Middle-Class Inequality Research Paper

Income Inequality in America is a problem that’s been going on for decades, and many feel that it hardly exists, the many people that feel that way are highly uneducated, and seem to not really care about this tremendous problem that in one’s eyes really has no end in the near future, in fact it has been gradually rising and one feels that it’s just not fair. Unfortunately, there’s not much that can be done, only of course if the poor class of people decide to actually educate themselves and get a higher education. One says poor class, simply because that’s how they’re classified. There are five types of levels that Americans are classified as, and they are: 1. Upper Class, 2. Upper Middle Class, 3. Middle Class, 4. Working Class, 5. Poor.

Nowadays, the middle class is shrinking, while majority of people are either moving into the lower or upper classes. This is due to the major economic and policy changes that have occurred throughout the past thirty years. Based on the Basic Economy Security Tables, one in four full-time working-age adults are not earning enough income to meet economic needs for themselves or their families. This is a serious problem in America today, the fact that the median income today is six hundred dollars less than it was in 1989 is proof of this epidemic. It is much harder now, than ever, to work your way into the middle class, much less stay there. The percentage income growth since 1967 for the top 5 percent of earners is 88%, top 20 percent of earners grew 70%, and middle-income households only grew 20%. (Camp) In simpler terms, the upper classes income has increased tremendously, while middle-income households have seen very little growth in their income. Since the middle class is not receiving any income growth, it is declining and moving towards the lower class. It is not nearly as easy as it was thirty years ago to get a decent job and make

The article “Class in America” by Gregory Mantsios exploited the sad truth that is the American class system. Throughout the piece we are introduced to different myths about the economic spectrum that are later debunked by hard facts and evidence. On a day to day basis here at Monmouth University I am surrounded by fellow students who I would believe to be in the same social class as me. Growing up I never viewed myself as exceedingly wealthy or poor by any means but I knew my parents had to work hard for whatever income they could get. My family is what this article identifies as “middle class”, but after reading it should I begin to think of myself as less than that? According to the article, classes should not even be discussed because there

Thee middle class is constantly referred to as the “working class”. Former President Richard Nixon explains this in his speech address to the nation on labor day September 6, 1971. This speech was given to talk about something Nixon felt America has failed to achieve: a home without war or inflation. In his speech, he describes that this nation is under the impression that “it is immoral… to strive for a higher standard of living” (Nixon). He was explaining that this nation has come to know that where you are is where you stand you do not shift from that position. If you are making a life for yourself, you should be happy. Middle income Americans, however, cannot be held at a stand still. Because so many people make up the middle class, it is always a question to many Americans if they qualify as “middle class”. Richard Fry and Rakesh Kochhar are two of the many minds behind Pew Research Center. PRC is specific on being unbiased and developing har facts from both sides of a situation. In 2016, they made a study that provides a solution of who is considered middle class. It has been proved that over 51% of all workers are a part of the middle class (Fry and Kochhar). Thus, making up a little more than half of what our economy runs on. These middle class people are people with jobs like a secretary, a truck driver, even a high school teacher. These people contribute in everyday life throughout our society. Because the middle class makes up most of what is the working class, they definitely economically benefit the

Media Magic makes most members of the social classes in the United States unaware that there is a stratification of class in America because there is barely, if any, coverage of poor people and poverty. And if there is any coverage they make it seem like we’re poor by choice, and we love living the simple lifestyle. Or that we’re poor because we gave into crime, and drugs, or got pregnant at an early age. The media uses a format where they “blame the victim” in a way, and basically show others that we’re poor because of our own decisions. There are millions and millions of unnoticed poor people that we never hear about. Conditions that you wouldn’t even have imagined, such as homelessness, and starvation due to the lack of money. But

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.

The first item that I would like to explain is how the class system is determined by several factors like income, occupational standing, and educational attainment. The median income in the US is approximately $52.000, which is considered the midpoint because it represents that half of the population earn more than the median, and half earn less (Andersen). When we think about it, $50.000 annually is not that much money for a household. When we do the math more than half of the money is spent paying bills, insurance, daily living needs, so there is not much left at the end of the month. That is why a person with this type of income is considered middle class. Another crucial factor that determines status is the occupational prestige. Occupational prestige represents the worthiness that a person gives to a job. For example, the job of doctors, lawyer, judges

I was shocked by some points and disagreed with other points. I’ll mention the most shocking, surprising and controversial one. The surprising point that people views regarding inequality is not affected by their political view. Also, the reporter discussed some information about the consumers who spend more money. I was totally shocked by the fact that the middle class spends more money than wealthy people. Ultimately, I can’t relate to his sentence when he mentioned that inequality is good for our community. I believe it could be very difficult for most health care providers to think of inequality as a positive drive for our future, and can’t wait to discuss this point with students who specialized in economic.

The reason why I place myself as average lower middle class is family wealth. My father being the provider of the family makes between $35,000 altogether, which is not a lot of money compare to others, income. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics, the working class makes between $25,000 (as cited in Benokraitis, 2017, p.143). Benokraitis defines the working class as, “group consists of skilled and semiskilled laborers and assembly-line workers, trucks drivers, auto mechanics, carpenters, and electricians” (p.144). My father has only finished with a high school diploma he did not graduate with higher degrees such as bachelors, masters, or even a PhD or doctrines. the fact I would consider being the working class is because even though my

A blue collar worker that makes 25 thousand dollars a year is put in the same socioeconomic class as an engineer making 200 thousand dollars based on the Pew Research Center's Calculation of middle class. The definition of middle class lumps those making four times the median United States income with those living paycheck to paycheck and feeling like they live more impoverished than anything leading to a confusion in identity. Is the lower middle supposed to feel proud and content with their situation considering they are categorized with engineers, doctors, and lawyers, or are they to feel impoverished because if they took a 5 thousand dollar pay cut, they would be below the poverty line? The gap between the lower middle and the upper middle

Epidemiologists and population health experts have researched and analyzed the issue of income inequality and low socioeconomic status and how it relates to one’s health conditions. Across the globe, income has a major impact on the quality of other determinants of health, such as housing, food security and other basic prerequisites for health (Mikkonen and Raphael, 2010). Socioeconomic status (SES) can impact an individual’s health through factors such as control over material resources, social and political power, prestige, knowledge and educational skills; access to care; and exposure levels to agents harmful to health (Viswanath and Bond, 2007). On average, the more advantaged an individual is, the better their health overall (Alder and Ostrove, 1999).

Yes, I do believe that reducing income inequality would lead to an economic growth. If we think about it, more money we have, the more we tend to spend or buy which means that the economy would benefit from that. Unfortunately as we all know, inequality in wages or income is dictated from our broken education system. I personally think that most of the problems in the income inequality start from education and I believe that because the more a person is educated, has knowledge and the more is capable to do, the less is the chance to have income inequality. Nowadays, we see hard workers earning less than some people that pretend to work and unfortunately are earning twice of the hard workers. In addition, I

Economic inequality refers to how economic metrics are distributed among individuals in a group, among groups in a population, or among countries. Economists generally think of three metrics of economic disparity: wealth, income, and consumption.

Many of our pop stars are wealthy as most people know. But the amount of money they get, is causing major complications to our countries citizens and states. Most are things we don’t even think about in our everyday lives. The situation is causing an increase in poverty and rate crime, also a decrease of health in citizens.

Moreover, economic growth is often positively linked to more investments, higher employment-generating operations, and an increase in employment. Hence, allowing larger entrance to jobs and income to a major number of people, economic growth may cause a negative effect on income inequality especially if it was not joined by social progress. Because of the following reasons, the degree of the effect may differ between urban and rural areas. Firstly, a greater job competition may occur in urban areas due to higher population density, lead these areas to have a lower access to jobs compared to rural areas. Secondly, in urban areas international immigration is usually higher than in rural areas. It can be often seen that there are many immigrants