Searching Through the Index Pool

The idea that captured my attention the most in chapter 3 of William Julius Wilsons’, The Truly Disadvantaged, was the male marriageable pool index which is essentially the proportion of men in stable economic situations. Wilson says that since there isn’t a high proportion of men with a decent job, it is creating female headed families instead of two headed households where both the man and woman are bringing in income to support each other and their children.

We had talked somewhat on this in class as Professor Weffer had ask the women of the class whether they wanted to date a man without a job compared to a man with a job and unsurprisingly they all wanted to date a man with a job. It seems that women in Chicago are waiting for man with a job before getting married as the first article I found mentions that 30 year old Willie Jean-Nash is a mother five children and has never been married. According to Wilson, the male marriageable pool index has a low proportion whether from mortality, incarceration, or unemployment. The article continues to say that very few women believe it to be a good idea to marry a jobless man which is understandable since there could be very few job opportunities in Chicago with many seeking to fill the few positions. This brings me to my next article as it talks about how about 47% of 20 to 24 year old black men are unemployed and not in school. So the reason for female headed households being on the rise at least in Chicago, as Wilson points out, is the relationship of joblessness and marital instability (83). We had even discussed in class about how those in poverty do not exactly have the same connections as a middle class individual meaning that the middle class person might know a guy who could get the individual a job or an economically stable family to lean on until they can find a job on their own. Someone in poverty who doesn’t have those connections because they are living in an area with people who are in the same position as them looking for a job.

These men Chicago actually want a job but there isn’t one out there for them get without any hassle.  We also talked about how a man could work his whole life and have nothing to show for it and so some people instead turn to crime such as drug dealing when there is a lack of jobs to provide for a family. The third article I have, is slightly different than the second, quotes Jonathan Allens saying “I see people in my community who want to do better for themselves, but the only way they can do something better is that they have to make something happen” to which he is referring about illegal activities. It is clear that people want to do better but the only way that they see as possible is to do criminal activities to achieve that goal. This leads them to being arrested and incarcerated thus shrinking the male marriageable pool index further and increasing the amount of female headed families who are waiting for the man with a decent job almost like a continuous cycle.

http://articles.latimes.com/1990-07-17/news/mn-91_1_young-black-men

http://abc7chicago.com/careers/report-finds-high-unemployment-rates-among-minority-youth/1173504/

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-youth-unemployment-urban-league-0126-biz-20160124-story.html