St Mark’s Gospel (Chapter 14, verse 7).

In addressing the issue of class inequality in modern society the following essay discusses the patterns and consequences of poverty within the UK and the USA. Poverty has always existed in societies whether affluent or not, whether technologically advanced or not, and whether modern or not. Class status affects individuals objectively, namely education, health and lifestyle; and subjectively, namely self-image and its perpetration. In this discussion the mobility of the poor is examined and later contextualised in the structural nature of societies.

The correlates of poverty status are distinct from the dynamic process causing a household to fall into or escape from poverty. This degree of mobility enables poor households to move out of this class. The pattern of poverty is popularly perceived in both developing and industrialised countries as structural and long-term (Baulch & McCulloch). Nonetheless the nature of poverty dynamics is itself transitional; the poor often move out of poverty as others move into poverty. Evidence from longitudinal studies in industrialised countries, including Germany, UK and USA, indicate this (Duncan,

1993). Duncan shows that the number of households living in poverty changes annually as due to the aforementioned mobility. He states that although many households may exist just below or above the poverty line an increase or decrease of 10% in income is required to achieve transition for measurement purposes. The ‘new poor’ status is often preceded by one or more temporary shocks, namely illness, sudden unemployment, childbirth, divorce, widowhood. In spite of this their status is usually reversed within two years. Conversely, those escaping poverty are forced back below the poverty line as a result of some reversal in their circumstances in addition to the fact that to establish oneself requires building blocks as will be described later. This mobility between those above and those below the poverty line is important in redefining the poor as the high turnover of those highly vulnerable individuals rather than merely chronically poor. This temporary phenomenon is also confirmed in both South and East Asia by ICRISAT. Walker and Ryan carried out studies in India in the late eighties and revealed that approximately twenty five percent of households moved out of poverty annually between 1970 and 1980. This pattern of transition in industrialised countries is often due to the lack of safeguards for the vulnerable experiencing temporary problems. Both short-term and chronic poverty serve to reinforce the notion of class inequality. The poor are not provided with the resources to either safeguard their passage into poverty or to avail of policies that would serve to improve their assets and entitlements in order that there is flexibility in their mobility from poverty for good. Despite benefits being in place in the Welfare State of the UK for example the poor population is on the increase.

The defined poverty line must relate to the overall growth in the standard of living. However as stated by Bernstein the poverty line in the USA in 2000 still reflected that of the 1950s. Although the material living standards of the poor in the UK and USA have improved over time this is in large part due to the Baumol Effect, namely that the relatively increased growth in productivity results in prices falling relative to services over time. The downward mobility of households may also be a reason for the possession of durable material goods. The safety nets of welfare and insurance preserve such acquisitions and are thus not a reliable reference to poverty status showing patterns of poverty often misinterpreted.

The economist Joseph Schumpter used a hotel as an analogy to explain the concept of income mobility. Comparing income scale to a hotel where the quality of rooms improved the higher the floor. Mobility enables some to stay where they start whilst others move up or down. However the higher floors are now further away and the chance of reaching them has not increased. Hence, the quality of life in the basement is worse now relative to

Some topics in this essay:
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