For American families, the unequal distribution of wealth affects children as they grow up. How does this unbalanced economy enable the wealthy to succeed for generations, while driving others into poverty for generations?
Income inequality is widening in the United States, and the gap between the richest 1 percent of Americans and the majority of earners is now at an unprecedented level. There are many factors that contribute to widening disparities (race and gender, to name a few), but the environment in which we were raised has the biggest influence, for better or for worse.
According to a study by Harvard University's Equality of Opportunity Project, led by Professors Raj Chetty and Nathaniel Hendren, participants studied from adolescence to adulthood in the 100 largest counties in the United States had an average annual income of $26,000 at age 26. It was a dollar. Inevitably, deviations from that average arose. The average household income in Dupage, Illinois, a wealthy Chicago suburb, is about 15 percent higher than the national average. At the other end of the spectrum, residents of Baltimore, Maryland, earn nearly 17% less than the average national income. The gist of the study, Chetty and Hendren said, is that the environment a person grows up in determines their economic mobility.
A similar analysis by Johns Hopkins University focused only on Baltimore. The study, which followed nearly 800 students from first grade through their late 20s, found that only a fraction of children from low-income families achieved a college education, compared with 45% of children from high-income families. It turned out to be 4%. The cultural environment and environment undoubtedly influence a child's ultimate success, as it determines the opportunities available and how the child perceives his or her social status. One of her research subjects, Monica Jaundu, told NPR in 2014 about her upbringing, saying, “I remember being very immune to death, and I was immune to shootings and murder. “There was,” she said. She said, “I remember wishing she would move quickly so she could go back to playing hopscotch and dodgeball.''
For the country's wealthiest minors, a completely different reality exists, as evidenced by their social media accounts flaunting their lifestyles. Naturally, children born into high-income families have easier access to luxurious resources. However, this environment is less likely to affect low-income children, as wealthy children who are not financially responsible are likely to remain wealthy, and poor children who work hard are likely to remain poor. giving them an unfair advantage compared to In other words, the rich are likely to remain rich, and the poor are likely to remain poor.
This cycle is unlikely to end anytime soon. Researchers based in Sweden (which, like the US, lacks social mobility) found that Swedish children with wealthy biological parents were more likely to be wealthy by a significant 0.33. I found that there is a significant correlation (0 means no correlation, 1 means no correlation is accurate). A positive correlation also exists for Swedish adoptees of wealthy parents. Naturally, wealth is passed down from generation to generation in the form of inheritances and gifts, and the children of wealthy parents also become wealthy. Rich parents raise rich children. However, inheritance is not the only way to inherit wealth.
From the moment a child is born into a wealthy family, their parents' spending habits determine whether they, too, will grow up to be a high-income earner. It comes from how wealthy parents spend their money compared to lower-income parents. While low-income households focus on immediate needs such as food and transportation, wealthy households invest more in future-oriented purchases that ensure their well-being.
Growing up in a wealthy environment also influences the college majors that wealthy students choose. Kim Weeden, a sociologist at Cornell University, atlantic ocean About statistical data from the National Center for Education on the correlation between family wealth and choice of university major. She found that students from affluent backgrounds tend to choose humanities as a college major, such as English, history, and art. Meanwhile, their lower-income families seek majors in math, physics, and computer science. Lower-income students may choose a major based on financial need and marketability, while more affluent students may experience the luxury of a family safety net and consider less marketable majors. I can.
This difference persists even after graduation, with wealthier students being significantly more likely to get a job with little or no student loans. For less affluent graduates, the cycle of student loan debt stifles their potential to accumulate wealth. As their paths diverge and college graduates grow older and start families of their own, this cycle perpetuates itself.
To solve problems that started early in life, you need to start in early childhood. Chetty and Hendren found that when young children are exposed to resources typically reserved for the wealthy (such as better schooling and safer neighborhoods), they are more likely to be upwardly mobile. Recommends housing voucher programs to help income households move into better housing. Areas with quality preschool programs. Otherwise, if these inequality traps are left unresolved, the next generation of children will be held back from success.
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Tami Looby, “Where poor kids stay poor,” CNN Money, May 5, 2015.
Joe Pinsker: “How Rich People Raise Rich Children” atlanticJuly 29, 2015.
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