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The fight for economic equality is not a new phenomena.  For centuries, different ethnic groups are faced with systemic inequalities. Economic inequalities are most shown by certain groups of people and their different positions within the economic distribution; income, resources, pay, and wealth.  An individual’s economic position is also related to other characteristics, such as whether or not they have a disability, their ethnic background, or whether they are a man or a woman.  This inequality causes some to be treated differently.  It is specifically the gap between the well-off and the less well-off in the overall economic distribution. 

 

Most people at the top of the economic chain want to stay there and feel threatened when they believe that they can be replaced by someone whom they consider less than, or that those people can compete in the marketplace for jobs and resources.  For some ethnic groups, a college degree was considered the way to upward mobility, however, that is not true for all ethnic groups and not all genders; especially if the decision makers have biases towards specific groups of people.

In the world that we live in today, the cost of living expenses are constantly increasing.  Yet, the cost of living increases are either non-existent or not realistic to market trends when shopping for groceries, paying for gas, buying a house, a car, taking care of your children, or paying monthly bills. 

 

There was a time when you might have been happy to see improvements in your neighborhood.  However, now when things improve in your neighborhood, the taxes increase, almost to a point that you can no longer afford to live in the same neighborhood, which seems unethical and immoral.   While things continue to increase, salaries remain the same and if it increases a little, the increase is consumed by the rising cost of health insurance.  Therefore, there is no increase at all. 

 

With everything increasing, except your income, how can you realistically achieve economic equality?   Some would say, through entrepreneurship, however, that too requires others to support your endeavors and not everyone will support your business.  Achieving economic equality can be done through equal opportunity to job opportunities, equal access to resources and accommodations, access to education and support, affordable housing, increases in income levels that take into account that even rent can start at $900 per month and higher, fair and unbiased judicial system, and equal pay for women.  Will we ever achieve economic equality?  Not until the powers that be, see the importance of providing everyone equal treatment across ethnicities, gender, and abilities.

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By Jason Torrents