Headline News, Science Views (1991) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
5 Making Sense of Social Problems
5 Making Sense of Social Problems
Pages 105-124
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From page 107... ...
Many white Americans believe the civil rights era of the 1960s removed all barriers to equal opportunity and that blacks are making steady gains towards equality. The facts suggest otherwise.
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From page 108... ...
Furthermore, we found that much racial inequality continues to be due to discrimination and the segregation of poor blacks from quality schools, neighborhoods and other social institutions. These findings lead to the clear conclusion that the main thing that needs enhancement is not black attitudes but black opportunities.
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From page 109... ...
These programs have included the Job Corps, Head Start, financial aid for college students and health services for young mothers. Social policies with demonstrated benefits include the provision of education, health care and other services to enhance people's skills and productive capabilities.
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From page 110... ...
" Our report echoed what has become a growing body of research on homeless children that confirms some of our worst fears about their future. In a recent study ~ helped conduct in Massachusetts, a majority of school-age children from homeless families in shelters agreed with the statement: "l think about killing myself, but ~ would not." Many of the preschoolers exhibited severe and multiple developmental lags.
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From page 111... ...
Over the past five years her family had moved eight times, doubling up in overcrowded apartments and various welfare hotels. Her three children attended school irregularly and all had repeated a grade.
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From page 112... ...
Comparable worth seeks to eliminate gender bias from the labor market by employing techniques of job evaluation that are designed to use objective criteria to value the content and requirements of jobs, whether those of nurses, truck drivers, teachers or plumbers The goal is to establish wages that reflect a job's true worth rather than historical salary patterns. It is a debate subject to hyperbole on both sides, but the outcome is important because the concept could affect tht paychecks of millions of Americans.
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From page 113... ...
It also appears that although jobs held mostly by women do receive lower wages than those held mostly by men women ~eneraliv are not Girl less for the same job. ~ _ at, ~ ~ _ ,^ ~ ~ ~ ~` ~ _ , ~ _ — One study found that starting salaries for specific civil service positions fell when women or minorities enterer} those jobs in large numbers, even though the job requirements remained the same.
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From page 114... ...
In Australia, the relative wages of women were raised substantially with no evidence of adverse employment effects or disruptive economic effects. A number of studies suggest that pay equity plans designed for specific employers in the United States can, at most, correct about 20 percent of the observed gender wage gap.
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From page 115... ...
reported recently, the federal government has been providing less and less support to poor, working parents, who need help most. In 1972, 80 percent of federal child care support was targeted to low-income families through subsidies to child care centers and other providers.
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From page 116... ...
Organized programs for infants and toddlers are scarce in many neighborhoods, and an estimated 2.1 million youngsters are "latchkey kids." A growing body of research confirms that quality care is essential to a young child's healthy development, but our national child care system remains fragmented and inadequate. Services have developed without any rational framework of legislation or policy.
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From page 117... ...
Although surveys indicate that casual drug use is decreasing, severe drug abuse and dependence are becoming more prevalent, the menu of illegal drugs is expanding, and the AIDS epidemic makes treatment even more complex. Yet, until recently, drug treatment was regarded too lightly by most officials.
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From page 118... ...
We led a committee of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences that recently studied drug treatment programs, and we found that the better ones not only can get addicts off the street but also help change their lives. The benefits to society in reduced crime, improved productivity and the like exceed the costs.
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From page 119... ...
Private payers should insist on reliable evidence of clinical outcomes and not waste money on unnecessary services or overhead charges. One big concern about drug treatment programs has been whether they have any impact on patients who enter treatment in the community to avoid prison.
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From page 120... ...
A federal appellate court relied on statistics in overturning an order of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) that banned the use of ureaformaldehyde foam insulation in residences and schools.
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From page 121... ...
Published opinions in federal courts suggest that this use of statistical evidence is expanding dramatically. Statistical methods and analyses are seen as invaluable by many lawyers who use them to present succinct summaries of complex data, to provide a reliable basis for predictions, to prepare quantitative estimates of damages and to clarify complex relations.
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From page 122... ...
This premise of economic rationality has proved successful in some applications in the past, but it is increasingly belied by experimental evidence from those who study the psychology of decision-making, and it is inconsistent with the way economists talk about the behavior of their spouses, colleagues and government leaders.
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From page 123... ...
On Monday, October 19, the Standard and Poor's stock index fell 20 percent. This fall in stock prices, the largest percentage drop in New York Stock Exchange history, followed a fall of 5 percent the previous Friday.
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From page 124... ...
Economists and the people who use their models—public officials, business leaders and others—must begin to acknowledge and take account of this human side of economic decisionmaking. A growing body of research is becoming available on how the vagaries of human nature affect economic decision-making, and it needs to be applied in making business decisions, passing laws and determining economic policy.
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