Inequality In America

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.

Paul Krugman author of the article “Confronting Inequality” stresses the inequality of our social classes in the United States, he uses statistics to demonstrate the staggering consequences of this inequality within our social classes. Krugman emphasizes the fact that a majority of our wealth is owned by about one percent of the population, which is leaving the middle and lower class at an extreme disadvantage. One example Krugman uses is education; children that have wealthy families, have a higher percentage of finishing college than those of lower income families, proving the statement that Krugman was accentuating, “Class-inherited class- usually trumps talent.” The parents within this middle to lower class have been exceed their financial

America prides itself on being one of the most effective democratically governed counties. The idea of the American dream is that all people have equivalent political freedoms and a responsive government. However the effectiveness of social equality is being threatened by increasing inequality in the United States. Economic inequality in the US has expanded drastically. The wealth gap has had drastic changes over the past 35 years. What’s more, specifically, the rich have gotten a lot richer. Almost everybody who talk about it says that economic inequality must be reduced.

Income inequality The article “Confronting Inequality,” written by Paul Krugman, a professor at Princeton University, emphasizes that the middle class suffers from social inequality and economic inequality. Krugman suggests building a stronger safety net so the gap between the poor and rich can be limited to by raising of the taxes. Krugman uses this claim to highlight the fact that the middle class needs to be stronger and the only way to achieve that is to have a strong safety net. Krugman says the rich use loopholes in the tax system to cheat their way out of high taxes, and the poor pay a relatively high tax compared to what they should be paying.

In the article “Confronting Inequality” by Paul Krugman it explains how and why large changes between wages of wealth and the problems between the social classes. America's middle class in today’s society are exceeding their limits in effort to give their children opportunities many middle class parents did not have themselves. Ways that many middle class parents are doing this is by buying homes that they can't afford; this is so their children will be able to attend a good school. Another reason why middle class parent are doing this so that their children can have more opportunities to one day slow the growing gap between the wealthy and the poor. Another reason that inequality between the classes is important Krugman believes is because

2015). My claim is to provide an explanation on how poverty affects American students and their education. One out of every 18th person in the U.S. still lives under the poverty line (Bishwa A. 2012). A big reason why many Americans are dropping down to the lower class is due to divorce, and getting laid off, as factories upgrade their competition, and stock prices by relocating jobs overseas. So how does low income affect their children's?

The article “The Death of Horatio Alger” By Paul Krugman Dives into the cruel story of america not being the land of opportunity we once knew and loved. The article goes straight into it by starting with our nation's history of inequality going all the way back to the 1940s. Krugman then goes from there going into times when economic mobility was easiest to when it was hardest to now. To sum up what he says is the now our class mobility is at a all time low and if that was not bad enough apparently our politicians are “doing everything they can to fortify class inequality, while denouncing anyone who complains”(Krugman) the article covers what a politician with this goal would do as in what policy they would work to implement and more.

They understand the sacrifices their parents have made for their children and to support their family. But, upper classmen might not be able to understand why inequality causes consequences because they do not experience the same situations. Those who earn more do not need to work more hours and sacrifice little things, such as vacations, in order for their children to go to school. They may not even notice any changes to their lives because they make more than enough to live stress-free, while low income families spend most of their time struggling to make ends meet. Although this essay was written about 11 years ago, I believe it is still just as effective as when it was first written because the economy is constantly changing and always leads to consequences because of the inequality present in society.

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.

Bernie Sanders once said “A nation will not survive morally or economically when so few have so much, while so many have so little”. In our society, many people experience inequalities, including racial inequality, gender inequality, and economic inequality. These social inequalities create institutionalized social barricades that most times, cannot be solved without some sort of policy that advocates equity. Inequality means that people have little or unequal access to resources such as education, housing, health care, politics, and many more. It also means that people are treated unequally by society.

They all make decent points towards income inequality, and inequality as a whole. Becker and Murphy believe that if a higher education will give you a higher income, although education after high school is expensive, the returns are worth it. Even though statistics prove that Becker and Murphy's theory is correct, Krugman believes that the living standards are important and shouldne be jepordized, because of an education. Paul Krugman in “Confronting Inequality” attempts to explain how bad inequality is and the things that can bring inequality to high or low levels. He gives reasons of why he and Americans should care about the increase in inequality.

There is lower, middle, and upper class, but there are also subcategories that fill the gaps in between, like the impoverished and the top one percenters. “Class in America”, written by Gregory Mantsios, addresses the myths and realities about socioeconomic class in America and how they affect American lives. His article highlights the unequal divide that has persisted over the course of history and will continue to manifest in the future. To introduce the existence of this issue, Mantsios states that this country’s citizens “don’t like to talk about class...or class privileges, or class oppression, or the class nature of society” (Mantsios 378). This is the case in America today because people are neglecting to acknowledge the existence of these elusive

The wealthy posses far more wealth than everyone else, and even in regards to the middle class there are major divisions. Gregory Mantosis, department director at Queens College of the City of New York, in his article Class in America, compares the lives of three people that all live within the defined zone of middle class. Harold Browning is an upper-middle class citizen who, due to his higher class at birth, was able to have tutors, go to summer camps focused on creative arts and natural sciences, and attended a prestigious preparatory school; Bob Farrell is a middle-middle class citizen that had no tutoring, attended YMCA summer camps, and attended a large regional high school in Queens with supplemental education for the SAT; Cheryl Mitchell is a black, lower-middle class citizen, who had no tutoring, went to no summer camps, and attended a large public high school. These people, who are all in the middle class, live drastically different lives, and their “difference[s] in class determin[e] … how well they are educated, what they do for a living, and what they come to expect from life” (Mantosis387). People, because of the level of wealth that they are born into, have varying degrees of education, as well as varying degrees of assistance with that education.

When people hear the word inequality they think of inequality as a circumstance just involving race, things like being unequal with another person cause of your skin color or cause of your traditions. However, inequality covers many other broad factors one factor other than race being income inequality. In “Inequality Has Been Going on Forever…but That Doesn’t Mean It’s Inevitable.” (The New York Times, 02.05.14), David Leonhardt points out that Income inequality has come to be extremely high, the middle class is shrinking while the rich become richer. This attitude is encouraged by various factors: society, taxation, and how much time has passed.

Income inequality is still a problem in America, but there are ways to fight against it. Job disadvantages and food drives both prove that income inequality still exists in America. According