The Benefits Of Economic Inequality

Inequality is one of the major benefits to a capitalistic system because it proves to be an incredibly powerful motivator. Those that stand at the top of the system, those who have the benefits that money provides, are an endpoint that spurs the ambition of those without these benefits. Out of the few major attempts at a completely equal society we can conclude one thing about human nature and work ethic; people need an incentive to be productive. The lack of incentive to work is one of the major problems with Communism that led to its overall failure as an economic structure. This is the reason capitalism began dominating the global economy while productivity in Communist countries stagnated during the latter part of the Cold War. (Cite 2)

This concept applied not just to the workers though, innovation in these countries also faltered in the same fashion, in fact almost none of the main inventions and technological advancements, outside of the military and space fields, made in the late 20th century were produced by communist countries. (Cite 2) Innovation came to a standstill because there was no reward for creating new products or producing more efficiently, unlike in an unequal society where competition consistently drives ingenuity. Economic inequality therefore is a necessary part of our functioning society, it motivates us to work harder and advance, without it society as a whole would lapse into a dormant state. Inequality is imperative but that isn’t to say that the levels of inequality in America are a positive thing. In fact the levels of inequality in America are so high they are a detriment to their main purpose of incentivizing the productivity of the population. Many of the richest people in America today make their money, not from hard work, but from the

Having a college degree is more important now than ever before as there are fewer and fewer high paying jobs available to those with just a highs school diploma in America. This may sound like a good thing as it incentivizes more people to obtain at least an associate’s degree, but in recent years we have seen a steady decrease in college enrollment from its peak in 2010. This decline is focused mainly in community colleges where there were over 800,000 fewer enrollments according to government data (cite 6). The number of students that enroll in community college is particularly telling as these campuses cost far less and therefore draw heavily from low-income households. This data shows us that those in the poor of our country are increasingly less likely to get an education that would get them into the middle class or above. The brunt of this downturn can be blamed on the ever increasing price of a college tuition and the perceived lack of social mobility in America. The costs of a college education would be impossible to pay for most Americans without getting into student load debt that averaged $37,000 for the graduating class of 2016 and is only increasing (cite 8). As inequality grows there are more and more Americans for whom these staggering costs keep them from pursuing a degree. Furthermore, research by