Gavin Kurniawan’s Analytic Memo 3

The article I will be discussing in this memo is published by “The Washington Post” and

it’s written by Premilla Nadasen. The article is titled “Extreme Poverty returns to America” and

the article is stating how poverty is caused by income equality and how was it being addressed

amid the crisis of the great depression. It also states that in 1981, the top 1 percent of adults

earned on average 27 times more than the bottom 50 percent of adults. Today, the top 1 percent

earn 81 times more than the bottom 50 percent.

The social problem being discussed in the article is poverty. Poverty means the state of

one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions.

According to the article the causes that allows poverty to happen are widening class disparities

and profound economic insecurity among the poor, a recipe that contributed to the crisis of the

Great Depression. Amid the crisis of the Great Depression, the modern welfare state was being

introduced and through that, many middle class people truly benefited from it and the middle

class got stronger as they got help in areas such as housing and education. Other than the poor

also benefited through the Social Security for the elderly, monthly stipends for single mothers

and the disabled, and a minimum wage for workers. The safety net was later expanded to include

food stamps, public housing and health care.

I personally think that the writer of the article uses the conflict theory perspective in

writing the news. The reason to it is because in the article as contradictory interest between

social groups happened and resulting in conflict and change. Other than that when the writer

state that now the top 1 percent earn 81 times more than the bottom 50 percent rather than in

1981 which the top 1 percent of adults earned on average 27 times more than the bottom 50

percent of adults. It means that the rich wants to maintain their power whereas the poor wants to

equalize. The reason it’s a conflict theory is because the article addresses to the question when
Gavin Kurniawan’s Analytic Memo 3

social problem is being analyzed through conflict theory which are whose problem is it, could

some group be profiting from the problem and what other groups might we be depriving. Lastly,

in the articles the solution was introducing a modern welfare state which is also the same as

changing the system, which is one of the solution from conflict theory perspective.

Sources:

1) https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/made-by-history/wp/2017/12/21/extreme-poverty-

returns-to-america/

2) https://www.britannica.com/topic/poverty