Socioeconomic Status Inequality

In today’s emotionally charged political society, the issues of race and gender are hotly contested and well documented, but another issue is less well known. Socioeconomics, the study of social and economic factors, determines how people live their lives every day. The main factor determining where people live, where kids go to school, what clothes people wear, how people are viewed by others, and more, is socioeconomic status. People are separated and organized in all aspects of life based on their income because people of a higher income and status are more flexible and have more choices than those with lower incomes. This fact is a problem that is increasingly causing social classes to emerge in America.

Socioeconomic status inequality

Darity in “Tracking in Schools,” and by Mendoza in “How a ‘parenting arms race’ is causing kids to grow up segregated.” According to Darity, tracking, or the placement of students into various leveled educational programs based on ability, "is strongly correlated with socioeconomic status," with students from higher socioeconomic backgrounds "more likely to be placed in college preparatory [and] honors" classes (Darity). This fact displays that children of different economic backgrounds are not given equal opportunities, and may even be unfairly profiled based on their wealth. The article also says that "parents of lower income children may be less aware of the importance of and opportunities for their children to pursue a college education" (Darity). This means that the children of parents who did not go to college will be less likely to go to college themselves because it is not the normal thing to do in their experience. Mendoza also touched on this, saying that this trend "could propel a cycle of inequality and isolation for children at all levels of the income spectrum" (Mendoza). As higher income children go to college and get better jobs, their families will progressively become wealthier, while lower income families will become progressively more impoverished as generation after generation does not go to college. This cycle is already

While violence, and especially domestic violence, can certainly occur at all levels of the income spectrum, it is clear that these incidents are more closely linked with low socioeconomic status areas. This is due partially to the increased stress level of trying to make a life for oneself without the resources of a college degree or financial backing. The article also said that "low-income women who experienced intimate partner violence […] had only one-third odds of maintaining a 30-hour work week for six or more months" compared to high socioeconomic status women. This fact again confirms that stress is often a contributing factor to violence, but it also illustrates that this pattern can work in reverse as well, since women affected by domestic violence are in turn less focused and confident in their lives, which makes it harder to maintain a job, and creates yet another vicious cycle. Renzetti and Larkin also make the important point that "more