Closing the Wealth Gap: Impoverished People in America with Blockchain Technology

By Cliffton O'neal

How do we break the chains of poverty caused by the corrupt financial systems around the world? How do we close the wealth gap that has over 80% of Americans living paycheck to paycheck? The very short answer is blockchain technology. This book is designed to teach the reader about the history of the wealth gap and how blockchain technology can help close that gap. The financial system only plays chess; it's time we stop playing checkers. Let's even the playing field by learning financial literacy and investing in cryptocurrency.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Fulton Books, Inc.
• Release date: Dec 23, 2021
• ISBN: 9781638607878

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Closing the Wealth Gap

Impoverished People in America with Blockchain Technology

Cliffton Oand#39;neal

Copyright © 2021 Cliffton O’neal

All rights reserved

First Edition

Fulton Books, Inc.

Meadville, PA

Published by Fulton Books 2021

ISBN 978-1-63860-786-1 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-63860-787-8 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

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Acknowledgements

Iwould first like to thank you for purchasing my book. I decided to write this book after speaking to an abundance of people who didn’t know about the uneven financial playing field that people of color face every day called The Wealth Gap and how we’re still affected by horrible events that started during slavery. This book dives headfirst into extensive detail on what the wealth gap is and how we can even the playing field by investing in one of the greatest technologies ever created, Blockchain Technology. I would like to thank all my brothers from BMMO, my extended family and friends, but most importantly I want to thank my beautiful family. A special thanks goes out to my Goddess, Celeste O’Neal. I love you more than words can ever explain. You are my rock. You are my light. Everything I am and everything we’re going to be is because of you. Thank you for encouraging me daily to strive to be a better person. You are a blessing from the ancestors. I love you. Always have and always will.

Chapter 1

The Wealth Gap

The land of inadequate opportunity in America

In the United States, disparities between rich and poor have risen sharply. Low-income individuals are increasingly unlikely to escape from their economic position of poverty. There are few stories of how someone made it from rags to riches, and poor families are increasing their annual working hours, if they have jobs. Although America is the wealthiest country in the world, income inequality is far greater here than in other major countries such as Great Britain, Australia, and Canada (Rand 2004). Current statistics show that the rich are getting richer, middle-income Americans are stagnating, and the poor are falling further behind.

Although America is thought of as the land of material wealth and success, poverty has existed persistently since it was founded. Large numbers of Americans have been and still are poor. They lack the resources to feed, clothe, and shelter themselves adequately according to socially defined standards (Rand 2004). There are many issues when looking at poverty because it is a problem that permeates every dimension of society and has different meanings. Social poverty means that some people will be denied the right to a decent education. Political poverty means that innocent people are imprisoned on the basis of their skin color and politicians turn a blind eye. Economic poverty means there will be limited employment opportunities for some and inadequate housing.

When individuals are poverty-stricken, they have to make choices between paying bills or buying school clothes and supplies for their children. When individuals are poor, their living conditions are often lacking in essentials such as gas, water, and electricity. They make critical life-or-death decisions because they lack monetary and social capital. In essence, poverty is the state of living without economic, political, and social resources that are necessary and requisite for achieving success in this society. Poverty is powerlessness, a lack of representation and freedom. The only point in which individuals would not be considered poverty-stricken is when there is a fundamental change in the distribution of goods and services in American society and everyone is on a more equal playing field. In the United States, poverty can be defined as biological, meaning that individuals cannot meet biological needs and relative, which describes a person as poor in comparison to other members of their society (Iceland 2003).

The Census Bureau measures poverty by using a set of money income thresholds that is based on the family’s size and structure. If a family’s income falls below that particular threshold, they are considered poor. These thresholds consist of money income before taxes such as work earnings, public assistance, alimony, child support, social security benefits, and trusts. There has been much criticism of the way the Census Bureau measures poverty because it is considered archaic and miscalculated. The most important aspect used to measure whether an individual is living below the poverty line is income. According to the Census Bureau, only cash income is considered in a family’s income, not the other types of government assistance such as food stamps, school lunch programs, and earned income tax credits. A family of four with three children under the age eighteen would be considered poverty-stricken if their total income falls below $19,230. To explain, in Chicago, the number of people living below the poverty line dropped by 6%, but this does not mean there are fewer people living in poverty. More than half of Chicago’s neighborhoods poverty rates have increased.

My definition of poverty is quite different from the one used by the Census Bureau and OMB because I measured not only economic but also political and social resources. The Census and the OMB only measure cash income. The definition used by the Census and the OMB does not allow for constructs such as social and political deprivation. The individuals who use this definition obviously do not understand that being impoverished is more than lacking money. Poverty is a state of mind that causes people to fall behind academically, to be more likely to commit criminal acts, and to lose hope. Poverty decimates not only pocketbooks but also spirits.There are several ways that poverty might be conceptualized and operationalized. In 2002, the Census