"Inequality Has Been Going on Forever... but That Doesn't Mean It's Inevitable" Thesis: We were all born into a place with income inequality, but we have the power to make sure our children aren't. Being born into the middle class is inevitable for some people, but that doesn't mean they have to stay there. I agree with the writer's assumption that most people in the upper class are there because their family members before them were able to make enough money to save. But in reality, it gives the upper class a better chance of high income than the middle class, simply becasue they were born into a family with profit. This makes the middle class have to work harder just to get on the same income level as the upper class, because they have …show more content…
less profit to spend for educational purposes. But even if we raised the taxes for the upper class and lowered them for the middle class, it still wouldn't be equal. There can never be income equality when one class already has money before they even starts to work. Evaluation: The topic itself is a strong topic, because there's a never-ending battle between these two classes.
Some say that the upper class deserve to be on top because they've worked hard to get there. And others say that the upper class only saving money fo their own family is the reason there's a middle class in the first place. "RIP, the Middle Class: 1946-2013 Thesis: It wasn't very hard for the middle class to find jobs in the past, but now there are less jobs and less of a chance for them to get hired. 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. Evaluation: This writing is strong because of the truth in it. Jobs were more easy to find in the past than they are now. And the middle class is always the class the usually struggles with that the
most.
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
Mantsios defends his claim by sharing the four myths and opposing seven realities of the American dream of equal opportunity. Then comparing three profiles of people from upper, middle, and lower classes, then by proving the correlation between educational attainment and classes. In a country with democratic principles, the general public makes an impact on the country, but it’s truly governed by politicians and the incredible power of wealth. Mantsios gives up the economic spectrum break down by giving the facts on the differences between the one who have very little, a lot and not enough money. One myth that Mantsios makes in his essay is how “all Americans do not have an equal opportunities to succeed. Inheritance laws ensure a greater likelihood of success of the offspring of the wealthy” (295). The huge gap between the upper and lower classes shows the social struggle. Higher income classes have a more likely chance for successful inheritance which allows the wealth to get passed on to the offspring. However, Davidson contradicts the theory’s that were presented by Mantsios by stating “Maddie represents a large population: people who, for whatever reason, are not going to be able to leave the workforce long enough to get the skills they need”(349). However, if Maddie works hard enough she can prove Mantsios wrong. That doesn’t mean she has to go to college or get a higher education, of course, that would make everything simpler. All she has today is work her way up in the company to make something of herself to show that she can still reach her full
According to Gregory Mantsios many American people believed that the classes in the United States were irrelevant, that we equally reside(ed) in a middle class nation, that we were all getting richer, and that everyone has an opportunity to succeed in life. But what many believed, was far from the truth. In reality the middle class of the United States receives a very small amount of the nation's wealth, and sixty percent of America's population receives less than 6 percent of the nation's wealth, while the top 1 percent of the American population receives 34 percent of the total national wealth. In the article Class in America ( 2009), written by Gregory Mantsios informs us that there are some huge differences that exist between the classes of America, especially the wealthy and the poor. After
This shows that in the past, the American Dream has been in prominence, but now, not so much. Which brings me back to my GRQ. This means, that in previous years, the relation between salaries may not matter as much. But in the ever-growing competitive world of today, just achieving your parents salary may be a victory in itself. Also, the world is growing more and more together, as there are a lot more middle class citizens than higher or lower classes. Meacham states that "It is more difficult now than in the past for many people to achieve middle-class status because prices for certain key goods — health care, college and housing — have gone up faster than income" (Meacham 5). All of this measures up to a tough climb to jump classes in today’s day and age. This means that my GRQ will probably turn up with some mixed results, as there will be a handful of success stories mixed in with the normal, everyday odds that you stay in your
Let's take it back to the past in regards to wealth distribution in this country. The fact is that the economy boomed from the end of WWII into the 1970's. “Incomes grew rapidly and at roughly the same rate up and down the income ladder, roughly doubling in inflation-adjusted terms between the late 1940s and early 1970s” (CBPP). Through the 70's economic growth slowed, and the wealth gap widened. Middle-class families were now considered lower class. People relied on the government to help them out with welfare programs. The middle-class class was weakened and the gap grew and grew. There were periods of positive fluctuation, however the middle-class simply never regained it's status that was held in more prosperous times in the past.
Hernandez states “In recent years, a significant body of research and analysis has documented the breakdown of the middle class and the impact of the current financial crisis on family income, housing, and jobs.” The middle class has a huge impact on the income, housing, and the jobs. If the middle class completly decline, it would affect the housing market because there would only be the rich and the poor. The poor would not be able to afford the housing. Their income would be low and would cause a huge gap between the rich and poor. That is why we need to sustain the middle class because without the middle class there would be economic
Edward McClelland focuses his essay RIP, the Middle Class: 1946-2013 on how the middle class is no longer able to thrive if the actions of the government continue – or their nonexistent
It is easier for the upper social class to achieve the American dream rather than the lower class due to many reasons.
today. The upper classes have most of the power in the nation and use their influence and wealth to convert the United States income into benefiting their well being and financial stability. In the last fifteen years, the income of the upper classes has risen while the income of the lower classes
Wealth inequality is a real issue that needs to be fixed. The imbalanced growth of the upper class compared to the middle class is a danger to American society as a whole. The rich becoming richer while the middle class remains the same leads to a power imbalance, with the rich using their money to run the country the way they see fit while the middle class speaks to ears that do not listen. The issue of wealth inequality needs to be fixed by raising taxes on the rich.
What comes into my mind when thinking on how to categorize those people that belong in the middle class, I look at such things as education, race, family, income, gender and how many people are in your household. I look at it as those people who are making between $40,000 and about $85,000 to be in the middle class while the next step would be the upper middle class and then to the upper class. Maybe I am wrong here, but like I said before, everyone wants to have that “I am middle class” attitude. The most recent Census Bureau survey data shows that the share of households with incomes of $75,000 or more has doubled in the past 24 years. Other studies, however, discover that more people who depart the middle class move down than up, at least temporarily.
“There is a wide belief that Americans are less class conscious than Europeans” (Vanneman). Because the United States consumes more than any other country, the global economy relies on our consumption. “The middle class is an ambiguous social classification, broadly reflecting the ability to lead a comfortable life” (Kharas). During the industrial revolution, there were aristocrat traditions in royalty, class, and rank in Europe. In America, the industrial revolution was coming of a wealthy nation. The United States is has a two party system, Republicans and Democrats. The Democrats wanted more people in the middle class, mainly blacks and immigrants. The Republicans wanted to protect the people who were already in the middle class, whites, and successful working people. The middle class in America is sometimes threatened by its own success. “The definition of the middle class is the people of generic roots like Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Robert Johnson, and Sam Walton can become billionaires” (Hockenberry). Not everyone who is in the middle class can become a billionaire and using their stories as an example is the death of the American
America’s upper class has been getting richer since the past three decades, and we have still not found a way to stop this. We have been unable to find a way to distribute America’s wealth equally, so we can have a decent lower class and a good middle class. Inequality has caused many people to struggle in various ways, but their is alway another side to the story.
Obama, Barack. “Obama’s Powerful Speech On Income Inequality.” THEARC. Washington, D.C., 04 December 2013.
Social class has a large effect on the lifestyles of all Americans. But what does it really mean to be a part of the lower, middle or upper class? These divisions of social class are defined by aspects such as family income and lifestyle; however, education plays a large role in determining ones social class. That does not mean that it will determine success in ones life but to interpret, many people with a further education usually have a higher income as well. Those of the upper class have higher standards for education and career aspirations in contrast to those of the lower and middle class. Besides the differentiation of aspirations of the individuals of each social class, it is also used to determine who will go to college, depending on who can afford it or have no other priorities that can get in the way.