The Pros And Cons Of Global Inequality

Many different fields throughout history have studied the ongoing question of how we become the person that we are. The question usually lies between whether nature has molded us and whether we have been nurtured in a specific way. For many centuries, the answer has been answered repeatedly. In Newman’s text he says that the structural-functionalists insist that the task of any society is to produce members who’s behaviors, desires, and goals coordinate with those of the society. It’s also important that these conditions are deemed to be appropriate for that specific society.

It is a commonly accepted that inequality is increasing throughout the globe, with startling statistics such as the recent Oxfam report indicating that the richest 85 people in the world own more wealth than the poorest 3.5 billion people(Oxfam Australia Media, 2014). Inequality is thought of as disparities or gaps, such as the distance between a low income and a high income household, or the ratio of their incomes (Divided We Stand, 2011). Domestic inequality refers to inequality within a country and

In the documentary “Inequality for All” examines widening income inequality in the United States. It talk about the rich took over the Federal Reserve Bank and they change the rules. In 1971, President Ronald Reagan took America off the gold standard. Once he did that Federal Reserve and the treasury was allow to print uncontrollable in the world. The crisis today is U.S dollar value is going down. Residual income is income that continues to be generated after the initial effort has been expended. See most Americans work an hour to get pay an hour. If they work an hour then they a get pay an hour. But if they do not work an hour then they do not get pay. Wealthy know that is a prison. You cannot get rich by exchanging time for money. You must

The Cambridge Dictionary of Sociology defines inequality as ‘the unequal distribution of opportunities, rewards, and power among and between individuals, households and groups’(1). It goes on to say that ‘the subfield of social stratification has as its main task the description and analysis of inequalities, or the makeup of the stratification system of any given society’.(1) From this one definition, we can already begin to see the strong links that lie between inequalities and social stratification. As we delve deeper into the topics, we can begin to see both the inevitability and the functionality of stratification

The United States of Inequality is an article that delves into the harsh realities we face in our country today, with regards to income inequality. Income inequality in the United States is at a rise. And the sobering factor is that so little is being done to address this issue. According to a new study by researchers at the Economic Policy Institute, forces of rising inequality are operating at an all-time high throughout the United States. The study, “which measures income inequality by state, metro area and county, shows that inequality has risen in every state since the 1970s.” It also shows that rising inequality is deep-rooted.  “Recessions in recent decades have temporarily slowed income growth among the top 1 percent, but they have not altered the basic pattern in which the rich have gotten much richer while nearly everyone else has seen income stagnate or decline (Tritch, "The United States of Inequality", 2016).” In all, the top 1 percent in the United States captured 85.1 percent of total income growth from 2009 to 2013. In 2013, the 1.6 million families in the top 1 percent made 25.3 times as much on average as the 161 million families in the bottom 99 percent.

Everything written in the article titled ‘The Upside of Income Inequality’ by Gary S. Becker and Kevin M. Murphy is not only a manipulation of the reader’s trust but it is also an insult of the reader’s intelligence. The fact that this article was first published in a magazine should speak volumes on the credibility of the statements made by these two authors. Becker and Murphy mention statistics comparing salaries and college educations but it is close to impossible to factor in the entire county to these statistics therefore, they are invalid. The article suggests that taxing the rich more than the lower class or ‘poor’ is similar to offering a subsidy to high school dropouts and taxing those going to college, but this is comparing apples to oranges and frankly it is a laughable comparison. Using appeals is an art form. Appeals help people articulate things that are important to them. Unfortunately, ethos, logos and pathos can be used to manipulate people as proven in this article.

Income Inequality is a tough policy issue to tackle and relate to the texts the class has been assigned to read. This particular policy issue is rather difficult to give insight on because income inequality is widespread and immense, yet most of Washington and mainstream America will not address this critical matter in question that is happening all over the country. Beliefs are blinding the majority of America when it comes to how money is distributed throughout the social classes and minorities in this nation. Americans have a distorted view of how unequal the pay gap is between the top 20% and the bottom 40%, according to Nicholas Fitz (2015). For instance, in the first study done by Michael Dorton and Dan Ariely, 5,000 Americans guessed that the richest 20% own 59% of the wealth and the bottom 40% own 9% of the wealth (Fitz. 2015). Consequently, the actual statistics are that the top 20% own more than 84% of the wealth, whereas the bottom 40% own a scarce amount of the wealth of 0.3% (Fitz.2015). Elitist view of power, also, is another term that relates to this issue of income inequality due to how government in this country, with regards to how only a few people with power actually know economically, what is happening in America, leaving the majority of American citizens in the dark about how money flows and how discrimination of minorities is hindering their ability to earn livable wages (Fitz.2015). The Federal Poverty Level which is based on the amount of income

In America, looking from the outside in, it is hard to fathom how the government runs with so many different people, religions, ethnicities, and cultures. Thomas Paine characterizes America as an amalgamate government that has no unfair treatment. This rendition is true to a certain extent, the poor have Social Security, the LGBTQ community finally has equal rights, and everyone has an equal educational opportunity. Conversely, there are many issues with America today, such as police brutality towards the black community, high prison populations, and a corrupt economic class system.

Even first world countries have some major problems, I believe the biggest problem is that inequalities of different groups are still around, the biggest one in America is salary equality. Although some jobs pay different prices the fact that there are so many homeless people in areas that have vacant houses is a problem. Another big equality problem in America is age equality, the “respect your elders” term is acceptable but when someone who is older than another individual bullies or demands something from an younger person is unfair. Disorders such as depression are very common, especially in teens and young adults, and schools have really acted upon these disorders. Equality is not being totally 100% equal, that impossible, but at least make it fair for everyone.

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,

Despite dipping below ten percent between the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, the income gap in the United States has climbed steadily over the last fifty years. From its low point in 1973, the wealthiest Americans’ income share now exceeds even that which they held in 1928, on the eve of the Great Depression. Experts have pointed to several potential culprits, including the underrepresentation of lower- and middle-class citizens in legislatures, the shrinking power of organized labor, the expanding power of organized business, and a tax system that seems to disproportionately favor those at the top at the expense of those on the bottom. These factors vary greatly in level of impact and the feasibility of potential solutions,

Jean-Jacques Rousseau, a Geneva born, French raised eighteenth century philosopher, had a profound impact on the French Revolution, specifically, the way in which he established a sense of inequality and turmoil amongst the majority, third estate of France. Through one of Rousseau’s most well known works, The Discourse On The Origin of Inequality, his philosophy was influential and instrumental in producing awareness and motivating the third estate’s actions that essentially put the Revolution into motion. The Discourse On The Origin of Inequality, seemingly a critique of modern society and it’s effects on human nature, exemplified through Rousseau’s examination and comparison between man in the state of nature vs. civil society, possesses

Income redistribution refers to the concept of transferring income from the wealthy individuals to the less wealthy individuals through social mechanisms such as monetary policies, charity, welfare, land reforms, and taxation among others. Income redistribution affects the entire economy rather than selected groups of individuals. The concept of income redistribution emanates from the existence of income inequalities within an economy. Income inequality depicts a gap between the highest and the lowest income earners in an economy (Tullock 13). Income inequality is sometimes considered appropriate in societies since it acts as an incentive in free market economies, whereby in the absence of inequality, elements of economic stagnation and lack of enterprise would emerge. Conversely, income inequality is criticized on the basis of introducing contributing towards the development of key problems in the society, including progression of poverty levels. This paper seeks to explore the concept of income redistribution and its key pros and cons.

Much has been written about Economic inequality and how it affects various aspects of quality of life. The literature is varied with recent works such as Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett’s Spirit Level which suggesting that economic inequality has a detrimental effect on several factors such as increased crime, increased obesity, and worse mental health within a country. Whilst other authors have seen economic growth as part of the development process as outlined by Simon Kuznets. Whilst there has always been a wide range of literature on inequality, this literature has expanded significantly since the Financial Crisis of 2008. The financial crisis seems to have sparked a vast amount of public disapproval which has been reflected in the increased literature and popularity as shown through French economist Thomas Piketty’s best-seller ‘Capital in the Twenty-First Century’

The specific topic and overall purpose of this article is to understand and evaluate opportunities and inequality such as social and economic opportunities that affect every human daily. We as a society face challenges, some more than others, but nevertheless these are challenges we all face. Many of these challenges have to do with the opportunities that we have, starting from the day a person is born until their death.