Once heralded as ”the land of opportunity,” America has become, for increasing numbers of her inhabitants, a nation of disappointment and hardship. In a land characterized by innumerable economic, environmental and social problems, poverty is escalating to the point where approximately one-third of the population is composed of the poor and the near poor. Persistent Poverty provides a comprehensive and critical analysis of one of America’s most disturbing social problems.In a clear, uncompromising style, Richard H. Ropers, Ph.D., a noted authority on the plight of the poverty-stricken, unravels a skein of government inconsistencies in handling the mounting effects of poverty, homelessness, the welfare system, and the gradual polarization of our class system, resulting in the gradual erosion of the middle class. After examining various ”blame-the-victim” and ”blame the system” theories of inequality, Dr. Ropers asserts that such poverty results primarily from long-term economic, social, and political policies and is not necessarily derived from the supposed deviant behavior of the poor.With a staggering 70 million Americans living just above or below the poverty line, the author advises that urgent attention be paid to the structural roots of poverty in light of significant increases in the rate of crime, juvenile delinquency, substance abuse, domestic violence, and unemployment. As an objective focus on the enormous scope of poverty, this groundbreaking work offers keen insights into the argument that despite substantial efforts to alleviate similar plights worldwide, the United States cannot provide sufficient care for her own impoverished citizens.Sociologists, educators, politicians, urbanologists, public officials, and concerned citizens will all benefit from this provocative and thoughtful appraisal.

Persistent Poverty: The American Dream Turned Nightmare

Politics & Social Sciences

Ropers, Richard H.

Social Sciences

Springer

Americans try to believe that class, ethnic, racial, and cultural differences and conflicts in the United States can be harmoniously blended into the proverbial American "melting pot." However, we have always been apt to categorize people as socially "acceptable" or "unacceptable." The unequal social value placed upon men, women, and children and their so-called differences have incited fear, prejudice, discrimination, and violence. Why do we allow this hatred, intolerance, and discrimination to endure? American Prejudice: With Liberty and Justice for Some, a brilliant essay on bigotry and intolerance, examines the social and economic roots of hatred and bias and the intellectual and ideological origins of prejudicial thinking. Drs. Richard Ropers and Dan Pence, esteemed experts on cultural diversity's impact on society, have written an explicit and perceptive text that provides insight into the predilection we as a society have for prejudice by exposing its conspicuous influences on contemporary political, religious, and judicial scenes. The authors explain how our Founding Fathers' promise of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" for all is not met in the harsh reality of an America where the populace is sharply divided along lines of race, gender, class, ethnicity, and sexuality. Drs. Ropers and Pence also illustrate how the American criminal justice system panders to the contemporary climate of prejudice, discriminating against our most vulnerable groups - women and children, the elderly, and homosexuals. Can the United States still maintain its pledge to acceptance of diversity? American Prejudice is a provocative examination on the "state of hate" today as seen through the voices and actions of all who activate or alleviate violence against our own - the poor, the elderly, the non-Caucasian, women, gays, and lesbians - all of whom are the very essence of America's pluralist society. In the final years of the twentieth century, this is a much needed commentary on what we must do to achieve balance, compassion, and tolerance and will be of enormous help to sociologists, educators, human rights advocates, political scientists, and behavioral psychologists.

American Prejudice

Pence, Dan J.

Basic Books

Looks at the history and the extent of homelessness in the U.S., discusses the causes of this nationwide problem, and considers possible solutions

The Invisible Homeless: A New Urban Ecology

Insight Books

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Books by Ropers, Richard H.