The movie Inequality For All is a documentary film directed by Jacob Kornbluth and presented by author and American economist Robert Reich, that presents statistics and real life stories to emphasize and enlighten its’ viewers on the dooming effects of the ever-widening gap between the rich and poor in America. America is the most wealth-unequal country in the world; with the poorest forty seven percent of Americans having no wealth. The film compares the value of a can of soup for the black or Hispanic woman to a yacht or mansion for the businessmen. The wage difference in America ranges from two dollars and thirty seven cents an hour to three million dollars and hour (Inequality For All). The filmmakers are clear on their concern of this …show more content…
In Paul Krugman’s article “Confronting Inequality”, Krugman gives statistics that show that high test scores were not as significant as was family status in a child’s chance of finishing college. This is another factor leading to the middle class struggling because these families are spending more money than they can afford to find housing in better school districts. This being so that their children have a fair chance to succeed as they grow up. This is consequently causing a rise in debt which directly leads to more bankruptcies. By 2005, the number of families filing for bankruptcy each year was five times its level in the early 1980’s …show more content…
(The idea that everyone has equal opportunity in America as long as they work hard). American economist Joseph Stiglitz wrote an article titled “Of the 1%, By the 1%, For the 1%” that points out some harrowing statistics. He declares that the youth unemployment in America is at a shocking twenty percent. He also pronounces that one out of every six American desiring a full-time job is not able to get one. On top of that, one out of every seven American is currently on food stamps. Stiglitz powerfully professes that “Those who have contributed great positive innovations to our society, from the pioneers of genetic understanding, to the pioneers of the Information age, have received a pittance compared with those responsible for the financial innovations that brought our global economy to the brink of ruin” (Stiglitz). This backs up everything the film represents referring to the inequality in America and the unfairness of the gap between the wealthy and the middle class. The middle classes’ income has fallen while the top one percent’s income has remarkably risen. The worst part is that this is not the result of hard work but only the result of a corrupt economical
Growing up in The United States, people are given this idea of an American Dream. Almost every child is raised to believe they can become and do anything they want to do, if one works hard enough. However, a majority of people believe that there is a separation of class in American society. Gregory Mantsios author of “Class in America-2009” believes that Americans do not exchange thoughts about class division, although most of people are placed in their own set cluster of wealth. Also political officials are trying to get followers by trying to try to appeal to the bulk of the population, or the middle class, in order to get more supporters. An interesting myth that Mantsios makes in his essay is how Americans don’t have equal opportunities.
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.
With each class comes a certain level in financial standing, the lower class having the lowest income and the upper class having the highest income. According to Mantsios’ “Class in America” the wealthiest one percent of the American population hold thirty-four percent of the total national wealth and while this is going on nearly thirty-seven million Americans across the nation live in unrelenting poverty (Mantsios 284-6). There is a clear difference in the way that these two groups of people live, one is extreme poverty and the other extremely
Smith, Noah. “How to Fix America's Wealth Inequality: Teach Americans to Be Cheap.” The Atlantic. Atlantic Pub., 12 March 2013. Web. 06 April 2014. .
One would expect that social equality would just be the norm in society today. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Three similar stories of how inequality and the hard reality of how America’s society and workforce is ran shows a bigger picture of the problems American’s have trying to make an honest living in today’s world. When someone thinks about the American dream, is this the way they pictured it? Is this what was envisioned for American’s when thinking about what the future held? The three authors in these articles don’t believe so, and they are pretty sure American’s didn’t either. Bob Herbert in his article “Hiding from Reality” probably makes the most honest and correct statement, “We’re in denial about the extent of the rot in the system, and the effort that would be required to turn things around” (564).
Later in his article, Cohen explains how this leaves middle-class families in a very uncomfortable situation. Parents or other money-making entities in the household want their student to go to college and earn a degree, but now there can be an element of stress in figuring out how the fees will be paid. Furthermore, many families have to worry about sending multiple children to college in succession, so the cost of college for the children can be quickly overwhelming.... ... middle of paper ...
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
There's too much debt for the middle class to even think about getting ahead. If the middle class doesn't have as much money as the uppe class, they won't get the same education as them simply because they don't want to be in debt. What interested me the most was when the writer said "They're not trying to get ahead. They're just trying to get to zero." It interested me because it's true, especially in the present. And the middle class can't can't out of debt because they can't seem to find jobs; figuritively speaking, they're in a hole that's too deep to climb out of without help.
While the the 1%, are secured, no one is addressing the rest of the people. As the economy flourishes, housing, higher education and health care, and child care increases with it to the point where 30 percent of a person’s income goes towards housing. People are finding it impossible to purchase a house with their middle class incomes. People begin to fall out of the once stable middle class because too much is needed to be sacrificed in order to live in a stable home. In the shrinking middle class, “40% or more of the residents live below the poverty
Krugman 's even go about saying that this is why there is such a huge economic gap between social class. According to Krugman “Instead the rise in debt mainly reflected increased spending on housing, largely driven by the competition to get into good school districts. Middle- class Americans have been caught up in a rat race, not because they’re greedy or foolish but because they’re trying to give their children a chance in an increasingly unequal society”(564-565). All in all Krugman is saying that the only way for children in this day in age to receive a good education is by either being from an upper class family or making the public believe that your upper class, even though you can not afford that lifestyle. Which is not necessarily true because if you are willing to work hard enough you can go as far as you want in education.
From the beginning of “Inequality for All” you can tell that this isn't just a typical, bland documentary filled with boring statistics. Scenes such as the introduction where Reich addresses the elephant in the room by comparing his size to his mini coupe by saying he felt “proportional” driving it. “One of the best ways to help people understand the challenges we face, is with a movie that can grab an audience and move them to action. And this movie will do exactly that” (Robert Reich). Reich weaves creative animations, historical footage, and personal testimonies all into this film, in efforts to answer questions about the distribution of
If I had to describe a moment from INEQUALITY FOR ALL that is really sticking with you – maybe you found it particularly inspiring or particularly troubling it would be the statement made by Robert Reich, “Of all developed nations the U.S. has the most unequal distribution of income.” What was it about that moment that is so memorable? He also states, “the richest 400 people in America have more wealth then the bottom 50 million of us put together.”
The “American Dream” consists of all U.S citizens having the opportunity to obtain success and prosperity through hard work and determination, but, in a capitalistic economy such as the United States the “American Dream” is merely impossible. Low wages are masked as starting points, taught to eventually pay off in the form of small raises or promotions. Competition to obtain unequally shared resources, is used to define an individual’s extent of initiative. In reality, these are all concepts used by the wealthy to deter the poor working class from obtaining upward mobility. Middle class America, the key factor in helping the wealthy stay wealthy, have adapted to these beliefs and concepts, created to keep them far behind. Conflict theorist
Throughout Society, many families have seen struggle and lived through poverty. The economy is not always thriving which takes a toll on people who suffer through unemployment or low wage jobs. The Frontline documentary, “Two American Families”, is the perfect example of struggle in the United States. It shows the lives of two struggling families and their efforts to survive. Two essays, “The Sociological Imagination” by C. Wright Mills, and “The Uses of Poverty: The Poor Pay All” by Herbert J. Hans, support the analysis of the video strongly. They express many ideas that relate to the world and struggle throughout society. Also, there are many sociological terms that depict the events that occurred in the documentary.
Income inequality continues to increase in today’s world, especially in the United States. Income inequality means the unequal distribution between individuals’ assets, wealth, or income. In the Twilight of the Elites, Christopher Hayes, a liberal journalist, states the inequality gap between the rich and the poor are increasing widening, and there need to have things done - tax the rich, provide better education - in order to shortening the inequality gap. America is a meritocratic country, which means that everybody has equal opportunity to be successful regardless of their class privileges or wealth. However, equality of opportunity does not equal equality of outcomes. People are having more opportunities to find a better job, but their incomes are a lot less compared to the top ten percent rich people. In this way, the poor people will never climb up the ladder to high status and become millionaires. Therefore, the government needs to increase all the tax rates on rich people in order to reduce income inequality.