Poverty: Opposing Viewpoints

Errors of Reaction

Any errors of reaction on either Authors part would be based on the passion of the argument. Both authors were passionate in their persuasive argument but Roth (1997) had more facts to back his argument. The error is in the basis of the opinion, in Harwood’s (1997) case that more white people than black people are poverty stricken and that more are on welfare, which he failed to prove because government reports and studies on poverty do not back his assumptions.

How credible is each author? What are the author’s credentials for writing this presentation? Byron M. Roth is a professor of psychology at Dowling College in Oakdale, New York, besides writing Discrimination Does Not Cause Poverty (1997), he also wrote, Prescription for Failure: Race Relations in the Age of Social Science, and Decision Making – Its Logic and Practice with John D. Mullen, therefore, we can assume he is an expert on cultural relations. The late Mr. Richard Harwood (1997) was a noted Washington Post political columnist and writer. He had credibility as a political writer and I am sure he had much experience as a political reporter, but this does not make him an expert on race relations and his sources appear to be questionable.

Overall, which author impressed you as being the most empirical in presenting his or her thesis? Why? Richard Harwood (1997) impressed me the most as being empirical as he seemed to have based his article solely on opinion while Byron M. Roth (1997) did appear to base his article on logic.

Are their any reasons to believe the writes are biased? If so why do you think they have these biases? I think that both are biased in their subject matters. Harwood (1997) wants to convince the reader that there are more poor white people than poor black people. Roth (1997) wants to convince the reader that the structure of the family as opposed to discrimination is the reason for the overall black poverty. Both authors show bias in favor of their particular viewpoint.

With which side do you personally agree with now that you have reviewed the material in these articles? Byron M. Roth (1997). I do not support the assumption that discrimination does not cause poverty. I believe that there are many factors that contribute to it and I question why is it, that the median income level for African Americans has only risen to 62% and why it has remained unchanged since 2002. Roth was able to persuade me on the facts. Why? In conducting my research I began to see that his facts and numbers were supportable based on documented government reports. In conclusion, I found the Critical Issues Analysis an interesting exercise in research and critical thinking on opposing viewpoints.