Income Inequality In America Summary

They mean that the wealth gaps in America are getting further apart. The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. The wealth gaps in the social classes in the United States are getting worse because the haves and have nots are widening, the American dream is getting harder to do, the rich are taking more of the pie and, income inequality is on a record high. In the United States, people are categorized into three main social classes.

Labor strikes and riots were common during the time. Policies were put into place to prevent individuals from gaining this much power ever again. In todays’ modern Gilded Age loopholes have been exploited and the rich are becoming just as powerful as they have ever been. Individuals such as the Koch Brothers have taken up the plutocratic mantle, they “buy politicians” in order to further their agenda and business

This factor has not only economic drawbacks but social problems are increasing at the same time (Kennickel, 2003). It leads to crimes and unsafety. Wealth inequality in America is increasing specially after the Great Recession of 2008 (Kenworthy & Smeeding, 2013; Allegretto, 2011). “The wealthiest 1% of U.S. households had net worth that was 225 times greater than the median or typical household’s net worth in 2009” (Allegretto, 2011). John Slater (2015) suggests that top 1% will gain more wealth than bottom 99% in 2016 if the government doesn’t take any measures to prevent it.

In order to tackle economic inequality in the United States, we must first establish that it is a problem that needs to be solved. American citizens currently live in one of the wealthiest nations in the history of the world, a feat only possible by the economic systems that are currently in place. But who benefits from this wealth? When the top one tenth of one percent owns almost as much as the bottom ninety percent, it is clear that our current economic systems are benefitting the prolifically wealthy. This wealth inequality extends beyond income, but includes; quality of health care, education, and political representation.

65% for the “upper middle” bracket 19% of the U.S population. And a whopping 275% of taxes for the 1% of the U.S. These numbers undeniably show a non “equal” society but one out for the 1% and other high rollers. America isn’t protecting the people at the top nor the bottom.

When comparing the Gross Domestic Product, comparisons show the richest nations in the United States are thousands of times more productive than the poor

The period from 1865 to 1900 was characterized by an astronomical boom in industry and manufacturing, economic growth for the rich, financial turmoil for the poor, and political corruption. As a result, the era has been named “The Gilded Age.” Just as something gilded is gold on the outside but worthless metal on the inside, these years seemed prosperous from an outside perspective, when in reality, the wealth gap was increasing at an alarming rate and big business had power over government officials. As a result of this, a lot of federal legislation was influenced by monopolies and often catered to the desires of businessmen. Since regulation of certain business practices would cause these trusts to lose money, Congress shied away from regulating

In this article by Sean Mcelwee(2014) he talks about why income inequality is the toughest issue America will face in the next few decades. In the article, Why income inequality is America’s biggest (and most difficult) problem, Mcelwee(2014) believes that after the studies he has seen, the most effective way to solve the policy issue of income inequality is by higher taxes on income and wealth. However, the rich would never buy into this solution, because it would take more of their wealth, when the wealthy are trying to maximize their money returns. Mcelwee (2014) also talks about how when a family is wealthy, money tends to stay in the family for 10-15 generations, which is also true for families with lower incomes as stated here by

The authors point is that the destructive relation between income inequality and happiness affects more poor people than rich people. (Oishi at al., p5). On one hand I agree with the authors on the fact that the poor are the first affected by the negative impact of the relation between income disparity and happiness, because the income disparity can create job and wage insecurity. In fact Job and wage insecurity is increasing, low-income families are rising along with the vulnerabilities that creates, guaranteed pensions are becoming a thing of the past, health benefits are tough, personal debt is greatly increasing, training are declining, and precarious employment are growing. On top of all that the political class is more self-centered and indifferent to the people.

It’s really obvious, if the state has generated income below the average per capita, because the listed income will be seen graphically imbalance. One factor that might be considered the inequality of economic state in the U.S. are the economic recessions, the increase of unemployment, under minimum wages, and bargaining trade among private businesses and other industries.

With globalizations, middle-class Americans are experiencing a new level of employment uncertainty, which speaks to the increase in homelessness and food insecurity. According to our class guest speaker Vic Papale, “Americans are faced with higher domestic food prices, reduced incomes and employment and having already sold off assets, reduced food consumption and cut spending on essential items such as health care and education.” These families, individuals and children risk falling deeper into destitution and the hunger-poverty trap.

Second, in realizing the dream of equal opportunity and narrowing the wealth inequality gap, work ethic is the one which needs much attention. According to the panel of economists discussed on patterns of income inequality and mobility: - For generations, despite real barriers of race, gender and wealth, most Americans have believed that if they work hard, they'll have real opportunities to earn steadily rising incomes. Even more important, parents believed that their children would have greater job and career opportunities than they ever did. (Is America Still the Land of Opportunity?).