John Iceland's 'Poverty In America A Handbook'

In today’s society, people are defined by their ethnic, gender and class affiliations. For this reason, inequality and discrimination are factors in how minorities are treated in American society. John Iceland’s book, “Poverty in America A Handbook” discusses how even though the United States has the largest-industrialized economy; it has more poverty than any other country that has similar standards of living. Iceland focuses and examines why poverty is prominent to this day, what groups are affected, what defines being poor in America, and the causes and effects of the poverty. Michelle Alexander’s book, “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness” discusses the issues specifically related to African-American males

This kind of system where people of higher social status (wealthy) not only limits resources but restricts opportunities for those of a lower status (poverty) who are already at a disadvantage. In this case, minorities such as African-Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans. John Iceland states, “Economists have estimated that perhaps one-quarter of the black-white gap is due to prejudice, suggesting that racism continues to contribute to African-American economic disadvantage” (Iceland 92). There have been studies that showed discrimination still occurred in the labor markets. In particular, a case where minorities applied for the same job as whites. However, they were less likely to be interviewed or get hired, because of the color or their skin. Typically, minorities are more likely to have lower levels of education, employment, and job wages than wealthy white people. This puts them at a disadvantage from the very beginning, and this puts them in a higher position for poverty. Thus, creating an ongoing cycle of social inequality and racial prejudice within the work and labor

In Michelle Alexander’s book, she talks about the difficulties and barriers that ex-offenders face once they were released from jail regarding housing. She explains, “During Jim Crow, it was legal to deny housing on the basis of race, through restrictive covenants and other exclusionary practices” (Alexander 144). During this time, the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988, was passed by Congress to create strict lease agreements and evictions of public housing tenants who engaged in any criminal activity. If they broke the law, then they no longer had the opportunity to have a home. The problem with this is that this impacted not only the ex-felons but their families as well. In the event that they engaged in a criminal activity; their families would have nowhere to go, and they would have to rely heavily on public assistance. As a result, many of these families would not allow the ex-felon back into their homes, due to the risks of losing their homes. In relation to social status, they are labeled a second-class status for the rest of their lives. They are not respected and are seen as people with no morals and have no purpose. They are supposedly deemed not fit for society. Under those circumstances, ex-felons will eventually lose hope, their dignity, and their freedom. Therefore, they end up back in jail because they have to break the rules and do what is necessary for