The topic I chose to analyze is income inequality. According to the New York Times, even though an individual attend college it doesn’t guarantee that they will acquire income equality. I feel that most income equality is due to racial discrimination. According to the New York Times, education supposed to be the best way to balance the income gap. “Income inequality have grown between white and black workers since 1979, even when you factor in the fact that black workers education level and work experience has increased to match the much needed workforce” (The Editorial Board, 2017). Another area of income inequality is between genders. The pay gap is tight between white and black women/men. For instance, white men will always earn more than black men even when white men are uneducated. Black families have a tougher economic future because of not always having a nest egg (savings, investments, etc.) to fall back on when times become hard. …show more content…
Rebalancing of income inequality is possible, but I feel it will be very difficult. Racism and sexism are deeply rooted within the American culture. The evolution of income inequality has been in the world since the beginning of human existence. Throughout history, income inequality has destabilized society. Income inequality is basically survival of the fittest. If the income inequality continues, then economic growth will become untenable. Families that have to deal with income inequality due to lower wages, have to go in debt maintain their basic needs. By families constantly being in debt it keeps them from accomplishing their long-term goals of saving and consuming without
A cause of income inequality could be the jobs that people have. “In the United States, income inequality, or the gap between the rich and everyone else, has been growing markedly… (Income Inequality, para 1).” There have been no signs of income inequality changing for the lower classes, or getting better, therefore, it has become a very concerned issue upon Americans. “America’s top ten percent now average at least nine times as much income as the bottom 90 percent (Income Inequality, para 2).” Many people who have a big dream have jobs that pay minimum wage, which makes it hard. With the rich getting richer, it makes it hard for the lower classes to get a shot at being at the top with them. This also makes it hard to close the gap between the three classes.
In Income Inequality: Too Big to Ignore, Robert H. Frank paints a picture to the reader about the struggles of pier pressure. For example: an upper-classmen chooses to buy a big house and fancy clothing. This acts as a “frame of reference” to the changes and norms of the society. If he spends money on something nice, a middle-classmen will then go and decide to do the same thing, and then a lower-classmen…all the way down the social hierarchy. This is what he calls an “expenditure cascade.” Robert relates this with a person’s downfalls, which can be traced due to lower income inequality. Income inequality basically means that in a given quantity, the dispersion of income is underlined by the gap between individuals and or households with
Inequality is present in every corner of the United States of America. It comes in all different shapes and sizes; it may come in the form of race, ethnicity, sex, or even gender. To showcase how big of an issue it really is I will compare and contrast the differences between them. One of the most ongoing and present topics of inequality is race. The inequality often lies in the sense of income made by different races, the most common being white Americans making more than African Americans. In the 2011, the average income of the white American household was $110,000, while the African American household average was just over $6,000(Vega). The difference is jaw dropping, it would take no rocket scientist to realize there is some sort of inequality occurring between African Americans and White Americans. However, this is not the only type of inequality occurring. Inequality between gender is very similar to the inequality between ethnicities. The wage gap between genders seems to be the most prevalent topic among discussion at the present time. We fortunately live in a society and time where the fight for equality is very strong. We have seen so much change just within the past 5 years. “In 2015, women working full time in the United States typically were paid just 80 percent of what men were paid” (Miller). The difference in wage is jarring. From
In 2008 black male workers only made 74 cents to every dollar made by a white worker with equal education. This is a significant issue because it creates a self reinforcing system that puts a large portion of the population at a disadvantage. Although the poor economic situation for African Americans in the U.S. may not be as prevalent as it was in the 1930’s, there still exists a significant gap between wages earned by white and black workers.
In any given population, there is a difference between what people within the population earn. The uneven distribution of income in any given population is income inequality. In order for there to be income, there has to be several sources of income. These sources of income may be combinational or independent per person receiving the income. Income may result from wages, rent, bank account interests, salaries or even profits made in business transactions ( Stiglitz, 2012).
Income inequality is a big ongoing problem in the United States. It has a big effect on what America was all about, the American dream. The American dream that everyone is equal and has equal opportunities. Although a big part of what goes on in the Untied States that just doesn’t fit the American dream; women are unequal in the work place. They are put under what is known as the “Glass Ceiling”. Women do not get promoted in the work place and aren’t getting equal pay as men. This also leads to wag gap between the men and women. Both create income inequality for women and affect their American Dream. There is a long history of women having to deal with the “Glass Ceiling”. Over time woman have made progress but more progress is
institutional racism, wage inequality, feminization of poverty, and generational poverty have posed the greatest barriers to overcoming urban poverty in the United States. Systemic racism negatively impacts equitable opportunity in education, housing, employment, debt, health care, political representation, and immigration, while at the same time supporting a justice system that disproportionately punishes and incarcerates persons of color. Wage inequality prevents workers from earning a livable wage (with insurance and sick leave), depriving families the stability to provide food, shelter, and a sense of financial security, requiring household earners to work multiple, low-paying jobs without set schedules and benefits, keeping families from
An article in The Nation claims that some inequality of wealth and income is unavoidable and to an extent, it is necessary. In a well-functioning economy, individuals need a reason to work hard. This is where some inequality is necessary to motivate people. However, the article states that at some point, these inequalities can be harmful to our economy and traditional American values.
The racial income gap illustrates that the United States is not a meritocracy society. A meritocracy society would be an area where everyone no matter what color or background they are from have the chance to succeed based on their own ability. Although it is certainly appealing and a magnificent way of viewing our society, in reality no society can ever truly function as a meritocracy and therefore having no control at birth and the environment where we grow up, and who we get surrounded with puts major races, especially in the United States in disadvantage, a country that is far from meritocratic compared to other nation.
now whether you're black, white, purple or a women it doesn't matter. everybody has dealt with some kind of income problems.unless you're apart of the 1% that controls half the paper money in the usa.since the 1920’s this problem of the poor get poorer and the rich get richer has been becoming more and more of a problem. maybe even one of the most prevalent rampant things in america.in 1925 income and wealth differences were at record levels. income differences diminished rapidly during the great depression, and remained low until the 1970’s.since then things have rapidly changed. today the imbalance of income is at such a high level that people in america are living in poverty.
In the United States our tax system, low wages and social welfare programs drive the income disparity. In the past our tax system has given the biggest tax breaks to the highest earners, which affects funding for social programs such as social security, unemployment and so forth. Our current administration has tried to bridge that gap with tax reform, however a new administration and congress may see different in 2017 and bring back the old tax system which favored the rich.
Income inequality has affected American citizens ever since the American Dream came to existence. The American Dream is centered around the concept of working hard and earning enough money to support a family, own a home, send children to college, and invest for retirement. Economic gains in income are one of the only possible ways to achieve enough wealth to fulfill the dream. Unfortunately, many people cannot achieve this dream due to low income. Income inequality refers to the uneven distribution of income and wealth between the social classes of American citizens. The United States has often experienced a rise in inequality as the rich become richer and the poor become poorer, increasing the unstable gap between the two classes. The
Income inequality has been a major issue in American history. There are many different factors that contribute to inequality. These include education, wealth, discrimination, ability, and monopoly power.
In the past 30 years, income inequality has risen in more than 34 countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Additionally, the richest 17 countries GDP growth benefitted the top 10% of the population.One explanation for this is technology and another is class struggle. Today’s economy demands skilled workers and corporations replace jobs with computers. However, if this is true, there must be a trend among countries in income inequality. A better expedition for income inequality is the political economy of one country. One theory suggests a low-wage job would be driven by a rise in low skill jobs; however, this is untrue. The American economy has a lower proportion of low-skill jobs yet a higher proportion of low-wage
Abraham Lincoln said “... all men are created equal” in the Gettysburg Address and many of us take this to true yet here in the 21 century we still allow this. Ethnicity largely influences the quality of the job you get as well as the income you will receive in the workforce. Currently African American men working full time, year round get paid an average of 75.3 percent comparable to caucasian men, according to the U.S. Current Population Survey and the National Committee on Pay Equity.The unemployment rate for African Americans is typically at about twice that of Caucasians whom also have many substantial advantages at work. They are offered a substantially larger variety of job opportunities and positions that earn more money and have more power. This form of inequality exists in both gender and race. Though the pay gap has been reduced drastically within the last few years, it still remains a very common form of inequality