INCOME INEQUALITY IN AMERICA 1 America in today's society is burdened with many economic and political problems that have begun to plague the nation. Controversial topics are constantly being debated from sunrise to sunset across the country with supporters and those who oppose each bearing various levels of financial and political misfortune. With the numerous economic and political problems that affect the nation, the argument over the issue of income inequality is one of the most notable. Creating a political civil war, proponents from both sides have brought the issue into national view and debate has grown substantially within recent years. …show more content…
Further arguments bolster the defense of this perception regarding income inequality. Writers, such as The New York Times Tyler Cowen, add wood to the fire in his articles written about this topic. As a proponent of this view, Cowen (2015) argues that income inequality should not be the main concern and rather than to try and bridge the gap between the wealthy and lower classes, the country should turn its' attention to the problem of economic mobility as the real issue. The argument made by Cowen slightly parallels the argument made by Garret in that income inequality will never cease to exist, but we as a nation can reduce it by defeating what Cowen (2015) believes the underlying cause to be; economic mobility. Instead of taking a communist approach to the situation with taking money from the wealthy class and distributing it to the less fortunate, Cowen (2015) proposes that by uprooting the financial instability of the lower class the government can thrust them into higher economic status. CNBC writer Carol Roth also provided another argument. Roth (2014) is very blunt and to the point in her article regarding the problem, or there lack of, income inequality in the United States starting by stating the harsh reality that life is not equal for many Americans in a variety of circumstances. Counteracting the argument of citizens that believe there is income inequality and that there needs to be a redistribution of wealth, Roth (2014) says, …show more content…
Roth (2014) believes that this solution will promote innovation, thus increasing the strength of the economy by creating more wealth that will benefit a major amount of people. This ideology is bolstered by the arguments made by Stephen Horwitz, a professor of economics at St. Lawrence University in New York. Horwitz (2013) believes that income inequality is not a major issue and that equality is actually increasing due to wealthy providing goods and services to the less fortunate which results in a mutual beneficial relationship where both the wealthy and the poorer classes are doing better off. These arguments represent the ideologies of many citizens who believe that income inequality is not an
The film “Inequality for all” directed by Jacob Kornbluth, begins with Robert Reich asking students three questions to consider in a lecture when talking about the uneven distribution of wealth. First, what is happening regarding the distribution of wealth? He then inquires to why this is happening. Last of all, he asks the students if the distribution of wealth is a problem in America. He addresses these questions as well as many others in his lecture on the growing divide between America’s rich and poor. Robert Reich is an economist, author, and educator as well as public policy professor who served in the Ford, Carter and Clinton administration. He has dealt with this particular topic for over three decades and continues to spread his political views as a professor at the University of Berkley. Furthermore, he talks about the widening gap between the wealthy and the poor/middle class. He goes beyond the obvious facts to show us why this is happening and uses statistical data to display this growing problem. He gives concerning evidence that wages are declining, and that America’s weakening economy is based on consumerism.
Briefly state the main idea of this article: The main idea of this article is that economic inequality has steadily risen in the United States between the richest people and the poorest people. And this inequality affects the people in more ways than buying power; it also affects education, life expectancy, living conditions and possibly happiness. Another idea that he brought up was that the American government tends to give less help to the unemployed than other rich countries.
In "Class in America", Gregory Mantsios says that "when politicians and social commentators draw attention to the plight of the poor, they do so in a manner that obscures the class structure and denies any sense of exploitation." Based off our readings, class discussion and films, income inequality is known to be erased or ignore. Our society frowns upon the expression of income in our daily conversations, as it could be seen braggy or a complaint depending on your status of income. Because it's frowned upon to talk about, the topic of income inequality becomes erased or ignored. In addition, income inequality in America's class structure can affect people's ability to reach their American Dream.
Income inequality not only harms us fiscally, but also affects our mental and physical wellbeing; therefore, it is important to identify the right ways to control wealth distribution among people.
In Confronting Inequality, Paul Krugman discusses the cost of inequality and possible solutions. Krugman argues to say that it is a fantasy to believe the rich live just like the middle class. Then, he goes into detail about how middle class families struggle to try to give their children a better life and how education plays a factor in children’s future lives. For example, children’s ability to move into higher education could be affected by their parents economic status. Also, He discusses how politicians play a role in the inequality, because most of politicians are in the upper economic class. Finally, Krugman says how we could possibly have solutions to these various inequalities, but how America won’t get
Frank, Robert H. “Income Inequality: Too Big to Ignore.” They Say, I Say: The Moves That Matter
Income inequality is not necessarily harmful to our society because if the rich is getting richer they are able to invest more of their money to create business which will lead to more employment of people in the lower and middle class. A topic we also discussed in class was about the income mobility. The idea behind income mobility is that the poor does not always remain poor. People who were poor in the past are usually not poor later on in the future because the size of the economic pie increase too. People may think that the rise of income inequality is bad, but I do not really think it is as bad as many make it out to be. A solution should be put in place for a better distribution of the wealth, but I do not believe it should really be a concern because it seems to be something that will always exist. Even though income inequality exist or even if it is rising, people are better off today than they were before. The middle and poor class as discussed in class are getting a smaller peace of the pie, but it is larger that before, and with income mobility, the poor keep pushing forward regardless of the rich getting richer. Income inequality is a debated subjected, and I believe it will always be a debated subject. However in this class, so far, I have leaned that income inequality is not such as a bad thing as people make it sound. Income inequality has two side
Income inequality has affected American citizens ever since the American Dream came to existence. The American Dream is centered around the concept of working hard and earning enough money to support a family, own a home, send children to college, and invest for retirement. Economic gains in income are one of the only possible ways to achieve enough wealth to fulfill the dream. Unfortunately, many people cannot achieve this dream due to low income. Income inequality refers to the uneven distribution of income and wealth between the social classes of American citizens. The United States has often experienced a rise in inequality as the rich become richer and the poor become poorer, increasing the unstable gap between the two classes. The income gap in America has been increasing steadily since the late 1970’s, and has now reached historic highs not seen since the 1920’s (Desilver). UC Berkeley economics professor, Emmanuel Saez conducted extensive research on past and present income inequality statistics and published them in his report “Striking it Richer.” Saez claims that changes in technology, tax policies, labor unions, corporate benefits, and social norms have caused income inequality. He stands to advocate a change in American economic policies that will help close this inequality gap and considers institutional and tax reforms that should be developed to counter it. Although Saez’s provides legitimate causes of income inequality, I highly disagree with the thought of making changes to end income inequality. In any diverse economic environment, income inequality will exist due to the rise of some economically successful people and the further development of factors that push people into poverty. I believe income inequality e...
In these articles “Inequality Has Been Going on Forever… but That Doesn’t Mean It’s Inevitable” and “Confronting Inequality” writers David Leonhardt and Paul Krugman both agree that higher education and higher taxation on the wealthy will put an end to inequality. Leonhardt argues that Americans have been dealing with income inequality for a long time but have not been dealt yet making the middle-class question why taxation and educational systems benefit the wealthy. Krugman argues that Americans should confront and find solutions to end inequality. Krugman argument is more effective than Leonhardt, because his argument is concise, many data and information are given, lists the middle-class problems and gives possible solutions to end inequality.
The United States of America is consider to be one of the most wealthiest countries in the world today, if not, the most wealthiest country in the world. Yet, it has the most uneven distribution of wealth of any country today. As wealthy as the country is it, it can’t even provide/doesn’t truly give the basic needs for its citizens like healthcare, housing and education. For the longest time, there’s been a wide gap between the poor/middle class and the wealthy that’s may consider to be ‘unjustified’ and the gap keeps on growing at a rapid rate. This gap is referred as income inequality. Income inequality is defined as “the extent to which income is distributed in an uneven manner among a population. In the United States, income inequality,
The main message of “Inequality for all” is trying to find out what is happening in regard to the distribution of income and wealth in the United States.
This can be seen in the research conducted by the International Monetary Fund or the IMF. This research was done by Joseph Stiglitz, a Keynesian economist and Nobel Prize recipient. The research was published by Jonathan Ostry, the deputy head of the IMF's research department, and the economists Andrew Berg and Charalambos Tsangarides. The findings dismisses right wing argument that redistributing incomes is self-defeating.The IMF dismay rightwing politicians who argue that overcoming inequality robs the rich of incentives to invest and the poor of incentives to work and is counter-productive. There are several rebuttals used for arguing against the existence of income inequality. Another argument is that globalization is making it happen everywhere but John Oliver, who is previously quoted states “it is a divide that it is happening everywhere due to Globalization, which is true but as far as that is happening it is happening at a faster rate here than over in other places.” Also the idea of the wealth gap and it’s move to perfection but also according to Oliver “ No one is arguing for perfection, we are not going to live in a world where we think all Baldwin’s are talented.” There is Doug and than everyone else. Thus showing the research is failing to show any support for those who support the “non-existent” wealth gap. In the end Income inequality has been proven to be detrimental at
national election. On one level, income inequality is a non-issue in a market economy where there will always be winners and losers. In a market where individuals are free to make choices and reap the rewards of the choices they make, it is a given that some will wind up with more than others. We cannot all be equal because we don’t all have the same natural endowments. Those with certain skills and abilities will often wind up with more than those without. And those who went to school to train for specific occupations that pay well will earn more than those who did not. In short, skilled workers will earn more than non-skilled workers. Consequently, in an increasingly global economy where there will be two classes — skilled and educated workers at the top earning high wages and unskilled and poorly educated workers at the bottom earning low wages — there is bound to be inequality. Moreover, as these trends continue, the gap between the top and the bottom is only bound to grow. On another level, however, income inequality is a seminal issue because of what it really speaks to: the disappearance of the middle class. Inequality per se may not be the problem; rather it is the rate of increase in
TThere is an extremely high degree of social inequality in America compared to other modern industrialized countries and this inequality comes from the inequitable distribution of income and wealth in relation to occupational choice or necessity, racial/ethnic inequality, and gender inequality. “Any socially defined group may be subject to discrimination and exclusion” according to Douglas Massey and this is very evident in our country’s society. The rules of social stratification allocation that distributes income and wealth across various roles of occupations in the division of labor (e.g., homemaker, care giver, factory worker, doctor, or politician) limits the social mobility mechanisms that link individuals to these roles or occupations
The United States of America has proven to be a juggernaut in the world economy. It triumphs over any other country almost doubling the GDP of the runner up (i.e., China’s economy). It is also is one of the youngest among developed countries, due to a lineage of fortunate events it has become a powerhouse. Many people from an outside the U.S. may still believe that anyone can come and earn enough money to thrive. Unfortunately, that is not the reality for everyone, although there is potential here; it is also one of the most unequal countries. In my paper I seek to understand and unveil what socioeconomic affect does income disparity play in our society.