion of class on campus at University of Chicago.
PLAN AIMS TO DETERMINE STUDENTS' SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS
Summary of the U.S. Department of Education's proposal to classify the socioeconomic status of students by measures beyond parental income and education levels; discussion of the potential impacts of this redefinition on national dialogue.
PRESIDENT OBAMA'S AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROBLEM AND WHAT HE SHOULD DO ABOUT IT
New Republic magazine's Richard Kahlenberg suggests that that Obama Administration push for educational support based on socioeconomic class rather than race as the issue of racially based college admissions comes to the Supreme Court this summer.
OBAMA LAYS OUT MIDDLE-CLASS VISION IN KNOX COLLEGE ADDRESS
Summarizes President Obama's economic address at Knox College of Galesburg, Illinois, stressing his administration's continued focus on the middle class and expressing plans and aspirations to improve the middle class economic situation. Includes link to video of his speech (01:17:00).
WHO DOESN'T PAY FEDERAL TAXES?
Explores inequality - the haves, the have-nots and everyone in between - in the United States and around the world, and its implications for economics, politics, society and culture. The series is moderated by Joseph E. Stiglitz, a Nobel laureate in economics, a Columbia Professor and a former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers and chief economist for the World Bank.
Reporters spent over a year exploring ways that class - defined as a combination of income, education, wealth and occupation - influences people's lives in the U.S., a society that likes to think of itself as the land of opportunity.
CEO PAY IS 380 TIMES AVERAGE WORKER'S - AFL-CIO
The AFL-CIO highlights the pay disparity between workers and chief executives from companies that are part of Standard & Poor's 500 stock index.
HOW UNEQUAL WE ARE: THE TOP 5 FACTS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE WEALTHIEST ONE PERCENT OF AMERICANS
Article presents five sets of information and data about the wealthiest one percent of Americans.
STUDENTS TRY TO BREAK TABOO AROUND SOCIAL CLASS ON CAMPUS
Students at the University of Virginia started a group to spark candid discussions about socioeconomic class.
HOW MUCH DO YOU PAY FOR COLLEGE? A ONCE-TABOO TOPIC EMERGES FROM THE SHADOWS
Discussion of ways that college campuses are tackling the once taboo subject of economic status
and class issues.
VIDEO: WEALTH INEQUALITY IN AMERICA
Animated infographics on the distribution of wealth in America, highlighting both the inequality and the difference between our perception of inequality and the actual numbers.
SARAH BLOOM RASKIN: INEQUALITY MAY HURT ECONOMIC GROWTH
Raskin, a Federal Reserve policymaker, suggests inequality is breeding more inequality, and may be slowing economic growth in the U.S.
RIP, AMERICAN DREAM? WHY IT'S SO HARD FOR THE POOR TO GET AHEAD TODAY
Describes class inequality statistics in relation to education and employment, while also investigating the causes of inequality and suggesting possible steps society might take to begin solving the problem.
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