“The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer”, the first portion of that statement is true. White the latter is not. While some will argue that it is true with the US economy, empirical evidence contradicts this. First of all, most data that is collected in improperly and confusingly measured. Such as the data for the quintiles collected by the US Census Bureau, which divides the data by household, regardless of household size. This format is quite misleading. In addition, the information does not reflect the large baby boomer population now relying on retirement and social security income, which inflates certain quintiles. Most importantly, even if the income inequality is or does increase between the quintiles, the economic
To improve the situation, Obama wants to apply a revalorization of the minimum income and benefit from taxes on the rich. Today the average income of the 10 per cent of the richest is sixteen times greater than the 10 per cent of the poorest. What’s more, the number of “working poor” in America has increased significantly. In 2011, 47.5 million people lived in families earning less than 200 per cent of the official poverty rate.
Why are most Americans Getting Poorer? The current estimated distribution of wealth in America states 80% of Americans (citizens under the poverty line, lower class and middle class) receive 7% of the nation’s wealth while, the top 20%(higher class) have over 92% of the nation’s wealth. Consequently, the respective groups of financial classes parallel this economic condition in that the amount of disposable income the middle and lower classes have been almost nonexistent ("Wealth Inequality in America"). The sources about economic data regarding the country become soused intentional by masses of official organizations depending on the objective that’s being supported with the data. The federal estimate for America in one piece currently has
The problem of income inequality is not something new, but it is something that people must worry about because it is affecting not only our wallets, but our communities as a whole. I agree on the author’s point of view about income inequality in the United States his position is very similar to another Robert Reich documentary called “Inequality for all” where he mentions all the aspects that brought United States economic system to a hold just to help a fraction of all population one of those systems was education where before the nineteen eighties it was cheaper to go to college than nowadays or the fact that workers were pay almost the same as any other for their sacrifice . Going back to the video on debate he mentions how policies changed
Inequality in the accumulation of wealth in the U.S.’s black population stretches back to times of slavery and lack of reparations for their group’s enslavement to the Social Security Act and the Federal Housing Act (GIB 1). Racial discrimination lurks in the U.S.’s housing market from its very conception after WWII, when GIs began to return home in search of a new home (RTPI). Although, the Federal Housing Administration by no means a starting point for the cause of wealth inequality, it certainly exacerbated the gap. White suburbs like “Levittown” created a white exclusive ideal neighborhood which devalued black and other nonwhite homeowners. Housing discrimination prevented blacks and nonwhites from accumulating wealth like whites would
In 2007, wages and salaries, which constitute income in the country, went down from 70% all the way to 60% (Gornick & Jäntti, 2014). During this time, the income that is generated by the top 1 percent of American households has tripled from 6 percent all the way to 19 percent. This ever growing disparity is being aggravated by failures in policies and in particular, the inequality is being blamed on years of progressive tax decrease, regulatory, transfer along with failures in full-employment laws in recent
Income Inequality Income Inequality or “wage gap” is a big topic for freedom fighters and liberals for the simple fact that it isn’t equal for everyone. Because the wage gap is so prominent it's one of the biggest “facts” that discrimination is still apart of everyday American society. The wage gap from these radical interest groups think the economy is get a dollar take a dollar instead of a free flow economy. This misguided idea of the economy is absolutely not true and isn’t at the fault of the Government, but the people.
Inequality has been around since man first started to gather in groups. Since the time of the hunter gathers into the middle ages. Today in the United States inequality is worse than it has ever been, even with the significant dip between the 1940s and the 1970s. The increase in inequality is not limited to the United States but it is happening the fastest here. We have to look at the different factors that have played a role in the increase which are: technology, the decline in manufacturing and increase in globalization, and government policy.
Abstract Education of low-income families is a current tragedy in the higher education system. The low acceptance rate of elite schools reflects that students who came out from low-income families were been discriminated and has less opportunity and chances to admit in universities. It turns out that financial situation now became the most common problem that low-income student have to face. The obstacles not only occurs at admissions process, but also after when low-income students are admitted, how can the school support them to find the proper financial aid to help them succeed. If the education system of a country only served for students from upper-class, then it lose the purpose and significance of “education.”
In the essay, “Richer and Poorer” written by Jill Lepore, and published in The New Yorker on March 16, 2015, the author discusses the income inequality in the United States and uses the rhetorical stages logos, ethos, and pathos as methods for trying to inform the educated middle class about the economic inequality and the effects on the individuals. Jill Lepore used various other sources to prove her point. Using the Gini Index, Lepore states that “income inequality is greater in the United States that in any other democracy in the developing world” (1). She goes on to give a few statistical points influencing her statement on how the inequality has increased throughout the decades. Including how in between 1975 and 1985, for U.S households from .397 to .419; compared to other countered such as Netherlands.
The article says, “While the top 1 percent have seen their incomes rise 18 percent over the past decade, those in the middle have actually seen their incomes fall.” (Stiglitz 2011) While the rich are getting higher incomes prices the poor are getting higher income by taking it from the one in the middle which therefore, makes them get a lower income percentage. America has fallen behind because of not being an equal country to the population by the income equality there is a huge gap between the income being earned by the poor and the rich. The rich are wealthy and the poor depend on the government for everything. As stated in the article, “America lags behind any country in the old, ossified Europe that President George W. Bush used to deride.
There are people who work 40 hours a week and are still in poverty; this is a highly prominent issue. The uneven distribution of wealth, known as wealth inequality, is a problem that plagues not only America but also the world. With wealth inequality, there are two main issues and one solution to those issues. The problems are that the wealth in America is unevenly distributed and there people in America who work 40 hours a week and still have very little money. Wealth inequality is the root of all problems faced in America.
3.1 How income inequality affect on people live in America. The income gap in America affects people, who live in this country. The issue has a strong impact in America’s society; in particular, the nutritional disparity between rich and poor people. In USA, the food gap becomes the top signal for the class distinction, but it used to be clothing or fashion. The food inequality in America is not only influencing the poverty, it is also cost hundreds of billions of dollar per year because of Non Communicable Diseases (NDCs) (Ferdman, 2014).
The problem with the widened wealth gap is that the inequality may harm the quality. Meaning that those in the higher classes see it as you can use the money with no restrictions. However, economist believe that the “relationship between inequality and economic freedom, with the possibility that policies that are meant to reduce inequality will reduce economic freedom, which will then only make inequality worse.”
Introduction 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.
Among other factors, socioeconomic status, gender, and ethnicity significantly impact the opportunities available to individuals. Children born into wealthier families simply have more opportunities than children born into poorer ones, and today, income inequality between the upper, middle, and lower classes has reached an all-time high. In 1976, 9% of income went to the top 1%. Today, 24% of income goes to the top 1%. The bottom 80% of Americans own only 7% of the country’s wealth today, while the top 1% has 40% of its wealth.