Poverty Inequality : Economic Inequality

Income inequality is on the rise and it is evident in most cities throughout the United States. There are individuals with six to seven figure incomes and then there are individuals whose income is just enough to get by. The middle class is not as prominent as the upper and lower class. This should be the other way around. There should not be so many cities with very wealthy neighborhoods right next door to low class, rundown neighborhoods, with little middle class households. Digging deeper, 47.6% of the money in the United States belongs to individuals that receive $98,200 or more (“Distribution of U.S. family income”, 101). The middle class should be much more noticeable with the upper and lower

In 1970, the top fifth of all families had incomes that averaged 223 percent of the national average, while the bottom fifth had incomes of 28 percent of the average. From 1946 to 1960, the difference in inequality did not change much, but from 1960 to 1968 there was a slight decline. On the contrary, between 1968 and 1970 the opposite had happen. To further explain the little difference in Income Inequality from the mid 1940’s to the present, a series of numbers and percentages will be used, but only the salaries made throughout the years are the only difference, it’s obvious that the gap between the rich and the poor keeps increasing. The salaries of course are going to be different due to the minimum wages increasing as time goes by, due to the higher cost of living. That does not mean that the Poor Class is living better, in fact, if anything, the Poor Class is having a harder time surviving due to the increased cost of living, yes the salaries rise, but not to the extent to keep up with the cost of living. It’s almost as if a poor person would have to work at more than one job in order to be able to survive, and in most cases that’s not even enough, depending on the situation that a person is in, family size, debt, etc. Due to those circumstances, if a person is working more than one job, then that will limit that person’s time to actually educate themselves at a higher education institution, and that will lead to yet another highly uneducated American

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.

Income Inequality is a major problem that has been going on in America for decades. Many people feel that it barely exists today, but those people are very uneducated and don’t really care about the huge problem in front of them the many people that feel that way are highly uneducated, and seem to not really care about which has been gradually increasing instead of decreasing. 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: Upper Class, Upper Middle Class, Middle Class, Working Class, Poor. The highest percentage of Americans fall in the Poor department, and it has been that way for decades, and will continue to be that way for decades to come.

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.

In “Income Inequality: The Public and the Partisan Divide,” Blendon and Benson explain the issue of income inequality and the need to address it. The importance of explaining this problem provides insight for the people who are not educated about the topic, hopefully triggering more public awareness. Blendon and Benson support their opinion by discussing that the two major political parties in the U.S. agree that income inequality is a problem that must be recognized, but cannot come up with a synopsis on how to take care of it. Also, they describe how different perspectives cause different ideas for fixing the issue. Blendon and Benson explain how partisan views towards the role of government are one of the perspectives towards how the income

“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).

Part One The documentary Inequality for All covers the decreasing wage, earning capability, and upward mobility of the American middle class. Presented by former Labor Secretary under President Clinton, American economist, author, and Professor Robert Reich; the documentary argues that a strong middle class is vital to an overall health of the United States economy. Reich explains that economic inequality is bad for everyone in the United States, and in spite of the fact the economy has doubled in the last 30 years the gap between the middle and upper classes has grown increasingly larger in that time. Giving way to the 2007-2008 economic crisis in America, bringing us to a point of where social and social change is desperately needed.

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.

In the article “Confronting Inequality” Paul Krugman compares the new millennia to the 1970’s and has many financial stats to back his theory of income inequality. He backs up his claims with facts and figures, but also gives his own solutions to these problems. Krugman states, “ The ugliness of our politics is in large part a reflection of the inequality of our income distribution.” He states that in the 1960’s was that the governments was in place to sere the best interests of society and that many in modern society believe that government only serves “a few big interests”.

An important factor in the creation of inequality is variation in individuals’ access to education (Becker, et. Al, 2007). According to Bosworth et. Al, (1999) education in a field that requires or demand a high number of workers, creates high wages for those with advance education. As a result, those who are unable to afford good quality education or choose not to participate in schools or colleges, generally receive much lower wages and thus it lowers aggregate savings and investment. In particular, the increase in family income and wealth

The United States has long been a world leader in many areas such as industry, agriculture, science, education and health care. From rural communities to the largest cities, prosperity abounded in these fields. The middle class enjoyed much of the success as families were able to fulfill many of the aspirations that made up the American dream. Unfortunately growth in many of these areas has slowed along with the income families used to earn. The reliable and dependent income of the middle class has long been fading and along with its social norms. The effects of the economic inequality described in the article “Income Inequality is Costing the U.S. on Social Issues” by Eduardo Porter, are now becoming clear that society can longer hold itself

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

Reich agrees that some inequality is inevitable but his question is when does it start to become a problem and can we still have a working economy and democracy. According, to Reich, ‘’out of all developed nations the United States has the most unequal distribution of wealth’’. ‘’The richest 400 Americans have more wealth than the bottom 150 million, which is more than half the U.S population’’. Inequality started becoming a notable issue in the late 1970s to show that he includes a slide that shows in 1978 a typical male worker earned $48,302; while in 2010 that same worker earned $33,751. In the same years, the top 1% earned $393,682 and 1,101,089 respectively. Reich takes a look at U.C Berkeley where he teaches and how in the 1960s tuition

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.