The Columbian Exchange Persuasive Speech

“Despite huge advancements in technology and productivity, millions of Americans are working longer hours for lower wages. The real median income of male workers is $783 less than it was 42 years ago; while the real median income of female workers is over $1,300 less than it was in 2007. That is unacceptable and that has got to change.”

According Forbes Magazine, in the year 2010, a year that was not even a presidential election, the Koch brothers contributed over $45,000,000 to campaigns through a group they deemed “Americans for Prosperity” (Poole). With this money going towards the men in congress almost any legislation proposed by President Obama has been stalled, resulting in what is known as a policy gridlock. Whatever the case, seeing the huge money being contributed by individuals or their businesses, makes the campaigns run by people such as Donald Trump or Bernie Sanders more admirable for not being bought out by big money.

It is time that the voters are the only one’s deciding elections. Candidates should be running on issues, not money. They should not be allowed to get money from wealthy investors, who keep the playing field unlevel. Any person who wants to run for office, and is qualified to run for office, should be able to regardless if they have a lot of money to set up a campaign or not. It is time for Campaign Finance Reform.

There is no doubt that wealth inequality in America has been escalating quickly; the portion of total income earned by the top one percent has doubled since the beginning of the 1970’s. The wealthy are the main beneficiaries

According to the Credit Suisse Global Wealth Databook America is now the most unequal of all advanced economies (Eric Zuesse). The 185 richest families in America are worth 1.2 trillion dollars combined (Dolan and Kroll). Additionally, the 400 richest Americans have more wealth between them than the bottom 185 million (Social Problems 33). Now it is often thought that the one percent in America controls one-third of the nation’s wealth. The sad reality is that the Americans in the top one percent actually control 35.6 percent of the wealth which is more than one-third of the nation’s wealth. What’s even sadder is that the top ten percent of America controls over seventy five percent of the total wealth (Dave Roos). What this means is that the remaining twenty five percent of the nation’s wealth is distributed among ninety percent of the United States population. There are approximately 321 million people in the United States, and approximately 289 million of them are only responsible for twenty five percent of all the nation’s wealth (United States Census Bureau). The inequality gap has increased for a number of reasons. For

“For a lot of Americans, simply having a job no longer means you’ll be able to support a family or pay for your basic needs. We have a low-wage recovery and most new jobs in the next decade are expected to follow

“More children are living below the poverty line in the United States that in any other developed country.” This statement made by Dan Brown is eye opening to say the least. America, the land of opportunity, is failing its citizens which have had a monstrous effect on American children. Although, many may think our economy has rebounded in recent years which would lead to a decrease in children below the poverty line, the trend of children below the poverty line has been on the rise which is in desperate need to make a turn for the better. There are solutions to this crisis such as creating jobs, paid leave and sick days, and increased education.

Therefore, in order to make the American Dream achievable to everyone, income wages must increase for those in the lower class and government welfare should be provided to all Americans in order to increase the opportunity of social mobility. Though income inequality may seem as an inevitable issue that just happens to plague many Americans who choose to work in blue collar jobs, current economic inequality is more realistically the result of unfair economic policies that threaten to worsen if they are not immediately addressed. The poor conditions of the workers who work for long hours with little pay demonstrate that America is at a crucial point, and that without immediate action, the country will continue to plunge further downward into

According to a 2013 article in the Economist, the US currently boasts the highest post-tax level of income inequality of any high-income country in the world (Economist 2013). The nations Gini Coefficient – a measure of wealth inequality – currently stands at .42, well above that of other nations such as Switzerland and Sweden, which have Gini Coefficients of .31 and .33 respectively. Unfortunately this high level of income and wealth inequality is growing. Between 1979 and 2011, American earners in the top one percent saw wages increase by 113 percent, earners in the 95th percentile saw wages grow 37 percent (Fuller 2014). However, the income growth for the median worker during that same period was a mere six percent. These simple

With President Barack Obama’s presidency coming to an end, it has come time, once again, for citizens of the United States to vote for a new president. Many might think that their vote may not count because it will not change anything, while others think that it is our duty as citizens to vote in each election. If a person feels strongly about a certain candidate, they should vote for that them, even if they think their single vote will not matter. A person’s vote does count just as much as anyone in their state. Citizens should be voting, especially during the presidency. Because it can be such a complicated and sometimes intimidating process, Americans should be doing their research on every candidate running to make the best possible choice. Because U.S. presidents do not hold as much power as many might think, the policies and plans laid out by the candidates are not the only things to consider. Voters will also be thinking about whom they relate to and whom they think will be the most responsible and professional as a leader. Because of consistent qualities and ideas such as his progressive views on women’s rights, immigration, college education reform, and minimum wage increase; Bernie Sanders is best fit to run the country in 2016 and beyond.

faces today is the increasing social and economic inequality on the many aspects of society. The gap between the rich and the poor, and the decreasing number of the middle class all contribute to inequality, which may further divide America. Today’s education system, tax system, social and religious values, and impoverished public sector will soon arrive at a deadlock, where reform will be difficult. This also comes with the unemployment rate declining. The 2008 finical crisis lead to people’s loss of house, jobs, and cars, and drove the unemployment rates to a high ground. The unemployment reduces GDP for the U.S. and slows down the economy. Unemployment also lead to various other problems: the increase of crime, poorer education, less income in the pocket of the majority of Americans.

“With all due respect, it is not rich people who made America great. It is the vast American middle class. It is the upward mobility of people who thought they could do better than their parents.” The American dream is an idea that everyone used to believe in, but now it has disappeared. The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer, which has ignited a fire of frustration among Americans, especially with the government. Technological innovations, greater job insecurity, globalization, and neoliberalism have all be recent economical changes that have contributed to an American economy that relies on higher wage and class jobs. The problem with this is that recently, the rest of American workers are forgotten, and the ascension

Politicians run campaigns to gain support from voters and donors so that they can win an election. However, running campaigns require money, which is provided by many corporations to the political parties. In 2010, the Supreme Court made a decision in Citizens United v. FEC where companies can contribute to political parties during elections. The court ruled “that the First Amendment protected the right of corporations and unions to spend money on political speech” (NPR Staff 1).

The top 1% grew their incomes by 86.1% since 1933; the top 5%, or 15 million individuals, have seen their incomes rise while everyone else is flat to down”. The wealthy are becoming even wealthier while the bottom 80% haven’t seen any changes in the amount of income they make. Their wages have been in a stagnant position. While those at the top have doubled their incomes. They even have the opportunity to generate more income by investing in other businesses to increase their profits. While those who are at the bottom are minimum wage workers making just enough to support their families. On the hand, the upper-class wealth has more than doubled and the lower class are still financially unstable since the Great Recession. The income inequality plays a major role in turning a nation into a plutocracy. Due to these wealth distributions, there is no doubt that the United States is a plutocratic nation run by the wealthy.

The tremendous growth of income inequality comes with a cost to individuals and to society as a whole. Since inequality means that larger shares increase the wealthy, the poor is affected by the disparity of incomes. The intergenerational community is based on the parent’s income which is a disadvantage to children who want to obtain success. In my perspective, stronger unions and a healthier corporate culture in which CEOs have a stronger relationship with their workers can lead to higher wages. Moreover, the wealthy have strived to earn a better future, but some have exploited the American worker and legal system. Employers must be responsible for protecting their workers and giving them fair wages. In my opinion, the higher education and raising the federal minimum wage can reduce the income gap and unemployment in the United States. Overall, this defining challenge requires steps in narrowing the income disparity in this