Economic Inequality in American Society

Throughout Robert Reich article Why the Rich Are Getting Richer and the Poor, Poorer, discusses about the growing gap between the upper and lower class in modern society. Reich’s article is certainly an eye opener regarding unemployment, and how it is currently surfacing from the shortage of technology and education. Through the text Reich uses a firm metaphor to describe how the economy is like a boat that constantly moves up and down the current portraying the upper class and working class. This boat however is extremely important because it is a boat we are all currently in and one is sinking faster than the other and that one is rising; here Reich is distinguishing the different types of social classes. However, the rich are yet getting

Krugman starts off his essay by painting the picture of his younger days in a rather fair and middle-class American society. The theme of his writing is centered around policies with the power to reverse the extreme economic imbalance the United States has been challenged with. The excessively divided American economy contradicts the basis of America’s birth: “Ever since America’s founding, our idea of ourselves has been that of a nation without sharp class distinctions- not a leveled society of perfect equality, but one in which the gap between the economic elite and the typical citizen isn’t an unbridgeable chasm” (Graff, Birkenstein,

In Edward McClelland’s essay “RIP, the Middle Class: 1946-2013,” McClelland discusses to his audience that the middle class is slowly vanishing and soon enough we will only be left with the rich and the poor. Throughout the essay, McClelland uses various examples to demonstrate how the middle class will no longer exist. McClelland talks about how education is vital for pursuing a job at a reasonable pay that a person can live off of. Before, people were able to leave high school and go straight into a job with a pay that could support them. Nowadays, the same jobs that were supporting people before require a lot more education and still aren’t giving enough money that will allow them to live comfortably. Even though there are still jobs people can thrive at that will make more money without a serious education , the middle class is struggling to make it economically, because it is harder to find a job without education and financially it’s harder to make ends meet.

In “Confronting Inequality”, author Paul Krugman explains how bad income inequality is for the American economy while suggesting what to do to fix this growing problem. Krugman covers topics such as the cost of inequality, how the middle class is over extending themselves, education and health care all while appealing to all three rhetorical elements. Krugman’s article has an overall effective and persuasive argument because of the topics he covers and his appeal to the reader with pathos, logos and ethos.

Paul Krugman, author of “The Death of Horatio Alger,” evaluates the declining social mobility in America. He proposes that the decline in social mobility is causing the rich to continue to get richer and the poor to continue to get poorer. Krugman was inspired to discuss how this would result in the shocking loss of the American Dream, after he read a Business Week article that made him fearful of the considerable and drastic decline that would destroy the livelihood of many Americans. Krugman’s purpose was to make his audience; those of lower socioeconomic status, aware that the American Dream they hoped to achieve would soon become extinct. He creates a fearful and negative tone, in order to grab his audience's attention and inform them about the economic downfall. Krugman strongly conveys his message not only through his harsh tone, but by appealing to pathos, incorporating rhetorical questions that create a fearful mood, and appealing to logos to make a credible and sound argument.

In his article "Confronting Inequality" Paul Krugman is asserting the fact of high socioeconomic inequality in the United States, while demonstrating its consequences and the variety of statistic evidences upon it. He is depicting modern American society where we have a huge gap between economic elite and lower-and middle-income classes. There is a time for ''a Great Moderation" reforms that will bring a socioeconomic equality.

The documentary “Inequality for All” focusing on Robert Reich, a Berkeley professor, Harvard graduate, and previous Secretary of Labor under Bill Clinton, argues how the United States economy is struggling with the widening income gap; indeed, since the 1970’s, the income gap between the wealthy and middle class has continued to widen which has created many problems within this country.

“One reason to care about inequality is the straightforward matter of living standards. The lions share of the economic growth in America over the past thirty years has gone to a small, wealthy minority…”(Krugman 586).

In Robert Reich documentary “Inequality for All” he makes a compelling discussion about the serious crises that the United States faces due the widening economic gap. He looks to raise awareness of the U.S. economic gap between the rich and poor. According to Reich the widening divide in America is real and growing. Income levels at the middle and labor class is stagnant and are at it’s lowest levels compared to upper class incomes since the beginning of WWII and is growing wider each year. Reich suggests that the economy runs more smoothly when the middle class has jobs with fair wages, when unions are strong, and when middle class workers have some extra money to spend if possible when the government uses the tax policy properly and when it raises the minimum wage regularly to control the income gap between labor and management. In other words Reich argues that economically healthy middle and labor class equality is the foundation of a thriving economy and is necessary to maintaining a sound national infrastructure and educational system within

People can not put on the news without seeing at least one story about social inequality or injustice, if everyone knows about these inequities why are they not being solved? Inequities are not limited to America, social inequity is a global problem making it extremely important to raise awareness of the topic. Inequities such as racism and sexism impact teenagers in America, but to counteract this persecution authors can use various genres of literature to promote tolerance and reduce the effects of inequities. Racism and sexism violates people’s rights in schools, the workplace, and almost every place in the world. Through the words of authors, society can learn the harmful effects of these inequities, and learn how

Over the past few decades, the “American Dream” vision has been quickly vanishing as a result of the increasing troubles and weakening of the middle class. It has lost the view of being the most successful and wealthy middle class in the world, while the middle classes in other countries are excelling in earning higher middle and lower class incomes. The issue of the declining wealth of the middle class explains a huge problem in the United States’ future prosperity and well being for the citizens and the country. There are many issues that affect the success of the middle and lower classes, such as structural differences in the economy, culture, and government. The gap between the middle and high classes is increasing specifically. The United States has the image of giving people life and prosperity, but inequality is increasing significantly due to issues in education, decrease in taxation among the upper class, and decrease of middle class power in the democracy, while other ideas and mechanisms can be take from other nations.

Moreover, as the top percentage of Americans accumulated more wealth, the remaining percentage (primarily the middle-class) wages stagnated. This furthered the income inequality between the wealthy elite--those who had the financial means to significantly influence politics--and the middle and lower classes--those who struggled to maintain the basic welfare of their families and their social standing. As the gap increased and financial policies began to benefit primarily the top percent of wealthy Americans, the remaining percentages were forced to spend more for critical services like education and health care even though their wages were stagnated. This resulted in households spending larger portions of their incomes and saving less for the long run.

Krugman begins by extolling the Democrats for their usual methods of underselling their economic objectives. However, by harshly critiquing Bernie Sanders’s economic plans, a tonal shift occurs. This bipolar tonal shift could be confusing to the readers as the shift is surprising and unexpected. A pessimistic atmosphere is developed through certain word choices including “excommunicating,” and “unfortunately,” and phrases like “rightly mocked,” “not ready for prime time,” and “aren’t just implausible.” Other tools used to create this atmosphere primarily consisted of using his own voice and common vernacular, one example being “Sorry, but there’s just no way to justify this stuff. For wonks like me, it is, frankly, horrifying.” Establishing

The first article I will address was in The New York Times, written by Steven Pearlstein. It was a bit difficult to find strong arguments in this article supporting his belief of the middle class surviving. However, there are a few things mentioned in the article that did make a good point. Pearlstein (2007) wrote, " $44,500 is reported the median household income with taking in the varying of sizes from single to Brady Bunch"(para. 7). A single household would live within different means than a larger household. Information on the decline of low skilled jobs since 1979 and an incline in elite jobs (Pearlstein, 2007). Another statement made in the article is, "economic contentment derives not from what they have but from how it compares with what everyone else has"(Pearlstein, 2007). This economy has and is undoubtedly concerned in what they do and do not have, compared to the "Jones 's". In Rose 's data he exempted any household before the age of 29 because they were just starting out in their career and ages 59 or over due to just ending their career, and both making less than average middle class households (Pearlstein, 2007). First off, this

Understanding the different social and economic classes within the united states of america is helpful for understanding why this target audience was chosen. In the united states of america, these classes are usually broken into the following three groups: upper, middle, and lower. The upper class are exactly what they sound like in reference to their economic status. They are the few in this country that are very wealthy and are at the top of the ladder. Their money is plentiful and could be used to further the progress of this country, but as highlighted in obama 's speech, they are a “shrinking few”. On the other side of the spectrum there is the lower class and this class usually consist of those who have lower education and low income. Although this class is a noticeable percentage of the population, they lack the means to bridge the gap that will