IMMIGRATION AND THE GAP BETWEEN THE RICH AND POOR
After the Vietnamese war lots of refugees board U.S ships to come to America in hopes for a better life economically and politically. After the war many Vietnamese refugees were looking for opportunities outside of Vietnam.
Vietnamese Refugees board U.S Navy LST at Haiphong. Google Sites, 18 June 2014,
sites.google.com/a/ggusd.net/history/vietnam-emigration. Accessed 5 Jan.
2018.
Vietnamese Refugees board U.S Navy LST at Haiphong. Google Sites, 18 June 2014,
sites.google.com/a/ggusd.net/history/vietnam-emigration. Accessed 5 Jan.
2018.
The gap between the rich and poor as always been prominent throughout the ages, but between 1950-2000, immigration was on the rise. As immigration has become one of the most controversial topics over the past 50 years, it has had a big effect on the economic gap. Immigrants find it extremely hard to find jobs because of prejudice and lack of documentation. This difficulty in finding opportunities often puts minorities at the bottom of the economic scale, which has had a huge affect on the income inequality and economic gap between 1950-2000.
This timeline between 1953 to the 2000's discusses the flow of immigration in America. With immigration reaching an all time high in the 1970's after the Vietnam War, Americans had to welcome new foreigners as refugees arrived across the borders.
Citation:
Scholastic. "Immigration Stories of Yesterday and Today." Scholastic,
teacher.scholastic.com/activities/immigration/#event26. Accessed 4 Jan.
2018.
Hipsman, Faye, and Doris Meissner. "Immigration in the United States: New
Economic, Social, Political Landscapes with Legislative Reform on the
Horizon." MPI Migration Policy Institute, 16 Apr. 2013,
www.migrationpolicy.org/article/
immigration-united-states-new-economic-social-political-landscapes-legislative-re
form. Accessed 4 Jan. 2018.
Vietnamese Refugees land on the USS Midway, and refugees get off quickly. Helicopters filled with Vietnamese refugees waited to land.
Crook, Hank, and Maureen Cavanaugh. USS Midway and the Vietnamese Refugees.
Wikimedia, 29 Apr. 2010, commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/
File:Vietnamese_refugees_on_US_carrier,_Operation_Frequent_Wind.jpg.
Accessed 5 Jan. 2018.
How Vietnamese Refugees Climbed the Economic Scale
Vietnamese refugees fled to America after the Vietnamese war between 1975-1980. Today, Vietnamese people are a big part of our culture and economy. Unlike many foreign refugees and immigrants, many Vietnamese people have climbed the economic scale. As stated by Thu-Huong Ha, "The nonprofit think tank Migration Policy Institute estimates that in 2012 Vietnamese immigrant househoulds had a median income of $55,736--higher than that of the immigrant population at larg (about $47,000) as well as of Us-born households (about $52,000)." So clearly, Vietnamese people were determined to improve their lives after the war when they got to America. Although they quickly climbed the economic ladder, many people did not approve of Vietnamese immigrants coming to the United States. They faced discrimination through racial slurs, Asian stereotypes, and underrepresentation in the media. So while some Americans talked well of Vietnamese immigrants and wanted to help them after the war, others spoke differently, speaking their opinion and discriminating against the Vietnamese.
Citation:
Ha, Thu-Huong. "Forty-one Years Ago, the US Took a Big Gamble on Vietnamese
Refugees." Quartz, 30 Apr. 2016, qz.com/670921/
forty-one-years-ago-the-us-took-a-big-gamble-on-vietnamese-refugees/.
Accessed 5 Jan. 2018.
Vietnamese refugees fled to America after the Vietnamese war between 1975-1980. Today, Vietnamese people are a big part of our culture and economy. Unlike many foreign refugees and immigrants, many Vietnamese people have climbed the economic scale. As stated by Thu-Huong Ha, "The nonprofit think tank Migration Policy Institute estimates that in 2012 Vietnamese immigrant househoulds had a median income of $55,736--higher than that of the immigrant population at larg (about $47,000) as well as of Us-born households (about $52,000)." So clearly, Vietnamese people were determined to improve their lives after the war when they got to America. Although they quickly climbed the economic ladder, many people did not approve of Vietnamese immigrants coming to the United States. They faced discrimination through racial slurs, Asian stereotypes, and underrepresentation in the media. So while some Americans talked well of Vietnamese immigrants and wanted to help them after the war, others spoke differently, speaking their opinion and discriminating against the Vietnamese.
Citation:
Ha, Thu-Huong. "Forty-one Years Ago, the US Took a Big Gamble on Vietnamese
Refugees." Quartz, 30 Apr. 2016, qz.com/670921/
forty-one-years-ago-the-us-took-a-big-gamble-on-vietnamese-refugees/.
Accessed 5 Jan. 2018.
How These Researches Think We Can Shrink the Gap Between the Rich and Poor
After lots of research, researches Ping Xu, James C. Garand, and Ling Zhu found new information on immigration and the affect immigrants have on income inequality and the economic gap. They found that “low-skilled immigration in the US does increase income inequality due to the downward pressure it puts on wages, and immigrants’ lack of access to federal welfare benefits. To reduce inequality, US immigration policy should shift towards admitting more high-skilled immigrants.” - This is just like in 1965 when the Immigration and Naturalization Act was passed and it was a policy to bring highly skilled workers to the US. The income gap has widened a significant amount in the past few decades, but there is reason for this as these researches found new information. A lot of immigrants are not well educated and this puts them at a disadvantage because they can’t find the same opportunities as people born in the United States. Also immigrants have to face another problem that natives do not have - and that is legality. They have problems when it comes to lawful employment and if they can get in government funded welfare programs. Not only is it hard to find a job because most check for undocumented immigrants, but if they do find a job their income is usually less than a native’s. This problem contributes to the economic gap and income inequality greatly as immigrants are at a significant disadvantage. These researches have this tough conversation on how we can improve immigration so that the gap shrinks.
Citation:
Xu, Ping, et al. "How Immigration Makes Income Inequality Worse in the US."
USAPP United States Politics and Policy, 14 Oct. 2015, blogs.lse.ac.uk/
usappblog/2015/10/14/how-immigration-makes-income-inequality-worse-in-the-us/.
Accessed 4 Jan. 2018.
After lots of research, researches Ping Xu, James C. Garand, and Ling Zhu found new information on immigration and the affect immigrants have on income inequality and the economic gap. They found that “low-skilled immigration in the US does increase income inequality due to the downward pressure it puts on wages, and immigrants’ lack of access to federal welfare benefits. To reduce inequality, US immigration policy should shift towards admitting more high-skilled immigrants.” - This is just like in 1965 when the Immigration and Naturalization Act was passed and it was a policy to bring highly skilled workers to the US. The income gap has widened a significant amount in the past few decades, but there is reason for this as these researches found new information. A lot of immigrants are not well educated and this puts them at a disadvantage because they can’t find the same opportunities as people born in the United States. Also immigrants have to face another problem that natives do not have - and that is legality. They have problems when it comes to lawful employment and if they can get in government funded welfare programs. Not only is it hard to find a job because most check for undocumented immigrants, but if they do find a job their income is usually less than a native’s. This problem contributes to the economic gap and income inequality greatly as immigrants are at a significant disadvantage. These researches have this tough conversation on how we can improve immigration so that the gap shrinks.
Citation:
Xu, Ping, et al. "How Immigration Makes Income Inequality Worse in the US."
USAPP United States Politics and Policy, 14 Oct. 2015, blogs.lse.ac.uk/
usappblog/2015/10/14/how-immigration-makes-income-inequality-worse-in-the-us/.
Accessed 4 Jan. 2018.
The American Dream
Many foreigners heard things about America and how it had many opportunities, thus making a lot of immigrants come to the United States. These immigrants wanted to achieve this American Dream, and they were hoping for a better life. A lot of native Americans believed that many immigrants were coming just because they wanted religious and political freedom. Although that was a reason for some, like the Vietnamese refugees who were escaping Vietnam after the war, a lot of immigrants came for economic reasons. This American Dream, in the immigrants eyes, was a place where they could flourish economically and have a better life for themselves and their family. As stated by the professor, Rudolph Vecoli, some immigrants even hoped to go back to their home country after they had enough money. Some did achieve the American Dream and went back home to their families with lots of money, and others were defeated, and instead of a dream it was a nightmare. For example, those people who worked in mines and mills went back exhausted physically and mentally. The immigrants had a significant affect on the economic scale because some achieved the American Dream while others didn't. Depending on the opportunities that these immigrants found, determined what economic class they would end up in, and it was different for every single person.
Citation:
University of Minnesota. "Dream and Reality in the Great American Immigrations."
Digital Public Library of America, 19 Nov. 1975, umedia.lib.umn.edu/node/
1300986. Accessed 4 Jan. 2018.
To learn more about immigrants and self-entrepreneurship:
Check out the immigration page for more information on immigrants that came to America.
Social Class in America: A Short Film
This short film discusses economic class in the United States during the 1950s by following the lives of three boys. Overall, it portrays America as a place where class is somewhat fluid and where financial success can be fulfilled through hard work. It does not discuss how class mobility was different for non-white people. Click this link to watch it: https://archive.org/details/SocialCl1957
Citation:
Social Class in America. Knickerbocker Productions, 1957. Internet Archive,
archive.org/details/SocialCl1957. Accessed 2 Nov. 2017.
Citation:
Social Class in America. Knickerbocker Productions, 1957. Internet Archive,
archive.org/details/SocialCl1957. Accessed 2 Nov. 2017.