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Introduction
Georgia has been known for its social and cultural differences, encompassing people from diversified backgrounds. However, economic disparities have been manifested as the most significant social disparity separating Georgians from the rest of American society. The state’s discrepancy between the rich and the poor has been widening, which has undermined economic growth opportunities. Additionally, the disparity between the middle class and the wealthy is also extending. The state has received the third position within the largest disparity group ranking between 20 percent richest and middle class in the 2000s (Tharpe, 2020). The gap seems to be widening following the fact that the rich have accumulated massive wealth while the poor are working for them.
The economic inequality has been fueled by issues related to educational attainment and race. Georgians obtaining little education work in blue-collar jobs, which pay less (Sommeiller et al., 2016). The minority groups of Hispanics and African-Americans are the most impacted sectors of society and, therefore, they end up suffering more acute unemployment (Sommeiller et al., 2016). Education is the most crucial tenet that has been used to increase the gap between the poor and the rich. Given that children from fortunate backgrounds are equipped with great knowledge from the leading schools, they will continue to surpass in every arena of life.
Atlanta city leads in the nation’s income inequality and inadequate economic mobility. Income disparities have widened with the changes in demographics of the city over the last few years. The city has grown and wealthier white families have dominated while more affluent black families move to the suburbs (Donnelly, 2020). The household incomes for African-Americans, Hispanics, and Latinos have not grown anywhere near white households (Tharpe, 2020). The population increase for the whites is directly proportional to their income. As a result, the city has altered from what it was earlier to acquire a new image, which seems disproportional since there is no equal representation of the minority groups. Even though the United States is a capitalist nation, groups of low social status should be recognized as they are the ones behind the great American economy.
The inequality is associated with national trends and policies and, hence, Georgia cannot address the issue on its own because it emanates from the national level. The state of Georgia has experienced changes, especially in Atlanta. The city has been occupied by more representatives of the white population compared to its initial number (Busette, 2020). As a result, more black families are shifting to suburbs, which resulted in unprecedented alterations in inequality and representation of the black population.
Interview Discussion
An interview with Brian Kemp, Georgia’s state governor, addressed some critical questions regarding inequality and social disparity. The primary aim was to shed some light on the existing economic inequalities in Georgia that have been fueled by education, racism, and unequal representation in the state. The governor acknowledged that racism in universities and college admissions has been an ongoing problem for a while. College admission professionals will have to break down the barriers to students’ admission from minority groups, including African-Americans, Hispanics, and Latinos to address the issue. However, obstacles to admitting students from minority groups to national universities are based on the inequalities between the wealthy background students, predominantly whites, and black students who mainly have the access to poverty-stricken schools.
Over the last 400 years, addressing injustice remained an ongoing concern, but Brian Kemp is on the ground to set his blueprint now. The governor has taken several steps to address the issue, such as acknowledging racism, establishing equity goals and resource equity, measuring equity impacts, and identifying innovation areas. To deal with racism, the governor has formed the Truth, Justice, and Reconciliation Committee (TJRC), where members are invited to share their experiences. The TJRC comprises both white and black members who listen, recognize, and respond to the shared experiences. In addition, strengthening Obamacare would be significant in reducing health inequalities in Georgia state. Many Americans agree that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has significantly lessened many families’ health burdens, though not adequate (Hunt, 2020). Obamacare has to be extended to integrate Medicare options starting at birth.
The establishment of equity targets has been set via the Equity Task Force (ETF) with white and black representatives. The ETF develops an equity-funded plan, which gives solutions to inequalities, including education, policing, health, jobs, and income. The office of the governor has identified areas that are ready for innovation, such as the provision of a stipend for theses concerning the COVID-19 cases. The governor’s office has gathered adequate data, which crystallizes the racial wealth gap and uses it to strengthen education and credit.
Equality in resource allocation has been critically administered across finances attached to all ETF initiatives. This involves the strategic planning of stimulus funds to address inequality disparities. The state uses existing federal waivers across all federal programs to structure impartiality in healthcare, broadband access, and education. Additionally, the governor invites philanthropies, like Jack Ma and Bill Gates, to share discussions on equity goals. Marketing and selling of equity bonds to the municipal lending market have been established. The state is working on eliminating the bureaucratic issues, which pool money from municipals and other state departments’ budgets to give funds that deal with inequality challenges. All the programs and policies are put under the aegis of the ETF and are evaluated from an equity perspective.
Practical Solution
Based on the analysis of the social disparities in Georgia state, there is a need to adopt a practical solution to address the inequalities. Since the social disparities of equity have been witnessed across all dimensions, including employment and education, a step-by-step solution needs to be provided. The state needs to move towards evidence-based policymaking, where the policies are prioritized based on social returns. The measures to reduce the widening gap between the poor and the rich also need to be established (Redden, 2020). It is important to focus on how policies are targeted and how inadequate attention to policies’ effectiveness is protected and promoted. Policymakers should consider improving the tradeoff and employing ways to design policies allowing markets to work better from the poor people’s perspective.
The use of arithmetic and philosophies by scholars would also be essential in addressing the inequality issue. Through the inside-the-box matrix, Atkinson argues that policies targeting inequality in capital income, earned income, and disposable income have no impact on inequality (Powell, 2014). Such policies include those that protect and promote employment, facilitate minimum wages, taxation on inheritance, progressive income taxation, social grants, and social insurance (Powell, 2014). Atkinson’s inside-the-box matrix would, therefore, serve for eliminating issues associated with flawed policies. Inequality can be managed by increasing Georgia’s output by participating in globalized work, investing in public and industrial policies to encourage technical progress, promoting labor-intensive, and avoiding capital-intensive growth. The state government should act as an employer by providing jobs to all seekers at minimum wages. Involving social partners will help counterattack capitalists with considerable power (Hunt, 2020). As a result, equity in wages will be improved and coupled with efforts to disassemble monopoly regimes.
The use of the TJRC would also be important as it will act as an observer and monitor equality across all dimensions. Capital-sharing funds for the young African-Americans and other minority group youths need to be introduced to assist them in acquiring high education levels. The idea behind this is that the Georgia state government guarantees minimum inheritance, funded via initiatives such as sovereign wealth funds to curb inequality emanating from capital returns. The introduction of the working-class family relief act would be important as far as expanding the earned income tax credit (EITC) is considered. The EITC has evolved since its enactment in the 1970s into the most efficient anti-poverty program. It is redeemable tax relief for the working poor class.
Increasing and extending the benefits to childless workers would be significant for starting a good-quality life. This relief act can also expand the $2,000-a-year child tax credit for middle-class families (Hunt, 2020). In general, this bill reduces child poverty while simultaneously helping low and modest-wage workers. This enactment is expected to estimate 43 million Americans, including African-Americans, Hispanics, and Latinos, overcoming poverty. Even though EITC is effective, the hourly rate of wages has not changed over the last decade and should be increased following skyrocketing prices of products and services.
Equity should be observed through resource allocation, employment, and equal representation in the state government. The establishment of equality goals has been set via an Equity Task Force (ETF), including white and black representatives. The ETF gives a sense of urgency to develop an equity-funded plan that gives solutions to key disparities concerning the state (Hunt, 2020). A global adaptation program is critical to combine trade adjustments assistance for the people who have lost their jobs due to international race and unemployment insurance provision for people who have been retrenched. The programs will cover part-time workers and independent contractors who work as freelancers.
The governor and legislature can do particularly important things to help solve inequalities. For example, expanding and funding educational initiatives, including the universal pre-K, will improve learning and attainment of a good life. Additionally, consolidation of unemployment insurance and Medicaid would be important to curb struggling, financially unstable Georgians from lagging and provide them with a successful hand (Donnelly, 2020). The main objective should be geared toward equality in Georgia, where wealth and resources are shared equally for success regardless of race, parent income, or the ZIP code. It is a complex task to achieve, however, it would acknowledge the social disparities in the state of Georgia.
Conclusion
To conclude, the state of Georgia needs to address the issue of inequality urgently. Based on the interview with the governor, the state has various initiatives that have been particularly developed to curb inequality. Nevertheless, such initiatives appear to be inadequate in dealing with the issue of social discrimination. The TJRC and the ETF should be revamped by replacing the leaders with other visionary people. Some of the practical solutions discussed are more powerful than the existing initiatives within the state. Therefore, implementing evidence-based policymaking, wherein policies are measured in compliance with social achievements, has the potential to eliminate equality disparities.
References
Busette, C. (2020). Mayors and governors: This is how you tackle racism. Brookings. Web.
Donnelly, G. (2020). Economic disparities in ‘black meca.’ Bizjournals. Web.
Hunt, A. (2020). Some realistic solutions for income inequality. The Hill. Web.
Powell, J. A. (2014). Six policies to reduce economic inequality. Huffington Post. Web.
Redden, E. (2020). Confronting racism in admissions. Inside Higher Ed. Web.
Sommeiller, E., Price, M., & Wazeter, E. (2016). Income inequality in the U.S. by state, metropolitan area, and county. Economic Policy Institute. Web.
Tharpe, W. (2020). Growing inequality threatens Georgia’s economy. Georgia Budget and Policy Institute. Web.
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