American families are increasingly polarized and suffering from growing economic inequality that was exacerbated by the Great Recession, according to a new report released Wednesday.
The report, œDivergent Paths of American Families,” found a widening gap in recent years between white, educated or wealthy families and minority and poor families.
œI was struck by how strong the divide has become in terms of education,” said report author Zhenchao Qian, a sociologist at Ohio State University.
“There is no doubt that the gap between America’s haves and have-nots grew larger than ever during the 2000s,” he said.
The study analyzed census data from 2000, 2008 and 2010 to observe the effects of the Great Recession on families.
The study found that men and women with high levels of education or income were more likely to be married and their children were much less likely to live in poverty and instead more likely to benefit from family stability, increased parent time and higher economic resources.
The report also found the Great Recession probably exacerbated the trend toward delaying marriage and the continued rise of people staying single.
œThe vast majority of people want to have long-term, stable families,” said Philip Cohen, a University of Maryland sociologist who studies family inequality. œThe fact that rich people are becoming more able to do that than poor people is just another indicator of the unequal society we live in.”
Family historian Stephanie Coontz said the polarization of American families is the result of œof widening economic inequality that, unless we decide as a society to invest in livable-wage jobs and a truly egalitarian educational system, will only get worse.”
A new study by the Internal Revenue Service has shown that the income gap between the richest 1 percent in the United States and the rest of the American people reached its widest point in 2012 since 1928.
The wealthiest 10 percent collected 48.2 percent of the total earnings in 2012, according to the study.
AHT/ARA
Copyright: Press TV