Personal Narrative: Inequality In America

“Do you like your job mom?” My son Matthew asks me casually looking up at me from his wooden desk chair. I’m working on cooking our family dinner and he’s currently working on a 10th grade essay, where he describes what he wants to become when he grows up. I always have thought that term “growing up” was funny, because through everything I certainly never have. I smiled down at him and answered “Yes, Matthew, I love it very much.” “Can I interview you about it please, it’s part of the assignment?” he replied. I nod and make my way over to the matching desk chair and sit down. “Just answer my questions about your job” He said. “Wait Matt, don’t you have to write this down?” “UGH mom this isn’t 2016, no one writes anymore. Gosh. My IPhone 17

Truth to be told: I don’t particularly pay attention to national events or issues. My family is also incapable of comprehending national issues, especially my parents who do not have any level of proficiency in English. My family lives in a world where we go with the flow, but there are issues that I contemplate whether or not I should be involved in, particularly race inequality. Considering the amount of tension between policemen and African-American around the nation, the race to equal treatment is still ongoing.

For a nation of 323.1 billion people, it is astonishing to see the people of America unaware of some situations. According to The Center for Poverty Research, in 2015, an estimated 43.1 million Americans lived in poverty according to the official measure. We are not doing enough to help those in need. Of course there are places for people to get help but so many people are struggling. “In 2015, 12.2% of men lived in Poverty USA, and 14.8% of women lived in poverty” (The State of Poverty). As a nation, we could try to be more considerate to the people that need help. “Overall, the typical American defined as poor by the government has a car, air conditioning, a refrigerator, a stove, a clothes washer and dryer, and a microwave” (How Poor is America’s Poor?). Some people suffer silently. They may have all of these things but they will always be in need of assistance. Our government has ignored the poor people of America and it is time to take action. Already, there are food

Many of us take for granted having adequate housing, health care, food and clothing while others are forced to do without.

Poverty is an issue that has affected society since civilization was first created. Even with a globalized economy and economic opportunity prevalent nearly everywhere, there is still a vast majority of people who live in financial strain. According to recent information obtained by the World Bank, “10.7% of the world’s population live on less than US $1.90 a day”(World Bank 2013). In the United States considered the wealthiest nation on Earth, the poverty rate is 12.7% which is 40.6 million people(US Census Bureau 2016). Though some people are in poverty because of their own choices, poverty is a result of structural institutional practices in place.

I didn’t believe in aliens until I was abducted by them. I was put in some kind of contraption and I’m not sure what happened exactly, but it’s clear that I’m not where I was. Everything in 2016 is different, I don’t know if I’m in a different state or not but people are dressing differently and acting differently, and the cars, the cars are all different! I’ve been here for quite some time now and have noticed a lot of differences from where I lived in Oceanside, California in 1940. I’ve been transported to the year 2016 and there are so many things that have changed and evolved and among them are political, economic, social, and cultural changes.

I am a 17 year old Hispanic female who was born in Denver, Co. I now live in the northern part of Denver. I attend an Apostolic church and participate in many of their activities.

Over three billion people live on less than two dollars and fifty cents a day. That's almost half the population of mankind. But poverty is not just about not having enough money, it's about not being able to obtain, basic human needs. Around the world people lack such necessities, like clean water, food, suitable clothing, etc. It’s because a person is not well suited to today’s society, it creates a large gap between the fortunate and those who struggle to survive.

The conditions that people who live on less than 1 or 2 dollars per day are atrocious. Anyone with humanitarian sympathy can see that these conditions must be improved. GiveWell, a coalition of charities geared toward

In this life everyone in the world has opportunities, especially people from United States. In this country everyone is able to find financial help, either from the government or organizations, for education (Scholarships, FAFSA), and for health (Obama care, financial assistance). Sadly, some people are lazy or they just can’t get the help.

You may think that discrimination and inequality doesn’t exist today just in history but your wrong. The conflict still exists today, people are being treated unfairly in multiple ways it can range from pay gaps between women and men or black people getting killed on the street everyday because they are “black”. These people were basically killed for being born a girl or being born black, dying for being born. Is this what we want to be “American”.

The events of this current week are traumatic. As a black woman nothing pains my heart more than to see my families slaughtered in the streets, that my same streets that my families fight for daily! We fight the wars, we pay the taxes, we offer you our culture and return we are left with the inability to be safe. We have continued to be robed of our lives,freedoms, and securities. I hold these truths to be self evident that we were created equal with unalienable rights to be forever falsely prosecuted, racial profiled, and controlled by a system design for people of color to fail. It is our histories that make this country vibrant and textured. It is our job to protect our families with knowledge, faith, and courage. Do not allow these

Living in America gives us many freedoms and many blessings. I started my life in the Ukraine. This situation or circumstances I do not know. I came to America when I was 18 months old. A nice family, who lived in America, changed my life by adopting me. Being an

Currently the topic of inequality not only in America but around the world is quickly gaining public attention. An article from the front page of USA Today written by Gregg Zoroya titled “Millennials worry most about inequality, survey shows”. This article talked about a survey done by the World Economic Forum, and the social issues that those between the ages of 20 and 30 are most concerned about. Of those issues social and economic equality, climate change / preservation of the lands as well as education are among the top for this group of individuals. This is something that is very important to those that are in social welfare positions because there is an ever growing concern for those that we mainly serve. This ever growing concern by

Unfortunately, it was estimated that roughly 1.2 billion people in 1993 lived in extreme or absolute poverty, that which Robert McNamara regards “‘a condition of life so characterized by malnutrition, illiteracy, disease, squalid surroundings, high infant mortality and low life expectancy as to be beneath any reasonable standard of human dignity’” (Singer 219, 220). These estimates can be projected at nearly 2 billion today. A large majority of the people living in absolute poverty resides in underdeveloped countries. Among the nearly 4.4 billion people in these countries, “3/5 lives in societies lacking basic sanitation; 1/3 go without safe drinking water; 1/4 lack adequate housing; 1/5 are undernourished, and 1.3 billion live on less than $1 a day” (Speth 1).