Race, economic inequality and the 2016 election

During the presidential primaries, Clinton supporters were prone to downplay the importance of economic inequality.

Black people, they said, were only concerned about racism and racial discrimination, not the gap between rich and poor.

But a Pew Research Center survey indicates that economic inequality is in fact the top issue among African American voters.

The survey indicates that 77% of American black voters view the gap between rich and poor as a very big problem, followed by crime (68%), with relations between racial and ethnic groups coming in third (61%).

Black Americans are much more concerned about crime than white Americans, which should not be surprising, because, as a group, they are much more likely to be victims of crime.

Interestingly, black Americans are less worried about immigration than white Americans, or even Hispanic Americans, are.

Google searches of the rich and poor

Carol Graham of the Brookings Institution reflected on the differences in concerns of America’s rich and poor.

The divide in the concerns of those in the toughest circumstances and those in the most comfortable was highlighted by a recent analysis of Google searches for the New York Times’ Upshot.

The searches that correlated most closely with difficult circumstances were related to diets, diabetes, guns and religion especially the dark side of religion e.g., ‘hell’ and ‘antichrist’.

In the most privileged areas, searches related to the latest technology, health and parenting: e.g., ‘ipad’, ‘jogger’ and ‘baby massage’.

There is another inequality, too, that reflects and reinforces the others: in happiness and optimism about the future.

My research – in the U.S. and beyond – shows that individuals with prospects for upward mobility are happier and more likely to invest in their future health and education and those of their children.

When queried about well-being, the rich highlight the role of work and good health in their lives, while poor people are more likely to focus on friends and religion … … .

It is interesting that Graham’s study assumes that both rich and poor have access to Google.  The fruits of technology are become steadily cheaper, while groceries, rent, tuition and medical care become more expensive.

Focus on friends and religion is a good thing, not a bad thing.  While it is good to think about getting ahead and staying healthy, your job and your health are things that can be taken from you at any minute.  True friends and a sustaining faith will be there for you even when you are unemployed and sick.

LINKS

America: Divided In the Pursuit Of Happiness by Carol Graham for the Brookings Institution.

Inequality and Web Search Trends by David Leonhardt for the New York Times.  This is the source of the graphic.

The facts about U.S. wealth and poverty

This video strikingly illustrates the concentration of wealth in the United States and the gap between the rich and the masses, which is greater than most Americans realize.  I came across it on the occasional links and commentary web log.

If you see nothing wrong with the degree of inequality described in this video, I would ask if there is any degree of inequality that would bother you.

George Carlin on incentives