Sociology 102 Assignment #1

The growing gap between high and low income earners coupled with stagnant to increasing rates of poverty reflect trends which many find troubling, if not inconsistent with America’s egalitarian principles. How can a nation that prides itself on the opportunities it offers for upward social mobility produce such realities, and what approach must it adopt to change them?

On this first question, pundits from across the political spectrum seem to agree on several main causes: globalization, a reduction in demand for unskilled labor, "skill biased" advances in technology, a falling real minimum wage, and a decline in unionization. Answers to the second question, on the other hand, are less apparent and often hotly debated. In light of the rising premium placed on highly skilled workers, some believe providing all citizens access to a college education could present a solution; however, this approach contains three major flaws: it miscalculates costs and benefits, neglects behavior problems associated with low income, and it overstates the extent of the problem.

One set of weaknesses in the "universal access" proposal arises in its excessive optimism towards low income students’ larger enrollment and conversely, in its insouciance to the possible negative side-effects. For example, although Germany offers its citizens the option of a free college education, a larger proportion of the poor receive higher education in America which has tuition fees. Extensive financial aid provisions make this possible so that, on average, students from median income families pay only 34% of prices charged by selective colleges (Economist, 9). Secondly, the observation that higher levels of education correspond to greater earning power can be misleading. According to the "skill bias" hypothesis, workers who receive the same amounts of education nevertheless experience disparate wages due to differences in the skills they possess (Ferguson, 72). This phenomenon might occur either as a result of technological changes that make some skills more valuable than others or simply because students’ skill level varies depending on the quality of the school they attended (Thernstrom, 15).

The failure to consider behavioral choices relating to education, family structure, and employment status constitute another major shortcoming of the "universal access" approach to fighting poverty. According to 2001 Census Bureau data, the household poverty rate of 12% drops to a mere 1% when the primary wage earner had completed high school, worked full-time, and was married with less than two children (Sawhill, 83). To some extent, employment opportunities lay outside the individual’s control. On the other hand, evidence suggests a relative small number of involuntarily unemployed. 1999 Census Bureau interviews of the jobless found that only 6% of women and 12% of men could not find employment. Additionally, when Wisconsin changed its welfare requirements to include work, its recipients declined by 76% (Sawhill, 86). Out of wedlock births represent another instance of self-detrimental behavior. Among those in the lowest income bracket, this rate his nearly tripled since 1960, whereas in the highest quintile they have remained fairly constant. 35% of such households fall below the poverty line, and on average, children growing up in female-headed households do worse in school, and have greater likelihoods of going to prison and living in poverty as adults. Thus, while structural barriers deserve attention, any solution to poverty must take into account some unpleasant but consequential agency based decisions.