Feb
23
Income gap Blog Post #4—Class#8- Teresa Lo
February 23, 2015 | Leave a Comment
Income inequality is a topic that has been touched upon time and time again. Ever since the mid 70s the income gap has only been growing wider and wider, and it has not halted for anything, not even for the recession in 2008.
I see “the rich are getting much richer” repeated again and again in multiple articles but what I don’t see are situations. What shocked me most about Luhby’s CNN article, was the last graph that they displayed. According to the City University of New York, Asians make up 13.4% of the total population but only make up 13% of the total income of the United States. I did not know that Latinos and non-Hispanic Blacks earned more than the White population. I have always thought Latinos and Blacks were on the lowest scale because they have always had the most talk of being on the lower end of the income gap.
The New Yorker’s article is very interesting. I liked how Buchanun used subway maps in order to compare the New York City Metro area. Using subway themed graphs are a very playful way to educate people about something serious and absolutely astounding to discuss. I also liked how Buchanun used the 2 and L lines as they connect a vast area from Brooklyn to the Bronx. There is a high peak in the graph, right at where the Bronx ends and Manhattan starts. I, personally, don’t find this income gap shocking because I’ve been to the Bronx very often and generally, there are more people living in poverty areas compared to Manhattan.
Gelina’s article written in the City Journal was one that did not just give statistics, but also solutions as well. This article completed the feat of offering solutions and explaining what the government is doing in detail. For example the City Journal reads New York’s libraries have “initiatives to help poorer children get a better start in life than Isabel did. Upper Manhattan’s Inwood neighborhood is one of five library branches in a pilot program of “enrichment zones” that give school-age children extra help after school (the number will double next year)” (Gelinas). I applaud the City Journal because improved and more individualized attention can minimize the income gap in the long run.
With more children getting better education, more students will be able to have aspirations for higher education when they get older. With higher education, the next generation will be able to attain a higher level income because they would potentially have a degree.
