Preview

The One Percent Research Paper

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1793 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The One Percent Research Paper
Running Head: THE ONE PERCENT Page 1

THE ONE PERCENT
Ryan M. Kerrick
March 18, 2012

THE ONE PERCENT Page 2
Ryan M. Kerrick
Mr. Richard Cannella
English Composition II
March 18, 2012 A good friend of mine recently recommended me to watch a documentary called “The One Percent.” I do not usually watch documentaries unless I am gaining some type of knowledge out of the information presented. Unsure of what it was about and what I was going to get out of it, I turned on NetFlix and proceeded to watch the film. I soon came to realize I was enamored by this film, “The One Percent,” and it remains one of my favorite documentaries of all time. The documentary deals with the disparity between the wealthy elite and the citizenry and how they are both so far removed from one another. “As of 2010, the top 1% of households (the upper class) owned 35.4% of all privately held wealth.” (Domhoff, 2010, The Wealth Distribution, para. 1). The producer and interviewer presents this film through many wealthy American businessmen, critics, economists and even his own family to explain this major social gap that exists on our home front. When looking at the differences side-by-side, it is hard to grasp that we all live in the same place, the United States of America.
The film was created by Jamie Johnson, the heir to one of America’s most affluent families. Being born with a “silver spoon,” Jamie never really had anything to worry about in life-- from private schools to private jets, equestrian clubs and charitable dinner parties. But, he always felt something was missing in his life and he couldn’t quite put a finger on it. The fortune that Jamie inherited on his 21st birthday was from one of the wealthiest family-owned companies in the United States, Johnson and Johnson.
THE ONE PERCENT Page 3
Ryan M. Kerrick
Mr. Richard Cannella
English Composition II
March 18, 2012

His great grandfather “started the company in 1886” (Johnson and Johnson,


References: Johnson and Johnson. (1997). History of Johnson and Johnson. Retrieved from http://www.jnj.com/connect/about-jnj/company-history/ Schroeder, A. (2008). The Snowball: Warren Buffet and the Business of Life. Domhoff, G. (2010). Wealth, Income, and Power: The Wealth Distribution. Retrieved from http://whorulesamerica.net/power/wealth.html Frank, R. (2008). The Wall Street Journal: The Rich Man’s Michael Moore. Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120371859381786725.html?mod=fpa_mostpop
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Analysis Of Who Me? A One Percenter? By Robert Frank
    • 240 Words
    • 1 Page

    Analysis Of Who Me? A One Percenter? By Robert Frank

    In the article, “Who Me? A One Percenter?” written by Robert Frank, he explains how one percenters have difficulty defining themselves as the one percent. Mr. Frank also states “A new study that the vast majority of people earning more than $250,000 a year say they are not in the One Percent.” According to the Mendelsohn Affluent Barometer, Americans assume they’re in the top twenty percent but actually rank in the top 3 percent or higher. Another fact upon the barometer is that the term “ultra affluents” is what the 3 percenters are named as a group.…

    • 240 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Frank Too Big Too Ignore
    • 483 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Frank Too Big Too Ignore

    Robert Frank, a professer at Cornell University, published an article for the New York Times on October 16, 2010. The title of the article was "Income Inequality: Too Big to Ignore". In "Income Inequality: Too Big to Ignore", Frank argues that there are differences in the social classes of the American people and that it is having a negative effect on our economy's growth. Frank explains that middle class citizens are in a struggle to maintain a good financial position. Meanwhile, the upper class citizens are spending copious amounts of money which makes it increasingly more difficult for the middle class to meet their basic needs. He says that the middle class are looking toward upper class citizens, comparing their posesions as well as their financial positions which makes the middle class feel financially unstable.…

    • 483 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Gmail Sociology Paper 2
    • 629 Words
    • 1 Page

    Gmail Sociology Paper 2

    set the ground for social class in our country. The one percent determines what they believe is the best for their…

    • 629 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Analyzing The Documentary 'Waiting For Superman'
    • 913 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Analyzing The Documentary 'Waiting For Superman'

    The United States has one of the highest levels of income inequality in the world, with the top 400 households raking in more money than the bottom 60 percent combined.” Base on the article “How Dumb Are We” by the author Andrew Romano, which means that most Americans belong to a middle class dedicated to work full time to provide support for their families. In the documentary “Waiting for Superman,” directed and written by Davis Guggenheim, an important American film director, and whose topic is mainly America…

    • 913 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Revolt of the Rich
    • 1242 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Revolt of the Rich

    For the past couple of years, there seems to a new subject that is engulfing social circles, the internet, and the news. It seems as if citizens have discovered the 1%, or America’s richest individuals. Some have dismissed these reports as inflated statistics, greatly exaggerated and that an individual cannot own that much money. In reality, America is very much controlled by a wealthy elite, as explained by Mike Lofgren in his article “Revolt of the Rich”. Lofgren proposes that the wealthy elite in America are transitioning into separating themselves from the common population.…

    • 1242 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Film Inequality For All
    • 443 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Film Inequality For All

    "Inequality for All" is very informative and persuasive documentary movie, produced by Robert Kornbluth and featuring Robert Reich, a professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley who was also a political appointee who served as the Secretary of Labor in the Clinton administration. The movie explains how extreme inequality in income and wealth is a major problem for our society, regardless of which political side you find yourself on. Using video outtakes from the lecture series he currently presents at Berkeley and linking those with clips from movies and other videos, this documentary shows how income inequality has changed over decades in the United States. The movie offers a clear-eyed expose of a system that truly is stacked in favor of those who already have most of the money in America.…

    • 443 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Bernie Sanders's Argumentative Analysis
    • 1160 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Bernie Sanders's Argumentative Analysis

    The U.S. is home to some of the world's wealthiest families and corporations. It is a land of opportunity for many; however, among developed nations America has the highest rates of income inequality. Income inequality has been rapidly rising in America since the late 1970s. Income inequality has a host of social-economic consequences, and the topic has become a cornerstone issue for the socialist senator from Vermont, Bernie Sanders. His campaign is heavily focused on the economy, but more than that, his economic policies are heavily focused on reversing the upward trend in income and wealth inequality.…

    • 1160 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Stop And Frisk Pros And Cons
    • 1059 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Stop And Frisk Pros And Cons

    Some people feel the rich do not pay their fair share in taxes. “The 95th/50th ratio in 2011 was $186,000 divided by $50,054, which equals 3.72. In other words, the income of houses in the 95th percentile was 3.72 times the income of households in the 50th percentile. Those in the top 25th percentile obtained a vast majority of the income in America (79.5% in 2007 and 75.9% in 2010.” (Evans, “Wealth”). This does prove that wealth is not evenly distributed among all Americans, which is an understandable thing to be upset…

    • 1059 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Research Paper On Poverty In America
    • 425 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Research Paper On Poverty In America

    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.…

    • 425 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Critical Analysis Of Only Daughter And Once More To The Lake
    • 636 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Critical Analysis Of Only Daughter And Once More To The Lake

    Between Cisneros’s “Only Daughter” and White’s “Once more to the Lake,” the audience gets two tastes of starting and ending lines, both taking the essay to the same place. Ultimately, both beginnings prepare the reader for their flash back story and end with a specific moment during the story that will always stick with them. Although their format was similar and their beginning and ending strategies were alike, they both told two different stories where I found Cisernos’s essay coming off as stronger.…

    • 636 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    The Role Of Racism And Anti-Semitism In America Today
    • 996 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Role Of Racism And Anti-Semitism In America Today

    Even though there have been many educational and social strides towards equality, there is still racism and anti-Semitism in America today that can be evidenced by the unequal distribution of wealth among the races in America. According to Conley, D. (1999), “the median white family held assets worth more than seven times those of median nonwhite family”. The majority of America’s wealth resides within a single race although the country has great racial diversity. America continues to show opportunity in having the nation’s wealth more equally represented by the various races within the United States. It is important to look at the controlling wealth of the United States to understand how minorities could be negatively impacted. Minorities may not have the availability to the means that create opportunities for them to prosper as much as…

    • 996 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Inequality For All Analysis
    • 511 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Inequality For All Analysis

    The rich get richer, and the poor get poorer. That is the statement that Inequality for All explains in depth. The film centers around three basic “characters”; Robert Reich’s poverty and inequality class at UC Berkley, people who have fallen to poverty themselves, and Robert Reich’s personal lessons to the camera directly. Though the film covers many areas of income in economics, the main backbone of the lesson is the three facts that serve as the main argument for the film: The tax…

    • 511 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Climbing to a Better Life
    • 1114 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Climbing to a Better Life

    There are times in our life when we have to face difficulties and traumas. Sometimes, we experience suffering in such a way that our hopes, life projects and dreams become extinct because our life problems are too difficult and we cannot overcome them by ourselves. Therefore, we need the external help of others and the values that they can project towards us in order to triumph over life obstacles. Through their actions, words, advice and openness to our troubles, they can play a very important role in our lives when they want to help us.…

    • 1114 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Variations Between Home School and Public School
    • 1069 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Variations Between Home School and Public School

    There are many variations between home school students and public school students. According to The National Assessment of Education more than one million students are currently, as of November 2012, attending a home school environment. By parents switching their children from public school to home school it has caused a 75% increase since 1999. By comparing and contrasting the difference and similarities between the workload, pace, social development, and the students focus, meaning how much time a teacher could spend with a child; one will see the variations between home school students and public school students. There are many variations in the similarities and differences of the student workload.…

    • 1069 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Life Is a Gift
    • 652 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Life Is a Gift

    Everyone has a right to his/her own life. No matter what it is, your life that you live everyday is your choice, and you have made all the decisions for yourself everyday. This is why I believe when it comes time for is to be over, that it should not be somebody else to decide weather or not it should keep going, or for it to end. Abortion for example is wrong, in my opinion, and should not be legal. Everything happens for a reason. That baby was meant to be born, and now one should be allowed to take its life. Euthanasia is also wrong. When it is time for someone to pass, God will take him/her to a better place. It is not our decision to take it for them. What if something great was going to happen from someone who just had his/her life taken? We don't know what is going to happen next inIs this Essay helpful? Join OPPapers to read more and access more than 350,000 just like it!…

    • 652 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics