THE USA- Social and Economic

Issues -

Aims:

• Identify the difference between social and economic factors.

• Examine the reasons why there is inequality in education.

Success Criteria:• Give four key reasons why there is

inequality in education.• Describe three ways that the US

government is trying to improve education.

American Dream Vs American Reality

Millions of Americans cannot afford to go to the doctor

All Americans are not equal

Millions of Americans do not finish school

Millions of Americans are unemployed

Thousands of Americans are murdered each year

Causes of Inequality

Social Factors• Education• Housing• Health• Crime and Justice

System• Family Structure

Economic Factors• Low income and

poverty• Unemployment• Promotion

Task

Why do you think a good education has a

huge impact on a person’s future?

Discuss this question in a group of two or

three and then write down your answer.

Education

Success Lack of Success

Employment Unemployment

Good Income Low Income

Success in education will affect the overall Success in education will affect the overall quality of a person’s life.quality of a person’s life.

Key Terms

• Suburbs – areas on the outskirts of cities. People living there tend to be high or middle income earners.

• Ghettos or Barios (Hispanic term) – run down areas with poor housing. These tend to be in cities. In most cases the majority of people living there will be from an ethnic minority group.

Inequalities in Education

• This is strongly linked to where you live.• The state government provides half the

money for schools – the rest comes from local property and sales taxes.

• Communities with high property values – usually suburban areas – will raise more money and have better schools, equipment and teachers.

• Schools in ghettos or barrios do not have the same funding and are short of resources and teachers.

LOCATION

White students tend to be concentrated in suburban areas. There are more Blacks or Hispanics in the cities and urban areas.

POVERTY

A majority of Hispanic and Black children qualify for free or subsidised lunches – those living in poverty are less likely to do well at school.

LANGUAGE

A majority of Hispanics and Asian students spoke a language other than English at home. This can affect their progress at school.

DROP OUT RATES

White students have a drop out of rate of 5.2%. For Blacks the figure is 9.3% and for Hispanics it is 17.6%

Government Action

The American Recovery Reinvestment Act 2012 invested heavily in education.

• $77 billion to improve elementary and secondary education.

• All schools to have highly qualified teachers.

• Support low-performing schools.• $30 billion to make it more affordable for

US students to go to college (university)

Housing In The USA

Aim:• Identify the reasons for inequalities in

housing.• Examine recent policies introduced by the

US government.

Success Criteria:You Can:

• Identify the key features of life in the ghettos and suburbs.

• Give two examples of how the government is trying to tackle the housing problem.

Key Issues in Housing

The main concerns facing US citizens are:

• A shortage of affordable houses for people on low-incomes.

• Poor quality housing affects a person’ health.

• Homelessness.

Ghettos

Also known as ‘the hood’ or inner cities. Key problems in the ghetto include:

• Unemployment• Poverty• Violence and Gang Culture• Drug Trafficking• Deteriorating Houses• Rubbish on the streets.• Poorly funded schools

Suburbs

On the outskirts of a city. Houses are often similar

in appearance.

• New buildings• Clean streets• Better-funded schools• Sense of security• Less crime• Less poverty

Government Responses

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is the main government body which tries to dealing with housing issues.

The two main ways they are trying to tackle problems in housing are by:

• Providing up to 72% rental assistance to low-income tenants.

• They have a budget of nearly $48 billion to provide housing to families across the country.

Task:

Read pages 21-22 of the World Powers Textbook.1. Describe what life can be like in the

ghettos.2. Describe what life can be like in the

suburbs3. What is HUD?4. Describe two ways that HUD is

trying to tackle housing problems in the USA.

Poor Kids in America

Take a new page in your jotter.

The main ways that poverty affects peoples’ lives:

**** Video Clip

Healthcare In The USA

Aim:• To identify how Americans pay for healthcare• Examine the reasons why some Americans

face inequalities in health.

Success Criteria:You Can:

• Describe three ways that Americans can pay for healthcare.

• Give three examples of inequalities in health.

Paying For Health Care

PRIVATE INSURANCE

• You pay OR• Employer pays

Problems:• Expensive.• People are

underinsured – not covered for every type of treatment.

GOVERNMENT

• Medicare – over 65s• Medicaid – poor

Problems:• Not all treatments are

covered.• Some

doctors/hospitals refuse to treat you

The Cost of Health Insurance

In the USA it costs the average family $9,100 a year for health insurance.

This is roughly £6,000 pounds!! Could your family afford this?

Video Clip

Healthcare in the USA58% of the US population are

covered by some level of private insurance.

16.3% have no insurance cover.27% depended on government

programmes.9.8% of children in the USA are

without health insurance.

Evidence of InequalitiesDeath rates for Black Americans are

55% higher than they are for white Americans. This is due to factors such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer and murder.

On average, White Americans live four years longer than Blacks.

Infant mortality is more than twice as high for black infants as it is for whites.

Health Care ReformBefore he was elected President, Barack Obama made it clear he wanted to reform the health care system.

In 2010 the Affordable Care Act was introduced – 32 million Americans are uninsured, this Act aimed to change this situation over the next 10years.

Affordable Care Act 2010• Medicaid expanded to include more

families/childless adults.• Insurance companies must accept all

applicants and cannot charge sick people more.

• Those on low incomes will receive a government subsidy (grant) to helps with the cost of insurance.

• All Americans must be insured or face a yearly fine.

• Young adults will be covered on their parent’s health insurance until the age of 26.

Video Clip

Crime In The USA

Aims:• Examine the reasons why inequality exists in

the area of crime and justice.• Consider the key issues surrounding gun

ownership.

Success Criteria:You Can:

• Give three pieces of evidence which show why Blacks are more likely to be affected by crime.

• Explain why many people are concerned about gun crime.

Inequalities In

Crime and Justice

- Directly linked to poverty and where

people live -

Blacks and Hispanics are more

likely to live in ghetto areas with higher crime rates.

39% of the current prison population

are Black, compared to 32%

who are White

Blacks are more likely to be

involved in crime and the victims of

crime.

Death penalty is more likely to be used if the person is Black – 42% of those on Death Row are Black

Gun Crime In The USA

• USA has highest gun ownership rate in the world – 89 guns for every 100 Americans.

• In Scotland the rate of registered firearms per 100 Scots is 4.

• In 2011 there were 12,664 murders in the USA and 68% involved the use of a fire arms.

• In the past 20-30 years there has been a rise in number of mass shootings in the USA and this has led to calls for tougher gun controls.

Newtown, Connecticut

• On December 14th 2012, Adam Lanza shot 20 children and 6 adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

• Newtown is about 60 miles from New York city – in the previous ten years there had only been one murder in the town of 28,000 people.

This was the second deadliest school shooting in US history.

Current Debate

Since Newtown, President Obama has proposed

tougher controls on guns in the USA.

• Stronger background checks – encourage states to share information about applicants.

• Ban on assault weapons• Ban possession of armour-piercing bullets• Prevent gun-trafficking – those who buy

guns for others and take them to other states. Demand A Plan.

Ammunition Magazines

A device for storing ammunition and feeding it into a

weapon when it is discharged.

Limiting the availability of these

could potentially slow down a shooter

planning a massacre.

Gun Crime In The USA

1. What percentage of murders are carried out with a firearm (gun)?

2. What is the rate of gun ownership in the USA and how does this compare to Scotland?

3. Write a short paragraph outlining the events at Sandy Hook on the 14th December 2012.

4. Describe four ways that President Obama would like to tighten up the laws on Gun Control.

Family Structure

Aim:• Examine the changes in family structure in the

USA.• Consider the inequalities which exist among

families.

Success Criteria:You Can:

• Give three pieces of evidence to show the extent of poverty among single-parent families.

• Describe three examples of government programmes to support families.

Family Structure

In recent years, in most countries there has been a breakdown in the traditional family unit due to two key factors:

• Decline in marriage.

• Increase in the number of single parent families.

Single Parent Families

• Most single parents families are headed by a female.

• Research has shown it can be damaging for a child to grow up without an adult male as a role mode.

• Boys tend to follow older boys in their neighbourhood, get involved in anti-social behaviour, get arrested by the police and drop out of school.

• All of this has long-term consequences, leading to poverty and unemployment.

Inequalities In

Family Structure

66% of Blacks grow up in single parent family – 50% are

headed by a female.

One-quarter of US children live with only one of their parents – 85% of single parents are

mothers.

For single mothers who are from an ethnic minority the

poverty rate is higher – Hispanics (50.3%), Blacks (47.1%) and

Whites (32.7%)

Single mother families have a poverty rate of

42.4% - an income of less than

$14,570.

Government Response

Three main schemes have been introduced as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (2012)• Child Care Development Block Grant

Federal funding for childcare programmes and help for families with the cost of childcare.

• Head StartAimed at children under-5 from low income families. Encourage their development and help them to be ready for school e.g. advice on parenting, nutrition etc.

• Early Head StartAimed at low income families with children up to the age of three to encourage their development.

Income Levels

Aim:• Examine the poverty levels faced by different

ethnic groups.• Identify the key reasons for income

inequalities.

Success Criteria:You Can:

• Complete a table showing the poverty levels of different ethnic groups.

• Write a summary note on the key causes of inequalities in income.

Poverty Rates In The USA

Ethnic Group Poverty Rate (%)

Whites 41

Blacks 27.6

Hispanics 28

Asians 12.3

US Population 15

Causes of Inequality

Education• A good education gets people into jobs which have

higher earnings.Types of Jobs• There are more Whites and Asians in professional and

managerial jobs – these are well-paid.Born Outside of the USA• Language barriers can make it difficult for new

immigrants to find work.Discrimination• Research has found that all ethnic minorities face

discrimination when applying for jobs/receiving wages – Blacks are more likely to suffer.

Rise of Asian Americans

There is evidence that this group has been more

successful at achieving the American Dream:

• More likely to live in mixed neighbourhoods• Marry across racial lines• 61% of recent Asian immigrants have a

degree – gives them access to better jobs.• Largest group of new immigrants to the USA.

Government Action

Obama’s government has tried to focus on helping low-income families who have been hit hard by high levels of unemployment during the past 10 years.

• $20 billion increase in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programme (SNAP) – used to be known as Food Stamps – vouchers to help purchase food.

• Increase in money given to Americans who are claiming Unemployment Insurance.

• More money for the Temporary Assistance For Needy Families (TANF) programme.

Unemployment

Aim:• Examine the current rates of unemployment

among different ethnic groups.• Identify the key causes of unemployment in

the USA.

Success Criteria:You Can:

• Complete a table showing the unemployment levels of different ethnic groups.

• Write a summary note on the key causes of unemployment.

Unemployment

• Between 2008-2011 the USA experienced a severe economic recession.

• In 2008 the unemployment rate reached 10%.

Key Term – RecessionA period of time when the economy of a country is not successful and conditions for business are bad.

Unemployment Rates In The USA

Ethnic Group Unemployment Rate (%)

Whites 8.7

Blacks 16

Hispanics 12.5

Asians 7.5

US Population 8

Causes of InequalityRecession• When unemployment is high this makes it more

difficult for people to find work.Discrimination• Ethnic minorities face discrimination when applying for

jobs and promotion.Illegal Immigrants• Tend to be concentrated in low-paid and unskilled

jobs.Language Barriers• Language barriers can make it difficult for people to

achieve success in education and the workplace.Lack of Skills/Qualifications• This limits the type of jobs that people can do – people

will end up in unskilled, low-paid jobs.

Government Action

There have been two key measures to help the employment situation:

• The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act 2012 has tried to help the employment situation by creating 3 million jobs.

• Small Business Jobs Act has tried to help small businesses but providing tax breaks and better access to credit (bank loans).