Dr. William Ventres's 'Labels Are Limiting'

It can always be nice to imagine that you can go from very poor to very rich but in America, that’s not the case. According to a recent study, 70% of those born in low income families remained in the lower income bracket. Out of the remaining 30%, only 24% reached middle-class or upper- class and 4% rose to become high income earners (Hargreaves). Now, it is very difficult for people born into the lower class to rise up to the middle or upper class. These people that do successfully rise up have to have certain characteristics. 53% were college graduates, 50% were two income families, 35% were white, and 34% did not experience unemployment (Hargreaves). Most people in low- income families cannot afford college and student loans. This makes them less likely to become part of the middle class. Poor people do not have the resources to strive and become part of the other social classes. Overall, it is becoming more and more difficult for low- income families to become part of the middle class.

In other words, America has a widening gap between its wealthy and poor. As the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, there is a problem emerging: the disappearance of the middle class. Low-wage workers continue to fall behind those who make higher wages, and this only widens the gap between the two. There has been an economic boom in the United States, which has made the country more prosperous than it has ever been. That prosperity does not reach all people; it seems to only favor the rich. Rising economic segregation has taken away many opportunities for the poor to rise in America today. The poor may find that the economic boom has increased their income; however, as their income increase so does the prices they must for their living expenses (Dreier, Mollenkopf, & Swanstrom 19).

Everywhere you look at the United States you can find economic stratification. From the kind of vehicle you drive, to the kind of house you live in, to the kind of restaurants you eat at the most you will find economic stratification. Some might ask, does any of that truly matter today? Yes, unfortunately, it does. An important goal for most people is what’s referred to as The American Dream. Whether it is to attend a good college, get a respectable job, purchase the perfect house, and have a small family or maybe just to start your own business; that dream starts with wealth. People with more money will have an easier time with achieving the dream than a lower income person would. With wealth comes power and prestige as well. People with more money have better life chances because they can afford better healthcare, education, healthier food, and safer neighborhoods just to name a few things.

The view that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer has been heard repeatedly in reference to America’s income inequality. Though ironic, it comes as no surprise that America, a continent that easily trumps other countries in terms of wealth would be affected by the issue of poverty at such high levels. While much has said regarding the poverty levels, many economists, educators and scholars feel that the income inequality in America may be the reason why it is difficult to live and maintain a middle class lifestyle or to rise out of poverty into the middle class in the current economic state. With this in mind, the only way America, has a chance of lessening or eliminating poverty altogether is by understanding how it exists.

No matter which country you would look into whether it’s from wealthier to those less wealthy countries through the eyes of economics, there are bound to be types of inequity within their borders. Inequity is a very crucial problem in the United States, you would think that our economy here in the states is booming, and the citizens are living life easy or without worry. Life is the United States isn’t as it seems, in fact, Inequity is in fact a big problem even in the United States. Over the years, there has been millions of Americans that were considered to be in poor or in poverty line that are not able to provide for themselves and their families. We can sadly see those Americans on the streets, cars or shelters unable to keep-ends meet that are not able to keep a decent paying job. That is why throughout this paper I’ll be discussing why inequity is a big issue in the United States from how income is distributed through causes of income inequality, social status, and even how the government interventions is trying to alleviate income inequity.

Although it is not difficult for the wealthy to increase their wealth, for those in or near poverty, the possibility of economic mobility becomes nearly impossible. The federal minimum wage in the United States is seven dollars and twenty-five cents per hour, however, that wage falls far below what has been determined to be a living wage. Using MIT’s living wage calculator, the minimum salary for a family of four with two adults working minimum wage jobs would need to increase between $15,000 and $40,000 to achieve an income that is considered “livable.” The probability of an individual bettering their situation financially, when they can’t even afford to live above poverty, is highly unlikely. Ehrenreich, the author of Nickel and Dimed: On Not Getting By in America, conducted a social experiment, putting herself in the life of the working poor, presenting how it is essentially impossible to live comfortably while working a minimum wage job. In the book, she shows the daily struggles of the working poor while contrasting it with her day to day life. Despite the flaws of her social experiment, she is able to present some of the invisible struggles of those in poverty. Her findings align with Shipler’s observations about home environment and the other factors that contribute to decreased upward mobility for those in poverty. In The Working Poor, Shipler highlights some of the critical factors that limit upward mobility for the poor, such as education. Shipler explains that both poor education systems and having parents who did not graduate from high school decrease graduation rates and opportunities later in life. In addition, stressful living situations, to include abuse and addictions, greatly affect children and often have repercussions in later life. Ehrenreich is able to effectively present the issues in the industries that employ minimum wage workers

The comparison between rich and poor people is a topic with an enormous gap. The bridge between the two is longer than most see it, and is increasing steadily. Michael Sandel wrote a book discussing his opposition to the market society in the United States. The focus of Sandel’s book lies within the title, What Money Can’t Buy. He believes that everything seems to be for sale and that we are a society that revolves around the idea of every person for themselves. Sandel also states that inequality is rising faster than ever. Even though everything is for sale in this day and age, that does not mean everyone is able to purchase whatever they want. Inequality comes in many forms like race, gender and age. Income inequality affects

The highest earning fifth of U.S. families earned 59.1% of all income, while the richest earned 88.9% of all wealth. A big gap between the rich and poor is often associated with low social mobility, which contradicts the American ideal of equal opportunity. Levels of income inequality are higher than they have been in almost a century, the top one percent has a share of the national income of over 20 percent (Wilhelm). There are a variety of factors that influence income inequality, a few of which will be discussed in this paper. Rising income inequality is caused by differences in life expectancy, rapidly increases in the incomes of the top 5 percent, social trends, and shifts in the global economy.

This “middle-class nation” is struggling to support all those who live in its borders and the misconceptions about wealth are vastly overrated. Furthermore, the idea of wealth and stability is incorrect, and there is a very sharp contrast between the rich and poor in the country. As the richest twenty percent of American hold ninety percent of the total household of the total household wealth in the country, those at the bottom have managed very poorly and suffer to get through the days.

Capitalism has been the central force behind the growth of the United States’ progressive economy. Within such advanced economic system the chances of economic disparity are significantly high. In fact, over the past three decades there has being a steady increase in unequal wealth distribution among the economic classes. To sustain the current unequal wealth distribution among the classes of the American population, there are numerous factors that influence and shape this trend. For some members of the population it is alarmingly disturbing to know that recent statistics have shown that, “In the US [alone] the wealthiest 1% of its population owns more than the bottom 95 %” (Gutman). As for the difference in economic wealth, it resulted

Even though having the “poor class” is a necessary evil needed for society to function, most Americans, at some point in time, will experience what it is like to live in poverty or live below the poverty line. One main reason for having a high percentage of people living in poverty is because the U.S. policy makers have ignored the poor and have given tax breaks to those with a much higher income. Funding for welfare was slashed and extended unemployment benefits were ended. With little success with the economic reform the United States has been going through for the past five years, about 14.5 percent of Americans are still living under the poverty line.

Living with a poverty level income is a difficulty facing many people around the world; poverty is a cultural universal, or trait found in every known culture – not an expression of individual differences. The most basic explanation for this is the trend towards social stratification, the system by which society organizes itself into a hierarchy. In some cultures this is manifest in the form of a caste system in which people who are in poverty have little to no chance of escaping it. In the United States the system is more in the form of a class system in which there is at least some degree of social mobility, and less status consistency allows people in poverty to have the possibility of changing their social status, but rarely the

A major social problem in America today is its inequality of the distribution of income. "Income inequality refers to the gap between the rich and the poor. The United States has the most unequal income distribution in the industrialized world, and it is growing at a faster rate than any other industrialized country" (Eitzen & Leedham, pg. 37). The main reason as to why income is distributed so unequally is because of the gap between social classes.

Every American dreams of finding a job that pays well enough so that they may comfortably take care of their loved ones and themselves for years to come. Most Americans hope to find some way to make a living that they enjoy, something that they view as productive. Unfortunately, many do not have this luxury. In our society, a good portion of the population is forced to hold the base of our country in place while hardly being redeemed for their time and effort, and thus the problem of income inequality. Numbers of these people live from paycheck to paycheck, barely getting by, not because they manage their money poorly, but because the value of their time at work is negligible.

The four dimensions of inequality include wealth, income, education, and occupation. In the United States people are ranked differently from everyone based on these four dimensions. A person’s economic circumstance is governed by wealth and income. Wealth is a personal net worth and income is the amount of money earned. Income is annual and wealth is generational. Both are distributed unequally in society, while wealth is of more importance. Only some are able to achieve wealth while 19 million Americans are living below half of the government’s line. The contribution of wealth is unequal, for example, the richest 1% in 2004 had 190 times the wealth of the median household. Or also, the top 1 percent of wealth holders control 34% of total household wealth, which is more than the combined wealth of the bottom 90%. Income inequality is increasing in the U.S society. There is in an increasing gap in the difference of earnings between the heads of corporations and the workers in those corporations. In 1980, the average CEO of a corporation was paid forty-two more times than the average worker. Education: the amount of formal education an individual achieves is determinant of their occupation, income, and prestige. There is a similarity between being inadequately educated and receiving little or no income. Evidence shows that in 2008, the annual earnings of college graduates are more than double non-high