The Importance Of Economic Inequality In America

Homelessness is one of the main problems plaguing the United States today, with low income earners at a higher risk of becoming homeless than previous years. There have been countless laws and ordinances put in place throughout the country in hopes of solving this growing problem but many of them have failed to address one of the main things causing this issue, economic inequality and the unequal distribution of wealth in the United States. Although there are many non-profit organizations working not only to get people off the streets, but to prevent them from becoming homeless in the first place, they are facing an uphill battle until the United States government addresses its country’s current unequal distribution of wealth. Throughout this essay I will be discussing the strategies multiple non-profit organizations, including the one I worked with last semester, are using in their battle to combat homelessness, the relationship between economic inequality and homelessness in the United States, and my experiences working with LifeMoves, formerly known as InnVision Shelter Network.

Vermont Senator and presidential candidate, Bernie Sanders, said it best when he said “A nation will not serve morally or economically when so few have so much, and so many have so little.” This quote perfectly describes the issue that The United States is currently dealing with: income inequality. Income inequality is the gap between how much money is made by the rich and everyone else in the nation. It also refers to the unequal distribution of wealth among people in a population. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the gross domestic product (GDP) in the United States has steadily been rising, making it seem as though economic growth is stable (Inequality for All). However, it does not take into account the increasingly widening gap between the 1% and the 99% of the nation’s population. Government officials should pay closer attention to income inequality in The United States because ignoring the issue ultimately hurts American citizens.

The American economy has been in a constant rise since the economic decline earlier this decade and keeps on being the vigorous beast it was amid the twentieth century. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Economic Policy Institute concluded that the income wage hole between the wealthiest and the poorest one fifth of families is altogether more extensive than it was two decades prior. The middle class has not seen the advantages of this powerful American economy. The middle-income pay has stayed level at 44,389, an assume that spoke to a 3.8% diminishing from its top in 1999. In 2005, the median income, when adjusted for price level change, really declined, a pattern that has proceeded since 2001. Since the 1970s as the salary for the wealthiest 1% of Americans has multiplied, wages for middle class families have stayed even, however this is simply in the wake of including a second household income. Even workers with college degrees, who were once viewed as first class specialist, have witnessed this wage stagnation, as income of laborers with 4-year professional education fell 5.2% when adjusted for price level change from 2000 to 2004.

There is a paint of confinement to the measure of cash that we can spend on ourselves. Still, the wealthiest among have amassed riches they or their offspring will never use in their existence. Still, they are not fulfilled. They want more. Thus greed more. That is the bit of cash. It never makes individuals content. The individuals who would prefer have it not have it. The individuals who have it need to have significantly a greater amount of it. Tragically, in our quest for wealth, we frequently neglect to live. We neglect to welcome the little delights that make our lives worth

America is seen as a culprit of treasuring material possessions. America has been infected with the disease called “affluenza”. This is a disease that causes Americans to work extra hours, “stress”, “waste”, and be in debt. If Americans become satisfied or the economy will drop in this happening seems like a myth. However, we need to be careful on fast we get addicted to inquiring material possessions.

At the end of the day, the affluent are still not satisfied with their wealth or material items. Source D provides a great example. Even though the couple has purchased everything they could possibly want, they still feel “something is missing.” What they are missing is not a tangible object. It is not something one could go to a store and buy. They cannot obtain happiness in a nice little box on a store shelf. There is no price on happiness. Source A believes “happiness is desirable in itself and never for the sake of something else.” Nothing can supplement happiness. True happiness is “something final and self-sufficient.” People with affluenza can never find this happiness through the constant purchasing of more stuff. Happiness is achieved in many different ways for different individuals but not through wealth. For example, the mother in Source I begins to understand this when she becomes older one Christmas. She realizes no matter how many gifts she may receive,

There is a problem plaguing the United States: economic inequality. The financial gap between the rich and poor is widening and it only continues to increase. Not only is the rich becoming richer but the poor is becoming poorer. If some type of change doesn't happen it will cut the middle class. Although this is not a concerning matter to some, to others it's a huge concern and it continues to be a daily problem. Because economic inequality hurts the United States economy, the government should take steps towards reducing the gap between the rich and poor.

Is the standard American adage of “if you just work hard enough, you’ll be rich” still true?

Instead, it tacitly insists that inequality is the price we pay for growth. The fact is that almost all American adults need to work -- those with children, those without. Many work two jobs, with no hope for a raise or promotion of any kind, because employers are too greedy. Many are one illness, or car breakdown, away from homelessness. Poverty robs not only your pocket book but also your mind and your spirit. Poverty also keeps a person isolated and lonely and sometimes bored. Also we live in a society that requires money. Monetarily poor don't have money so add being on punishment to the list of ills a monetarily poor person suffers. Even working people with health insurance can be thrown into poverty. Health care costs, premiums, deductibles,

Economic inequality still exists in America. Although, Martin Luther King, Jr fought to see the end of inequality in America, he spoke that his dreams became nightmares as he continued to visit cities with high rates of poverty. The data, seemingly, reveals the highest rates of poverty are in the southern States. “. . .California, Georgia, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and Florida had the largest poverty increases, with the 2013 poverty rates in these states more than 4 percentage points higher than in 2007. There was, worse yet, a concomitant increase in the depth of poverty: In 36 states, the gap between a poor family’s total income and the poverty threshold increased between 2007 and 2013, yet another indication of a growing economic vulnerability

The OECD says that since the mid- 1990s more than half of all jobs created in the member states has been in non-standard work. According to the members, households that depend on such work have higher poverty rate than other household and that this has led to greater inequality. In 34 states is says that 10% of the population earn 9.6 times the income of the poorest 10%. Some believe it’s because of the wide gap in education. It is happening in the most unequal countries, which leads to leads effective workforce. There is no difference in inequality but some studies showed that it slowed down during the financial crisis and now it is growing again.

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

Every individual in this world genuinely appreciates the value and privilege of any sort of monetary value. Although money has thoroughly revolutionized the world’s system of survival, it also seems to have brought about corruption to the minds of many. Despite the United States’ overall discouragement of its unpleasant history of various forms of discrimination (which have supposedly been fully eradicated), economic inequality remains prevalent throughout the country through conflicts between the rich and poor, carelessly handled morals, and the monetary pressures of modern day education.

Rashbrooke argues that inequality in society is often associated with the large income gap; as a result societies are categorised into certain ethnic groups, birthplaces and financial backgrounds. The significant difference between the rich and the poor has widened to a point where the humanity slowing becomes non-existence. The financial struggles of low-income families are more likely to be stress and affect their value of life. The responsibility to allow individuals to be aware of the rising inequality relies on each person in the country to make a change

Many Americans believe that America has one of the most powerful economies that is involved in the global market and the best average living standards. Since the creation of the United States it has been known as the land of endless opportunities, regardless of social or economic classes. Under this philosophy, all citizens should have equal rights and given equal opportunity to progress in the workforce. However many Americans are living full lives and do not have financial obstacles to get over. Even so, millions of Americans are still faced with poor living conditions and struggle with providing for their families basic needs. Whether Americans believe poverty and inequality exist in America exists or not, the authors in three different articles:” Culture of Success” by Brink Lindsey, “A Great Time to Be Alive?” by Matt Yglesias, and “Born Poor and Smart” by Angela Locke, and “The War Against the Poor Instead of Programs to End Poverty”by Herbert J. Gans, shared ideas on how to help fix the problems of the impoverished community and address the cause of the problem. The four articles also explain different biases that the impoverish have to endure everyday.