Racism and Economic Inequality in America

Name Instructor Course Date Racism and Economic Inequality in America Economic inequality between whites and blacks present one of the most discussed issues over the years. The persistent debate is because economic inequality is a trend that has been in play even before independence. The government has made efforts in trying to bridge the gap between the upper-class whites and the low and middle-class blacks (Manduca 184). However, there has been disagreement in some issues including ways of effectively reducing the economic gap without causing an economic crisis and causes of increasing economic disparity despite the rise in the income of blacks. Robert Manduca holds the view that racial discrimination between whites and blacks is the main cause of economic inequality between the two races. Although several factors cause economic disparities, racism, as argued by Manduca, is more convincing. Therefore, racism as the cause of economic inequality is chiefly discussed in this article by Manduca. One appealing argument of this article is how the disparity in income distribution increase economic inequality among the citizens in the US. Income distribution describes the organization in rank between whites and blacks. At present, and for a very long time, blacks make most of the low and middle class while the whites occupy the upper class. Manduca argues that when the national income is distributed, the upper class receives the lions share while the rest goes to the other classes (Manduca 184). Manduca also examined that only Government can control the income distribution by increasing education supply to the blacks and mitigating laws that call for racial representation at the places of work. Parental wealth is another factor used by Manduca in trying to explain economic inequality. He relates parental wealth to social classes where he argues that the children of the whites receive more wealth from their parents than those from the blacks. In this regard, children of the whites experience more economic stability and gain than those of the blacks. As they inherit the wealth, they are structurally placed at high levels of employment hence earn more. This builds the economic disparity gap even further. He further explains that since whites occupy the senior ranks in the labor market, the hiring of top employees is at times racial based. For instance, Manduca says that when blacks apply for jobs, the probability of being called for interviews is less both for low paying and better-paying ...