Equal Opportunity in America - Hardly

Posted for all my wayward far right, social and constitutional conservative friends who have a hard time getting out of their box, seeing this country for what it really is, not what their ideal of this great country, the United States of America, is in their mind.

Excerpt from the Declaration of Independence:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed."


Stop trying to impose your personal, social and religious ideas onto my constitutionally governed country.  I'm a small government guy who seeks those things granted to me in our Bill of Rights.

I define equal opportunity as a situation in which people have the same opportunities in life as other people, without being treated in an unfair way because of their race, sex, sexuality, religion, age, or economic status.

America is a great country, we have the strongest constitution and are the land of the free and home of the brave; America is the land of opportunity; but always has room for improvement.

We are not the land of equal opportunity:

• Social Inequality
• Economic Inequality

Within these two main categories are sub-categories of inequality which inhibit access to equal opportunity for many. Some of these sub-categories can be found under both main headings as their affect effects both "Social" and "Economic" status!


The Social Inequality Stems from these main categories:

• Educational Inequality
• Inequality to Access of Healthcare
• Income Inequality
• Racial Inequality
• Gender Inequality
• Sexual Preference Inequality
• Punishment & Inequality (Judicial System)

The Economic Inequality Stems from these main categories:

• Educational Inequality
• Inequality to Access of Healthcare
• Income Inequality
• Racial Inequality
• Gender Inequality
  
• Punishment & Inequality (Judicial System)
• Political Inequality
  
• Unequal Access to Capital
• Unequal Tax Policy - Viewed in Relationship to Tax Subsidies, Benefits, Income Treatment

In days to come I will continue to add to this article in order to address each of these sub-categories.

Here are some web sites with good articles to substantiate these claims:

1. American Democracy in an Age of Rising Inequality
2. 15 Mind-Blowing Facts About Wealth And Inequality In America 
3. Portrait of Inequality - Black Children in America 
4. Global income inequality: Where the U.S. ranks

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