Summary Of Gilbert's Age Of Growing Inequality

Gilbert presents an argument that the United States is currently residing in an ‘Age of Growing Inequality’. This new echelon of American society developed after an ‘Age of Shared Prosperity’ which lasted from the end of the Great Depression to a major economic revitalization in the 1980s. Gilbert describes the ways that the newfound economic inequality has been growing in recent years with relation to the ways that inequality has statistically manifested itself. He also frames his portrayal of the current socioeconomic state of the United States with relation to the demographic nuances that correlate with the economy of the ‘Age of Growing Inequality’.
Gilbert juxtaposes what he sees as an ‘Age of Growing Inequality’ (spanning from the 1970’s
The presence of women in the workplace has been increasing since the 1920s, with the amount of working women doubling between the 1960s and 2000 (Gilbert p. 88). Gilbert illustrates the level of women as the sole household earner in his ‘income parade’. Gilbert notes the high level of women at the beginning of the parade. He explains how many of the women who have to be the sole breadwinner for their household often find themselves in positions that are not as well compensated than that of their male counterparts (Gilbert p. 87). Gilbert does mention how the pay gap between men and women is lessening (Gilbert p. 88). The rapid increase of women in the workplace has created the environment where women are necessary for the health of their household’s income. As seen in Gilbert’s figure on the increase to a family’s income with and without the contribution from a woman (Gilbert p. 88), the addition of a working women to a family’s income is beneficial to all groups along the socioeconomic ladder. Although the inclusion of women as household earners has increased the percentage change of their family’s income, it has contributed to the overall economic stratification of society. As a large number of households in the lower portion of Gilbert’s ‘parade’ are headed by women, the betterment of working women exists to bring the households that do not depend on a female head of house to
Considering the climate where the ‘Age of Shared Prosperity’ took place, post-Depression America, it is easily seen how a sense of communal benefit could be perceived. Following the Great Depression, many households’ incomes and economic standings were devastated. This would then result in a period where sacrifices would be made in order to benefit the whole. This can be seen with Gilbert’s analysis of progressive taxes places upon the rich. The greater tax on those with greater incomes leads to a vast increase in the income of households who fell in the lower 95% of the population. The overall prosperity would increase (albeit, in greater benefit for the middle class) throughout the 20th century as more women entered the workforce and brought the additional income to their households. The increase of socioeconomic inequality would be born of the insufficient progressive taxes on those with high incomes (and the subsequent withdrawal of higher taxes as politics dictated over the years), as well as the institution of wealth being passed on through generations and allowing for inequality to be cemented with those at the top remaining at the