Why Are Americans Poor Research Paper

I. Rank R., Mark.2011. “Rethinking American Poverty.” Context 10(2):16-21. II. Misconceptions the public has about poverty mostly who is responsible for preventing it.

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.

Living in America means that you are living in one of the most prosperous countries in the world. Knowing that, why is poverty such a huge percentage of where we live? Poverty in America is not just the people we detect on the streets begging for anything possible. Poverty in America consists of families working minimum wage jobs just to keep clothing for their children and a roof over their head. Poverty in America consists of living in a community where education isn’t up to standards.

According to the U.S. Congressional Research Service, there are mainly 3 reasons for the income inequality of American society. The first reason is that American national output used to lesson the income inequality is fewer than other countries do. In Germany, public social spending accounted for 27.8 percent of gross domestic product in 2009, compared with 19.2 percent in the United States, according to the OECD. The second reason is the American tax system. If the tax is used to solve the social problems, for example the terms of employment, the income inequality can be reduced.

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

Economic inequality is the uneven distribution of wealth and differences in economic security found in each individual in a specific country or region. Today, the topic is being discussed profusely by the American presidential candidates and by many writers around the world because of the beliefs of whether there should or should not be wealth redistribution policies put into action. Larry Schwartz, the author of “35 Soul-Crushing Facts about American Income Inequality”, makes a valid claim that economic inequality is the foundation of the problems that the entire American population face such as poverty and a hindrance of economic growth. To begin with, Schwartz has an exceptional argument that the high rate of economic inequality, like is

Lastly, Gilbert bring home a hard-hitting reason that this hype is unnecessary: "The U.S. middle class boasts among the highest disposable household incomes in the world. The average U.S. family has 38 percent more disposable household income than a family in Italy, 25 percent more than a family in France, and 20 percent more than a household in Germany, when adjusted for differences in purchasing power... With the average family’s disposable household income in the United States among the highest in the world, inequality is perceived less as a source of social friction between the “haves and the have-nots” than as an imbalance between those who have a lot and others who have even more". I would agree that this has become an issues between who has more than others rather than who has nothing and who has something. I definitely agree and have understood as Gilbert explains, poverty and inequality are two different things.

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.

1. Discuss Poverty in the US as it compares to other countries. Be sure your discussion concisely includes what you consider the most important points and conclusion. When comparing the US to other countries, the poverty rate is higher in the US than other countries. Due to wages and hourly pay many people in the US are living within poverty.

America is certainly a rich country. But it contains a lot of people surviving on incomes more common in developing countries. How society chooses to treat these people is cause for concern. There is an elitist culture in America. If one doesn’t fit into this bubble of perfection - with the white picket fence, two kids and a dog - then you are often faced with an uphill battle.

Americans are working hard labor and not getting a good salary. Many other countries believe that America is wealthy, but Americans are not. Also, people are suffering the jobs they do not like. In contrast to Olsson’s argument, another author Joseph E. Stiglitz “The top 1%, by the 1%, for the 1%” explain the top 1% people are getting richer

In today’s society it is easy to judge a situation that you have never been in. For instance, it is easy to judge a poor child, whom you go to school with, based on their ten dollar shoes. However, it isn’t so easy to be put in a poverty experience. For example, one of your co-workers has gotten seriously ill. Because your company doesn’t offer sick days, everyone is contributing $20 to help her out.

(wealth inequality in America) Even Americans agree that the American money distribution is flawed and flawed greatly. If America isn’t able to keep a stable income classes, then how are we supposed to live a life where we can depend on our salaries.

The Politics of Income Inequality The unequal distribution of wealth is often mentioned among both democratic and republican parties, phrases such as “widening income inequality” and “vanishing middle class” a common occurrence in political rhetoric. But is the rich-poor gap as significant as they claim? According to research by Emmanuel Saez and Thomas Piketty, economic professors at UC-Berkeley and EHESS respectively, the answer is indisputable: the total market income amassed by the top 0.1 percent has been increasing steadily in the past three decades— the shares from 1970 to 2010 have more than tripled, rising from 2.78 percent to 9.53 percent— levels unseen since the Great Depression. Admittedly, Saez and Piketty’s findings are based

Why I think income inequality is increasing in the United States? In my Opinion, the reason of income inequality is increasing in the United States is Growing Market. The globalized markets in the US are break downs the boundary of smaller, local market and provides new platforms and new audience to trades. The US government allowed artisan, farmer, and manufacturer to open their products and services to the global economic. This meaning that the purveyors do not have to rely on small, local market makes a living and it mean that others around a global can have access for their goods.