Knowledge Isn T Power Krugman Summary
A nation of equality, a wish come true.
Knowledge Isn't Power, by Paul Krugman simply conveys about rising inequalities in wages and salaries of Americans. He proclaimed how the reason of inequality is not education, but power. He also stated that there are many actions that could be taken to "redress the inequality of power; only if there is a major party willing to move policy in exactly the opposite direction" i quote him. The thing that I disagree with the author is how he claimed that knowledge is not a reason for inequality. I believe that this problem is due to lack of knowledge or "skills gap" - in which skills of the workers are not in parallel with the job requirement1. Skills gap does effect inequality as the rapid changes
in technologies are making it harder for employers to recruit new workers, caused by lack of available talents2. This is proven by "Talent Shortage Survey" in which they found that 35% of 38,000 employers reported difficulty in filling jobs3. This then causes the rise of inequality "as wages soar for workers with the right skills but stagnate or decline for the less educated4". Cait Murphy, a writer quoted that employers may be too picky. But I say that it is crucial for companies to be picky in order to meet up to their ultimate goals. Living in the world today, what students learn in IT schools or Business schools does not guarantee that the same knowledge will be applied in their working field5. Thus, it is hard to find talents that fulfill the needs of an entity. Therefore, skills gap is real and is a cause of inequality6. However, I do agree to his statement that we should "increase minimum wage" as it is an initiative to reduce inequality. This occurrence will increase employment rate and also lessen the salary gap between high incomers and low incomers. Thus, reducing inequality. In a testimony by Heather Boushey, she emphasized how rising minimum wage would have positive economic effects towards America - including causing greater employment and addresses the growing problem of income inequality7; supporting my argument. Other than to settle inequalities, it could also pull a family out of poverty8. After Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report was published, a debate arose where increased salaries for low-waged workers would result in increased spending9. However, this is an assumption as consumers does not necessarily spend a lot when they have money, quoted by Brooke Buchanan10. With this, I believe by increasing minimum wage inequality would be reduced. In conclusion, lack of knowledge is a cause of wage inequality and efforts must be taken to resolve this issue. One of the ways to overcome inequality is to increase the minimum wage. I strongly believe that with this solution, inequality could be resolved and Americans could live a better life indeed.
Knowledge Isn't Power, by Paul Krugman simply conveys about rising inequalities in wages and salaries of Americans. He proclaimed how the reason of inequality is not education, but power. He also stated that there are many actions that could be taken to "redress the inequality of power; only if there is a major party willing to move policy in exactly the opposite direction" i quote him. The thing that I disagree with the author is how he claimed that knowledge is not a reason for inequality. I believe that this problem is due to lack of knowledge or "skills gap" - in which skills of the workers are not in parallel with the job requirement1. Skills gap does effect inequality as the rapid changes
in technologies are making it harder for employers to recruit new workers, caused by lack of available talents2. This is proven by "Talent Shortage Survey" in which they found that 35% of 38,000 employers reported difficulty in filling jobs3. This then causes the rise of inequality "as wages soar for workers with the right skills but stagnate or decline for the less educated4". Cait Murphy, a writer quoted that employers may be too picky. But I say that it is crucial for companies to be picky in order to meet up to their ultimate goals. Living in the world today, what students learn in IT schools or Business schools does not guarantee that the same knowledge will be applied in their working field5. Thus, it is hard to find talents that fulfill the needs of an entity. Therefore, skills gap is real and is a cause of inequality6. However, I do agree to his statement that we should "increase minimum wage" as it is an initiative to reduce inequality. This occurrence will increase employment rate and also lessen the salary gap between high incomers and low incomers. Thus, reducing inequality. In a testimony by Heather Boushey, she emphasized how rising minimum wage would have positive economic effects towards America - including causing greater employment and addresses the growing problem of income inequality7; supporting my argument. Other than to settle inequalities, it could also pull a family out of poverty8. After Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report was published, a debate arose where increased salaries for low-waged workers would result in increased spending9. However, this is an assumption as consumers does not necessarily spend a lot when they have money, quoted by Brooke Buchanan10. With this, I believe by increasing minimum wage inequality would be reduced. In conclusion, lack of knowledge is a cause of wage inequality and efforts must be taken to resolve this issue. One of the ways to overcome inequality is to increase the minimum wage. I strongly believe that with this solution, inequality could be resolved and Americans could live a better life indeed.