Reference no: EM133408703

Assignment:

How do we explain inequality and poverty in our society? Why do these problems exist? Think structurally about poverty. What social factors, not individual factors, may contribute to the poverty of employed persons?

We explain inequality and poverty in our society by separating professional work and marginal work. The jobs that are considered marginal are ones involving undesirable or "dirty" work (Hodson & Sullivan, 2011). These jobs have low pay wages and high turnover rates, the people who qualify for these jobs have low education standards which keeps them from being able to pursue better employment. The social factors that contribute to the poverty of employed workers come from the employers. Organizations create marginality by dichotomizing workers based on the content of their work, which are categorized by more important or less important (Hodson & Sullivan, 2011). These organizations fill these rolls with part-time labor which allows them to save money since they do not have to provide the same benefits of a full-time employee.

Imagine an alien from outer-space heard the same three low-wage profiles on her radio that you just listened to on NPR. She asks you to explain to her why these three people have not been able to achieve "The American Dream" despite working diligently. Respond with a sociological explanation. Then respond to your classmates' explanations as if you are the alien.

These people have not been able to achieve the "The American Dream" because the lack of personal resources and opportunities. It usually starts at the family level; the children of marginal workers are less likely to finish school and since the family generates a low-income the teenage children must seek jobs that are marginal ones (Hodson & Sullivan, 2011). This results in the children not being able to ever advance into better jobs, which causes a repeating cycle for marginal working families that is hard to break.