Wealth Disparity, part 2
Hi everyone. Firstly, so sorry that this is later than it should have been, that's on me. Secondly, this isn't going to look exactly like blog posts that have happened in the past. In the first semester, I wrote a blog post about the impacts of not discussing wealth at a school like Poly, and the discussion that followed that was extremely interesting to me. For my expansion, I reached out to students at other schools, asked them questions about their experiences, and compiled it into a paper that ended up being way too long.
After talking to Dr. Stogdill and, at the time, Ms. Gladden about what I should do about that, instead of editing what I had written we came to a conclusion that if I wanted I could continue this work into the second semester and use the blog post platform to get some input from all of you. I spent some time interviewing students from various different schools, but at a certain point, I hit a bit of a wall. I'm not going to make you read the whole paper because it's way too long and that would be cruel, but I did go through and highlight some things I think I might want to expand upon (and I'll put a link to the full thing if you feel so inclined to read it but you really don't have to).
Here's what I'm thinking about expanding on more, so I guess for your response to this post it would be really helpful if you could let me know what you think I should expand upon and why! Feel free to include any other thoughts you have about honestly anything relating to this because any ideas help!
the topics:
After talking to Dr. Stogdill and, at the time, Ms. Gladden about what I should do about that, instead of editing what I had written we came to a conclusion that if I wanted I could continue this work into the second semester and use the blog post platform to get some input from all of you. I spent some time interviewing students from various different schools, but at a certain point, I hit a bit of a wall. I'm not going to make you read the whole paper because it's way too long and that would be cruel, but I did go through and highlight some things I think I might want to expand upon (and I'll put a link to the full thing if you feel so inclined to read it but you really don't have to).
Here's what I'm thinking about expanding on more, so I guess for your response to this post it would be really helpful if you could let me know what you think I should expand upon and why! Feel free to include any other thoughts you have about honestly anything relating to this because any ideas help!
the topics:
- History: how LA has always had a very presentational way of marketing certain lifestyles
- Driving culture and the privilege of driving
- Psychological effects of dwelling on financial hardships
- Low-income students and the college process
- Effects of gentrification on students
- School district funding, how funding affects standardized test scores
- The rise of thrift shopping, especially in higher-income communities
- "Buying into" LA culture --> fashion, real estate, etc
- Media's portrayal of the extreme highs and lows of wealth
There's a lot more I want to talk about, and there's a good chance I'll end up expanding on all of those topics, but I'd love to hear any thoughts you had about any of those. Thank you!!
Here's a link to the full thing, feel free to disregard the fact that I never gave this paper a real title:
I think something that would be cool to expand on would be “driving culture and the privilege of driving” because the first thing that popped into my head when I read that line was the cost of car maintenance. What most people probably think of when thinking of getting a car is how much it costs to get the car, but they forget to think about how much it will cost to keep the car up and running. Lots of people save up all their money to buy a car so that they can get to work or drive their kids to school, but they don’t have enough money to pay for smog checks, faulty brakes, headlights, or even car insurance. Oftentimes when buying a used car (which is what most people can afford), there are a lot of issues with the car because it is older and has been on the road for a bit. They then run into trouble with paying for the maintenance, but because Los Angeles’ public transportation is pretty subpar, people must cross their fingers and hope that the “check engine” light doesn’t pop up. Not to mention the high gas prices! But that’s an entirely different story. I recently had to fix the alternator and get a smog check for my car and I was shocked at the price! It was around $350 for the two combined. A lot of people don't have that kind of money. Something else that I think would be really cool would be the rise of thrift shopping and sustainable fashion. It is something that I have recently wanted to explore more of, but haven’t gotten the chance to because of this darn quarantine! It is cool to look at what certain companies are doing to create more sustainable and ethical fashion! I think both of the topics I mentioned can also relate to buying into LA culture (fashion and car culture). I feel like Los Angeles has so many stereotypes that are applied to the citizens of LA too. Los Angeles is a very complex city with many different layers to it. Certain parts of LA cater to certain groups in the population while other parts cater to different groups. I feel like there is something for everyone in Los Angeles.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of history: how LA has always had a very presentational way of marketing certain lifestyles, I think a big part of that is the media. A big part of LA is the movies, magazines, and billboards, and they definitely all relate to each other in some way with similar themes/portrayals. This idea relates back to the last topic as well: the media’s portrayal of the extreme highs and lows of wealth. For psychological effects of dwelling on financial hardships, I’m not really sure. For some reason, I am thinking of the show All American and the character Asher. I think LA could definitely put pressure on people to appear at a certain socioeconomic status because of the hype around the city. Driving culture and the privilege of driving is an interesting circumstance in LA. Learning about car culture for our podcast, I think we concluded that LA is way more convenient and accessible with a car, but it isn’t something that is absolutely needed. You have public transports and transportation services like Lyft and Uber. Something that we were trying to explore more was why didn’t LA ever try to create a subway system like NYC? What made Los Angeles different? Was it the geography? For low-income students and the college process, something that I have been wondering about is how corona will affect these low-income students. Because people are getting laid off and not receiving their normal pay, the people with financial aid, will it be enough? It will definitely be tough for a lot of families. I don’t know if you’re planning on centering your article around coronavirus, but it definitely is a factor into these topics.
ReplyDeleteI think I'd first like to talk about the psychological, as well as actually physiological, effects of dwelling on financial hardships. Certainly, negative thoughts about oneself and ones situation in life can lead to chronic feelings of low self esteem, worth, and motivation. Anxiety disorders typically arise after a negative event or events, and being in a chronically financially vulnerable position can definitely lead to any one of them, often GAD but potentially more extreme ones like panic disorder as well. Additionally, chronic feelings of low self esteem and motivation are indicators of a mood disorder, most notably major depressive disorder. Mood disorders and anxiety disorders can greatly inhibit a persons ability to focus, remain patient, work, and lead maximally productive lives in general. However, dwelling on financial hardship can have even more serious consequences than (mild to moderate) psychological disorders. When people perceive a threat, whether it be a work deadline or an animal chasing after them, a chemical stress response immediately kicks in. Cortisol is released by the adrenal glands to help us deal with the threat, but this can have negative consequences for our health, and I would argue that people of color suffer most of all. Basically, people with more (than average) stressful events in their lives release more cortisol over the course of the day than most of the rest of the population. As a result, these people suffer from chronic cortisol over-release that potentially leads to several common and serious risk factors for cardiovascular disease, as well as myocardial infarction. These risk factors attributed to the over-release of cortisol include increased: blood cholesterol, triglycerides, blood sugar, and blood pressure. In fact, one of the reasons why I believe that people of color suffer disproportionately from cardiovascular disease, as well as serious COVID-19 complications, is the burden of constantly being worried or scared. As a latino man, I can distinctly remember times when my vital signs have increased rapidly in response to acute stress as a result of my skin color. Each time a woman has clutched her purse tighter when I walked near her, each time a father has grabbed onto their child's shoulder when I passed by, each time I've caught a store clerk or retail employee following me around the shop to ensure I wasn't shoplifting, I have literally felt myself start to respirate faster, my heart beat faster, and felt the butterflies in my stomach. I can only imagine how much more stressful daily life would be if my skin was any darker. People who go about life worried about being stereotyped, concerned about where their next meal may come from, scared of being unable to provide for their families, on edge about their bills, are surely suffering detrimental affects on their body. As a result of accumulated and chronic stress, peoples hearts and cardiovascular/pulmonary systems are literally working less efficiently, putting them at risk for some of the most serious medical emergencies known to man. There are few more egregious injustices.
ReplyDeleteI'd be interested in reading about new money versus old wealth in the city. We've talked about how Los Angeles is full of people who came to town to strike it rich and how that prospection is engrained in local history, dating back to the days of mining and pillaging. I wonder if there's a way you could quantify rates of financial success and also identify other successes that kept the attention of those who did not find immediate wealth waiting for them upon arrival. I also wonder if there's a way you could qualify lifestyle differences between the newly rich and the seasoned wealthy as they intersect with LA culture. Los Angeles seems microcosmic of the enduring American tale that anyone could and everyone will strike it rich at any moment. I think it's important to consider the prospect of upward mobility that keeps everyone churning. A key illusion of wealth is that it is accessible.
ReplyDeleteIn your essay you say, "When it comes down to it, not every family can afford to spend money on driving, a commodity that has been painted as a necessity in Los Angeles." I think that narrative is even more forceful than a painting. Maybe you could talk about the structural ways LA city planners have excluded low-income residents from "local lifestyle" either by unintentional influence of the culture or intentionally.
It could also be interesting to talk about why Poly students who are aware of their financial privilege won't talk about their wealth. They've escaped the "bubble of wealth," but they're still unwilling to talk straightforwardly about the implications of having money. You touched on the popularity of thrift shopping regardless of socioeconomic class; in some cases, I actually see this as a manipulation of wealth or a way to achieve class ambiguity. I think Poly might have progressed a step further than LCHS in that outward expressions of wealth aren't lauded, but not necessarily for the right reasons. In some ways, students are feigning equality while still avoiding the conversation.
The last thing is that California and its Los Angeles hosts some of the most severe wealth disparities in the world, and I wonder if you could talk more about how these extremes interact.
Or, rather, how these extremes coexist, and if they'll be able to continue side by side, because of the promise of upward mobility or maybe a deemphasis of class, or if there will have to be a class war. Not that you need to predict that, but I don't see how the current model is sustainable.
DeleteI think it could be interesting to explore how LA became wealth oriented in the first place. What about LA's history contributed to the way we look at wealth and talk about money in Los Angeles? Specifically regarding the younger population- what is the history of Los Angeles public and private schools, how was the system established, and how does it favor some communities over others?
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to the psychological effects of financial hardship, not only is it difficult and a taboo to talk about money, but I'm sure it's much more difficult to find good mental health services with a lack of funds. Difficulty with finances combined with a lack of resources in which to find help and an inability to talk to family and friends about troubles I'm sure contributes to struggles with mental health, which are hard to combat without help or someone to talk to.
"Buying into" LA culture is becoming increasingly more expensive. It seems as if with gentrification, old residents are being forced to leave LA and new residence are expected to pay outrageous prices in order to establish themselves.
Finally- what can people/schools do to combat the stigma around speaking about wealth/finances? And is it even possible to change the view on wealth in LA?
am also very interested in LA’s presentational quality. As we learned in Mike Davis’ City of Quartz, LA’s history is deeply rooted in marketing and trying to sell the idea of something. I did some additional research after my first semester Round Up and realized that many of LA’s largest and most influential industries have been leveraged to lure people to our city. There were the health seekers, then there was the aerospace industry, and we now have the film and television industry luring in people who want to make it big. We know that in order to entice people into coming to live in LA, the people who would benefit launched marketing campaigns to target certain individuals of specific lifestyles. I think this is a largely historical legacy of Los Angeles and is one of the things that makes the city so unique; whether this is positive or negative is up to one's own interpretation.
ReplyDeleteI think if there was ever a time to revisit our 11th grade English curriculum it would tackle the topic of school district funding and how it impacts standardized test scores. While reading Miles Corwin And Still We Rise we learned a lot about how the circumstances that can present themselves in lower income neighborhoods and low income school districts can impact the lives of students and subsequently their school work and standardized tests. I think that is an interesting account of Los Angeles specifically and might be worth revisiting for some context when writing more on this topic.
I really like all of your expansion ideas, and think that because of the intersection between a lot of these topics, you have a lot to unpack. This is a super exciting project, Rory!
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ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I just read your whole thing, and it is so good! All interesting and good points.
ReplyDeleteBack when the podcast project was kinda in full swing, my group was specifically exploring car culture in Los Angeles, so that has been an area of interest for me that I think would be cool for you to expand on (and we've found some stuff already that I don't know would be otherwise used anywhere if that would be helpful to you!). Additionally, after reading And Still We Rise what now seems like forever ago, I've been interested in the effects that socioeconomic status has had on standardized test scores and the vicious cycle that location and school district throw students into. I think all of these issues have important information that should be disseminated to the public in some capacity as I think there's a lot that one can learn in terms of empathy as well from hearing about real problems that maybe they aren't experiencing but that many others in their city are. I also think it's especially important for Poly students to learn about as we are inherently all part of the "Poly bubble" by being students here. Being reminded to acknowledge my privilege is always something that I think I could work on.
I want to acknowledge first and foremost that although my family has had some financial struggles in the past, right now I live a very privileged life where I rarely ever have to think about, worry, or deal with financial issues. I definitely am fundamentally aware of how privileged I am to not have financial stress in my life (or at least to not have to deal with it personally but to have my parents deal with it exclusively), especially as a graduating-senior-soon-to-be-college-freshmen, but I think I could do a better job in my everyday life of being more self-aware of my financial privilege. I’m really glad you’re continuing this discussion, Rory. I think it’s a discussion that needs to be ongoing; it’s definitely not the kind of topic you can address in one sitting or in one class discussion (and yet I’m not sure if any topic can be fully addressed in one sitting or in one class discussion). Whether you are paying full tuition or are on a full-ride, every student and every family has a financial story at Poly, and I think it’s really important to discuss and shed light on the socio-economic diversity that Poly has already, as well as the room for growth in this area. If you feel comfortable doing so, I would really encourage you Rory to continue facilitating these types of conversations about school-specific financial differences and socio-economic issues during your time in college.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, in response to the second bullet point (looking at this under a Poly-specific lens), I think that Poly definitely has a driving culture. I think that to some extent, it is an expectation at Poly — and of course, often a subconscious one — that everyone who gets their drivers’ license drives a car to school. I think that as time goes by, the expectation of getting a brand new car has slowly started to die out, but I feel like there still is an expectation that those who can drive will drive a car to school. I have been very lucky to be able to drive a car that my family owns to school every day, but the expectation that students drive their own car to and from school every day is outrageous. A lot of Poly kids do drive their own cars and there’s no inherent problem with that; I just think that this aforementioned expectation at Poly as well as the culture surrounding it is extremely problematic.
I think expanding on how LA has always had a very presentational way of marketing certain lifestyles would be really interesting because I can see many interesting stories arise from it. I would find it really interesting if you expanded and researched on when the mentality of "all wealthy families send their kids to private school" and "if you go to public school you don't have money" came into fruition because that wasn't how it always was.
ReplyDeleteI think cool social commentaries on wealth would come from interviewing people on the topic of driving culture and the privilege of driving, so that would also be cool.
It would be powerful if you interviewed low-income students about the college process and low-income students about the college process and compared the two.
I also think researching school districts' funding and finding statistics on how funding affects standardized test scores would balance the other "story based" interview parts.
I found every subtopic you mentioned interesting but I just commented on the ones that stuck out.
Personally, I think that it would be very interesting to talk about low-income students and their college process. Due to attending a school like Poly which is equipped to help and aid their students in the college process, most schools are not like that. In public schools, college counselors are overwhelmed by the amount of students they are responsible for meaning that they are alone for a lot of the process. Along with this, standardized testing is designed to benefit the wealthy. As many of us did, students with more money are able to afford tutors and practice tests which is effectively paying money to do well on the test, which is something many students and families can not afford. Due to this, I think it would be interesting to look into alternative testing methods that even out the playing field.
ReplyDeleteI think that the topic of low-income students and the college process is really interesting. For me, I've attended schools of a wide range of students of different incomes: an LAUSD elementary school, South Pasadena Middle School, and now Poly, a generally wealthy Pasadena private school. Having seen many different types of families from different economic backgrounds, this topic interests me because I know that some students at Poly may not understand or have knowledge on what it is like for majority of students who struggle to afford college tuition.
ReplyDeleteThis topic is especially interesting and important to discuss at a time like now, when the whole world is on lockdown, and millions of people are unemployed and struggling financially due to COVID-19. It makes me wonder this may how millions of students who now may not be able to attend college next fall as planned. I wonder if colleges are taking this financial stress into account, and offering more financial aid?? I am also interested to discuss how colleges will/are being impacted by the effects of the virus.
I think it would be really interesting to expand on “Driving culture and the privilege of driving.” I feel like many people overlook the privilege of being able to drive, afford a car, and afford gas. Not to mention, cars and vehicles cost money to maintain. There can be countless problems with cars that all cost a lot of money to fix. You also have to register your car, which also costs money. I also think it’d be really interesting to expand on “Low-income students and the college process.” There are tons of expenses in the college process that can really add up. Whether this be paying the application fee, paying for APs, SAT Subject tests, SATs, ACTs, and so much more. Also, many wealthy students have the option of easily paying for testing prep, while low-income students may not have that option. There are many inequities in the college process.
ReplyDeleteThe driving culture of LA is one that I’ve also spent a lot of time thinking about; because of my time abroad, I’ve gotten the chance to meet many non-Angelenos, and all seemed shocked about the idea that a car would be a truly necessary part of living. In very few other places in the world, one needs a car just to be able to get around in any productive way: the combination of the expansive size of LA and the unfortunate placement of our public transportation system makes for very few other options for many people. I think this specific topic is really interesting when considered in the context of wealth in LA. Obviously, car flashiness is a big part of certain LA cultures in LA, which definitely says something about priorities and life goals in this city. However even those who don’t aim to impress others with flashy name brand cars many times need to have some car in order to get around. I remember in 10th grade we read the book, And Still We Rise, and one of the girls from the story -who was her own provider while also trying to finish high school- saved all of her money from years of work to buy a car for herself. This stuck out to me, and it communicated the unfair necessity of having a car in LA.
ReplyDeleteLow-income students and the college process would be an interesting topic to expand on because of the impact it has on so many students in Los Angeles. Every year, brilliant students are faced with the decision of not attending college, or taking out a hefty loan which could be a burden in their future. The cost of education in the United States is getting so high that only students from higher income households can afford to go to an elite school without having a scholarship or having to take out a loan. This inability for many lower income students to access the highest level of education is causing a greater gap between the socioeconomic classes. The sheer amount of the Los Angeles population who drive is something that is unique to Los Angeles, but I can see how it has gotten to this point. Similar to New York, Los Angeles is made up of extremely dense incorporated areas, yet we don’t see as many New Yorkers driving as in Los Angeles. Due to how spread out Los Angeles’s incorporated areas are, many people opt for driving rather than the metro.
ReplyDelete