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Income inequality in America has been growing rapidly, and is expected to increase [PDF]. While the widening wealth gap is a hot topic in the media and on the campaign trail, there's quite a disconnect between the perceptions of economists and those of the general public.
For instance, surveys show people tend to underestimate the income disparity between the top and bottom 20% of Americans, and overestimate the opportunity for poor individuals to climb the social ladder. Additionally, a majority of adults believe that corporations conduct business fairly despite evidence to the contrary and that the government should not act to reduce income inequality.
Even though inequality is increasing, Americans seem to believe that our social and economic systems work exactly as they should. This perspective has intrigued social scientists for decades. My colleague Andrei Cimpian and I have demonstrated in our recent research that these beliefs that our society is fair and just may take root in the first years of life, stemming from our fundamental desire to explain the world around us.
http://theconversation.com/lifes-not-fair-so-why-do-we-assume-it-is-45981
(Score: 5, Informative) by Thexalon on Thursday September 10 2015, @07:43PM
So far, every single non-white person and woman I know well has told me at least one story of somebody who held them back because they were non-white or female (or both).
Some examples, and bear in mind that this is all fairly recent:
- One of my closest female friends gave up a budding interest in theater because the director she was working with attempted to molest her (she was 16 at the time), and when she reported it to the theater organization their response was to call her a crazy drama queen and kick her out. She might have been a good actress, instead she was a mediocre pencil pusher at an insurance company. The director in question is on trial for making and distributing pornography with underage teenage girls he met working in the theater program, but that doesn't help with my friends' non-career.
- The women in my computer science class who I got to know told me regularly about being sexually harassed in the CS lab. Almost all of them transferred over to being math majors in large part to avoid the treatment they were getting.
- One of the smarter engineers I know, who is black, was repeatedly denied promotion despite having all the necessary credentials, seniority, and sterling performance reviews. Less qualified white employees kept getting promoted in front of him.
- One day the company I was working for was interviewing for a new programmer. My colleagues did the technical evaluations, and decided that he was more-or-less OK for a junior level programmer. They then invited the co-owner in charge of technology to meet with this prospective employee. Within 10 minutes, the co-owner was back saying to the entire office that he'd never hire him because he was Indian. This same co-owner had also pushed out the one black guy in the company by repeatedly denying him raises and promotions while demanding more and more work from him.
- A white friend of mine who works in HR talked about one time they were considering a candidate for an office assistant. The candidate did well on all the skills tests and all the personality questions, but when it came time to discuss things and my friend said "So this seems like a hire", the rest of the room looked at her like she was crazy. Why? Because the candidate was black.
- A black male work buddy was dancing with somebody he'd just met in a nightclub. A white woman came up to him and attacked him with a knife for "harassing her girlfriend". The cops arrested *him*, despite his bleeding hand and numerous witness statements making it very clear that he was the victim rather than the aggressor. Then they denied him medical treatment and left him in jail for the weekend before a judge could dismiss the case.
If you don't think that being not-white or not-male makes a huge difference, then you aren't paying attention.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Thursday September 10 2015, @07:58PM
Sorry to hear about all these stories. That sucks.
But you're offering anecdata. He said "vast majority" and now we're just talking about how prevalent it is. He never said discrimination doesn't exist.
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Thexalon on Thursday September 10 2015, @08:37PM
My point with the "anecdata" is that the anecdotes match up perfectly with a very well-documented difference in outcomes for black, Hispanic, and female people, and a historical pattern of discrimination against black, Hispanic, and female people.
It's basically intended to counteract the notion that the social scientists are making the whole thing up, which I have heard more than a few conspiracy theorists do.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Thursday September 10 2015, @10:07PM
Allow me to refute then. I'm Indian (feather not dot) and it has never been a hindrance to me. Not once. I'd be willing to bet a hell of a lot of the people who told you they were held back because of their race were held back for lack of value to an employer rather than anything sordid, but they're told day in and day out that they're oppressed by race baiters who make their money off generating strife where there was none to begin with.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 4, Informative) by Runaway1956 on Thursday September 10 2015, @11:13PM
I just posted regarding my own boss, and hiring brown men.
I had an Indian helper. Obviously non-white, he looked very Native American. Rudy worked for me for a little over two years, and like the average laborer, he was screwed over repeatedly. No raises, for starters. He caught all the shit jobs that no white man wanted to do. Medical benefits delayed because he didn't dot all his i's and cross all his t's. Generally used and abused, as much as possible within a corporate environment.
We buried the man a couple years ago. It started out with a rather minor injury. Took the man to the ER, and the doctor treated the injury, then he wanted to admit the patient for observation. Rudy's blood pressure was out of this world! Without insurance, and a meager excuse for a wage, Rudy fought being admitted. So, Rudy is back at work the next day, and I start digging to find out about insurance for him. Well - long story short, he got his insurance, he got a doctor's appointment, he got a prescription for blood pressure medicine, but delayed picking up the script because he didn't have the co-pay to pay for the medicine. Just a few bucks, but he didn't have it. Hell, I'd have lent him twenty bucks, but he didn't ask me . . .
That weekend, Rudy had a little family gathering, had a great day, he's laughing and bullshitting with an adult son, sits down in an easy chair - and dropped dead of an aneurysm. Just that quick and simple - lights out.
One less hard working Choctaw in this world, and none of my bosses or co-workers can imagine that the man died because of actions and inactions on the company's part. Rudy SHOULD HAVE had his insurance in order an entire year prior to his death, and he shouldn't have been scrabbling for the couple dollars necessary to pick up his prescription.
High blood pressure. Life sucks.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 10 2015, @11:51PM
So you are saying he didn't have all this because he was not white? And you are still working for this racist company? Maybe you are the problem?
(Score: 2) by Thexalon on Friday September 11 2015, @11:34AM
You obviously didn't read all of my post, like the part where I wrote about a boss that told the entire staff of his company flat-out that he would only hire white people.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 10 2015, @08:10PM
Buzz talking about sociology is like a programmer who doesn't understand indirection.
If its not blatantly rubbed in someone's face it doesn't exist.
And when it is blatant, its just a one-off, not the tip of an iceberg.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Thursday September 10 2015, @10:09PM
And what exactly qualifies your happy ass to speak on it, slappy?
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 10 2015, @11:19PM
I see you locked Slappy in a car, ran up on your porch, and then pointed and laughed at him! Wow! What was that twinkling star that just flew into your bare snap...? Wait... what was that sinister voice that just said "Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit's suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuupper tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiime..."? It came from within your raw bayer aspirin hole...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 11 2015, @03:16AM
> And what exactly qualifies your happy ass to speak on it, slappy?
BSc in sociology.
You?
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday September 10 2015, @10:52PM
Funny thing is, I've seen HR actually support these policies. I once pointed out that my immediate boss only hires white males for tech positions, and uses only brown males for support, or help. "Human relations" supported my boss by claiming that she had personally interviewed all of these brown males, and found that they were "unqualified".
Basically, the crotch biting SOB that I work for can write a job requirement for a position that excludes anyone he wants to exclude.
We have a black man in production right now, who wants to transfer to maintenance. His experience is better than my own. His education is about equal to my own. His specific experience isn't a perfect match for the work we do, but hey, unless we raid other companies in the same industry, we simply will not find perfect matches. I really, really, really want this big black guy to work with me. My boss? He finds all manner of stupid bullshit reasons why the man wouldn't work out.
Bottom line, he ain't hiring any non-white to fill a tech position. End of story. It's alright to have a black or brown man mop the floor, but no way is he fit to work on machinery.
Fucking IGNORANT!
And, the bitch in HR tacitly supports this attitude.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 11 2015, @05:55AM
>>Fucking IGNORANT!
>>And, the bitch in HR tacitly supports this attitude.
Why can't they be tolerant, classy individuals like yourself?