After watching the video, "Wealth Inequality in America", published by Politizane, I was surprised when finding out that only the top one percent of America has 40 percent of all the nation's wealth. It was also surprising to discover that the top one percent owns half the country's stocks, bonds, and mutual bonds, while the bottom 50 percent of Americans own only half a percent of these investments. One of the notions I had that was challenged by the video was the amount of money the wealthy actually have compared to the rest of the classes. I was aware that wealth mostly distributed to the wealthy class, but I never imagined that the division between the wealthy class and the rest of the classes would be so huge. Its incredible that the CEO's…
Many people around the world know the United States for its “freedom and equality for all.” What fewer people know is the long, violent, and complex journey that it took millions of Americans to make that statement apply to them. Up until the Civil Rights Act of 1964 the United States was a segregated nation, dividing the “white-privileged” majority and the mix-colored minorities. From African Americans, to Chicanos, to Asian Americans, and various other ethnic groups, the journey that these minority Americans faced was filled with struggles, torment, and humiliation. Despite these obstacles, they continued to fight for what they believed was right, and that was to have the civil and political rights that were privileged to the white, majority extended to them.…
Krugman suggests that we take the United States economy for granted, he thinks that extreme inequality is an “inevitable byproduct of robust economic growth in a globalized age are not inevitable at all”. Political choices not economic laws, have helped form the United States to become a world superpower and a nation of the very rich, the very poor and an increasingly fragile middle class. His approach to how society should handle these social and economic probelms is for the people to take back the goverment and make society equal again. He supports the idea of a “new, new deal” but thinks that the government is run by a movement that is dedicated to policies that are against most Americans' interests, and must try to compensate for that…
Compared to other countries, the U.S. may resemble a utopia. Although the United States may appear to be magnificent, the country possesses flaws of its own. The U.S. broadcasts the successes of its society, rather than exuding the real problems within America. Several citizens fail to realize that poverty truly does exists in the United States.…
Inequality for African Americans first surfaced during the antebellum period in American History. Government officials recognized then as three fifths human while majority of white Americans viewed them as property. Following the end of the civil war, President Lincoln and government officials attempted to correct the omission of African American citizenship (Rubin). Officials began with the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, renounced the ownership rights of slave owners. Subsequently, the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments were adopted to grant African Americans with second-class citizenship (Rubin). However, those amendments did not equate Blacks to their White counterparts. In 1876, African Americans were faced with discrimination…
What we can do to stop all of this race is stuff and what is it all about.…
In the United States, the top ten percent of all households own seventy-six percent of all the wealth in the country (1). Income inequality is frequently highlighted, but why is wealth inequality rarely brought to our attention? The political system has failed to deal with the problem, and the gap will only continue to grow in the future. How can we call this the land of opportunity when the bottom forty percent will most likely stay the bottom forty percent for their entire lives (1)? That is why I offer a modest proposal to overthrow the current system and establish a Utopian society built from the rubble. This Utopia, which I shall refer to as the United Socialist States of America (USSA), is going to be built around the premise of economic equity through the equal distribution of resources and knowledge. This would create a society without greed because money is the ultimate…
A crucial controversy of America today is the growing gap between the wealthy and the poor, and the discrepancy is caused by capitalism run wild and only the helping hand of the government can only fix the problem. A question that turns the tables is what if the growing wealth disparity in America is actually caused by the government? For years, the idea that inequality is economically neutral has been the prevailing view not just among traditionalists but also between most Americans outside the further reaches of a political audience. There could be ideological or moral reasons to object to a growing gap between the wealthy and the rest but for economic reasons, there are no such. Furthermore, there are many ways inequality places itself in America. In our society, a good amount of the population is forced to stand up and work for our country while hardly being redeemed for their time and effort, thus the problem of income inequality. An estimate of these people live from paycheck to another, barely coping with life itself, not because they cannot manage their money well, but the reason is that…
Income inequality means that there is no equality between people. Also, there are big differences between the rich and everyone else. This problem grows year after year. Some people become poor and other become rich. The American Dream is related to income because everyone who wants to achieve the American Dream must have a great income. Rich and poor people are all human beings, but poor people have stolen money from each other because they do not have a great experience to get money. Rich people have great experience in business because they received from his or her family, also they study in great school and university. In addition, education is one of the greatest things to have the huge income. People who study in higher education will…
One of the many things that American society has always struggled with is equality. Due to America's diversity, this is not surprising. Discrimination or stereotyping exist in all aspects of society. America has always dealt with this issue of inequality, dating back to its early beginning. Some of the most renowned examples of this are mistreatment of Native Americans, African slavery in America, and women's rights.…
Times have changed, and so has the virtues and ideals that build up what we know as an American. America has portrayed an image of a “perfect nation” along with a diverse and equal society, however this is far from the truth. If you think that the United States is the most advanced country in the world, you have missed the bullseye and hit the edge of the dartboard. The concept of equality simply does not exist in today’s society. With one look, people already believe they know everything about you. In simple words, an American today is just simply a hypocrite.…
There are many people that have problems about income inequality. This country is filled with immigrants that are trying to use our government's programs to provide for their families. It is inevitable to change the different amount of income people make. The problem is how those earnings are dispersed and where the money is actually going to. Today, there are many changes in American society that affect your income such as where you live, technological advancements, etc. Many questions arise when discussing income inequality. How can the government equally disperse the money? Are the rich getting richer or the poor getting poorer? Who does society favor more, rich or poor? The wage gap is increasing at an alarming rate, and even though a certain amount of inequality is valuable, income inequality harms our society because it restrains upward mobility between generations, and too much income compromises the ability for the American government to give equal political voice to all of its citizens.…
“Wealth inequality can be described as the unequal distribution of assets within a population. The United States exhibits wider disparities of wealth between rich and poor than any other major developed nation,” (www.inequality.org) There are two factors that I believe contribute to the wealth gap are income and race inequalities. As the gaps widen within those two factors, the wealth gap in the United States continues to grow exponentially.…
September 11, 2001, two planes crash into the World Trade Center Towers in New York City, New York killing over 2000 people and injured over 8000 fast forward 16 years to October 1, 2017, a sniper opened fire on a concert in Las Vegas, Nevada killing 59 people and injuring over 500. These events make it seem as though our beloved United States is on the path to darkness but I strongly disagree with that. America will become a better place for all people no matter what gender, race or sexuality America as a nation will evolve and become a safe haven for those who don’t have freedom. Even though there are race and terrorist attacks, the people of America will one day accept all no matter the race, gender or sexuality because we must realize that if we don’t there will no longer be the United States.…
America is known for many things, such as the wealthiest country in the world. However, America has also been known for the injustice and inequality that many people face. This chapter explains why America is so unequal. Florencia Torche, clarifies that the higher the income share of the wealthiest 10%, increases inequality. Not only does America face inequality, but other small countries had increased amounts of inequality. Due to this, there is a common factor that both country share, that can indicate the reason for an increase of inequality. A major reason why inequality increased is due to change between technology expansion and education. As technology involved, jobs for middle and lower levels of education decreased. However, it also increased new jobs. In addition, these new jobs required higher levels of education.…