Essay On Wealth Gap In America

Income inequality, a topic that under normal circumstances is strongly opposed. Many Americans have believe that the wealth gap should be reduced because it hurts our economy. George F. Will proposes that income inequality is actually beneficial to our society and wrote “How Income Inequality Benefits Everybody”, Published in 2015 on The Washington Post. Wills primary claim in the article is to convince readers that income inequality is not necessarily a bad thing. He claims that because America’s capitalistic system permits for enormous wealth gaps it diminishes the gaps between lifestyles. He uses information from initial prices of luxury goods and how they have been reduced by a significant amount over the years. Will begins to establish

The lower-class is seen as the class that is struggling financially. They are the “blue collars” and “low wage workers” and people who work for other people. They are the social class with little to no college education. They are seen as the ones who rent properties and with little to no savings. They are seen as the social class that abuses of the welfare system.

There a few causes to the wealth gap that are easily determined, examples are corporations that partake in the following actions: gender, unfair exchange, cheap labor elsewhere and other benefactors. Other causes include education and the differentiated amounts of taxes paid by Americans in different economic levels.

In America after World War Two, citizens were split between classes based on their economic stability. Americans today still look at these classes and define these people as better off or worse off than the next person. Why do people judge others for having less money than them? Why do employers send lower class citizen away when they need the money the most? These are some question that citizens in the lower or middle class have when they are looking at their position in America’s economic system. Research shows that lower class citizens face more hardships to better their lives than those who are more stable.

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s early American masterpiece, The Great Gatsby, gives readers a glimpse of life in the Roaring Twenties. In a time period filled with new inventions and a booming economy, rising through the ranks of social hierarchy seems deceivingly simple. Yet, improving one’s social stature in the communities of East Egg and West Egg is, in fact, a nearly impossible task. Unfortunately, rising in social standing in today’s society has proven just as difficult. As the nation’s wealth gap grows larger, more and more individuals are driven into poverty. Children from these less fortunate families struggle in school; many are lucky to even graduate from high school. Without college degrees, these children face limited

Classism is a major issue that plagues American society. Classism separates groups by their economic status in society. America is perceived to be a middle class society, however in reality the middle class does not hold majority of the nation’s wealth. Most of the nation’s wealth is held by 1% of the population in America which consists of 34% of the nation’s wealth, meanwhile “the richest 20% of Americans hold nearly 85% of the total household wealth in the country” (Adams et al, 2013, p. 151). American citizens that are a part of the upper class are privilege because they have access to majority of the resources. They are not shut out from opportunities like the middle and lower class. The class that an individual is in affects their chance

According to the textbook of Introduction to sociology, a social class is defined as a social ranking according to the economic position in which achieved characteristics can influence social mobility. Sociologist Daniel Rossides describes five social class: the upper class, the upper-middle class, the lower middle class, the working class and the lower class. Social class is decided by achieved and ascribed characteristics, and we can change our class by achieved work. Social class has powerful impacts on a person’s life. Ascribed characteristics (like race, age, family composition, gender) decides the one’s class. For example, generally, high class family’s children have high social class. Family under female householders are poorer than male householders. Education, job opportunities, health, family life, political participation are influenced by social class. The people from lower class family face hard time staying in primary education, when people from high class family easily get the

Income inequality has grown significantly during this past decades and this phenomenon continues to increase over the years. This problem is constantly discussed in the daily news all around the world. Several consequences of this increase of inequality between people leads to economic problems such as high unemployment rates, lack of work for young people, fall of demand for certain product. The gap between rich and poor is increasing, the rich are richer and the poor are poorer as a result politicians and economists try to adopt certain policies in order to reduce this gap. The United States exhibits a wide difference of wealth distribution between rich and poor people, which is larger than any other major developed country.

The United States is one of the most developed and wealthiest nations on the planet. However, the nation today has more income and wealth inequality as compared to any other key developed nation. In addition, there is a very large gap that exists between extremely rich and the rest of the people. Most of this income and wealth is controlled by a shocking small percentage of individuals. This accrues to only 1 percent of the nation’s total population. Today, there are about 400 billionaires and millionaires who earn billions of US dollars every year through entrepreneurship and heavy international investments (Gornick & Jäntti, 2014). In spite of great technological advancements in the country, as well as productivity, many Americans work for longer hours and get low wages in return. For example, the actual average income for American male employees is about $783 less as compared to what it was 42 years ago; at the same time as the actual average income for female employees is well over $1,300 less as compared to what it in the year 2007 (Gornick & Jäntti, 2014).

One difference that America can not overcome, is the distinction between rich and poor. Thomas Paine claims that, “the poor are not oppressed, the rich are not privileged.” However, I disagree with his claim. There is a tremendous gap in the amount of income between the two. Some argue that this gap goes against their argument on equality.

The purpose of this study was to find out what Americans knew about income inequality. The study was conducted as a survey where 5,000 Americans were asked to guess the percentage of wealth owned by the fifth of the population. Wealth was defined as savings, property, stocks, etc., minus a person’s debts. The results of the study revealed that there was a huge disconnect between what people believed and what was actually the case. For the second part of the study people were asked their ideal distribution of wealth. The findings of the survey stated that the average American believes that the richest fifth own 59% of the wealth and that the bottom 40% own 9%. In reality the top 20% of US households own more than 84% of the wealth, and the bottom 40% combine for a very small percentage which is

As outlined in chapter 10 of the course text, inequality in housing and wealth is a major problem. The United States is described to be the most unequal countries in the western hemisphere. But with the inequalities when it comes to wealth, the United States is one of the richest countries in the world. Wealth is the sum total of a person’s assets. These assets include, cash in the bank and value of all properties, not only land but houses, cars, stocks, and bonds, and retirements savings. Wealth is one of the factors why residential segregation is an increasing problem.

Every day in the United States of America, it is estimated that over thirty five thousand people are arrested. Charges vary from small traffic violations to very serious offenses such as rape, burglary, and murder. People of all ages, all races and both genders are taken into police custody and charged with these crimes. At least that is what the government wants you to believe. They say that we live in an equal society, where every race and ethnicity are treated as equal, however, the rapid growth of violence towards minorities by police officers continues each day.

The high society, which makes up around one percent of the U.S. population, by and large comprises of those with unthinkable acquired riches (some of the time called "old cash").The classification called new cash is a generally new step on the social stepping stool and makes up around 15 percent of the public. New cash incorporates individuals whose riches has been around just for an era or two. Likewise referred to as the nouveaux wealth (French for "recently rich"), they have earned their cash as opposed to obtaining it. Not at all like the individuals from the high society, do they have a family connected with old cash.- The following rung on the step is the working class, which incorporates around 34 percent of the population. The individuals

All over the world, there is an obvious contrast between the living standards and lifestyle of the rich and the poor. Moreover, there is a large gap between the populations of poor and wealthy. This is known as the Wealth Gap, and it is caused by Wealth Inequality. Wealth Income/Inequality is defined as “The unequal distribution of assets within a population.” Wealth is defined as more than just the amount of income a person has, but instead the value of a person’s assets. And assets being the stuff that you own: your car, your house and your cash money is also an asset. It is the job of the government, leaders and citizens to ensure that the wealth and income is distributed equally among the population. However, when this fails due to corruption, discrimination among other causes the country is unable to move forward economically, further leading to poverty and civil unrest and other consequences.