Wealth Gap In America

James Madison once stated inequality of the rich and poor predicament to be “evil” and believed that the government should avoid an “immoderate, and especially unmerited, accumulation of riches” (Johnston, 2016). As one of the founding fathers of our nation, James Madison had a concern about the separation between the rich and the poor. He felt the government should do what it could to avoid the separation, which one can infer that he meant for the government to tax the rich by a greater percentage, thus reducing the financial burden on the poor. A rift has always been present between the rich and the poor throughout history. Depending upon the job, the working class may or may not make enough to support a family. At this point, the

Americans today live in a distinctly unequal society. Inequality is now wider than it used to be in the last century, and the division in income, wages, and wealth are broader than they are in other developed economies of the world. Wealth inequality is the imbalance of wealth or income within a society, and it is one of the most vital economic challenge the US is facing today because the distribution of wealth is more dispersed, making the inequality in wealth distribution at its highest. While the matter has been discussed for many years, the actual income disparity in the U.S. has heightened and is now verging on an extreme gap that portends to impede long-term economic growth. The huge gap between the wealthy and poor is squeezing the U.S. economy, the wealth gap threatens economic growth by diminishing social mobility and producing a less-educated workforce who are not able to compete in the global economy. unrestrained level of income inequality causes political pressures, it discourages trade, investment, and hiring. The present level of income inequality in the U.S. is shrinking GDP growth, and the world's largest economy is struggling to recover from the Great Recession.

From 1860- 1900, the wealthiest 2% of American households owned more than a third of the nations money. But the top 10% owned almost the other three fourths. According to Howard Zinn, the wealth gap started issues of working and living conditions for the working class. There was hope though, from 1870 to 1880 the average annual incomes rose $20, from 1870-1900, there was a gain of 53%! In a recent poll in 2007, the top 1% is earning roughly 24% of all the income. This shows an upward trend that is probably still going on today in 2015. In 2008, during the recovery time of the recession US had, the distribution of money was really thrown off but then as the economy got better, so did the amount the top 1% received. It rose consistently 5 years in a row which each time it increases, it widens the wealth gap. According to a study done by the American Sociological Review, the effects on the other end of the classes have been struggling and businesses are now figuring that they have a higher level of immigrated, less educated employees. Also for all parents, they see that the amount that earn and die with is going to show the progression of their offspring and how they are going to do. Most of the richest people of the world all have something to do with electronics and some technological

In this paper I will be discussing the wealth gap. I will also be discussing if there should be a “special” tax to redistribute the wealth. I hope to enlighten the reader of the issue of the wealth gap, and if a tax would help.

Wealth inequality is already shaping American politics and society, and has the dangerous potential to be the defining problem of the upcoming generation. A sizable cause for wealth inequality in America is a dire lack of

Globalization has been a main culprit of wealth inequality in the United States for many years. Many economists believe that globalization was meant to do the exact opposite of what it is. In theory, globalization should makes goods more easily accessible and stable out our governments, but why isn’t it? After doing some research on the topic I have concluded this. Standards of living in countries, most notably poor countries, should have been raised by globalization, but only certain countries are able to reap the rewards while others suffer. It is fact that there is a positive correlation between inequality in incomes and the production outsourcing processes. The outsourcing causes inequality between skilled workers and the others that are

At the root of presidential candidate Bernie Sanders’ highly touted—and shouted—policies was the issue of economic inequality in America. It is no surprise Senator Sanders had great success with this message; a 2015 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report found that the top 10% of Americans hold 76% of the nation’s wealth.

Wealth inequality is rooted in the American idea of capitalism because capitalism is creating a name for yourself and making the most money you can, capitalism also includes the fact you can do whatever you want with the money you acquired. Krugman talks about how capitalism created wealth inequality when he says, “…‘capitalism,' in which the commanding heights of the economy are controlled not by talented individuals but by family dynasties…” (Krugman). If generations ago your family was one of the first families in America and became exceedingly rich off of trade or land you probably still have a large majority of their money. Because we live in a capitalistic world people can choose to spend every single penny they have, or give their money

High speed internet has entirely changed the American society in the past 20 years. In the beginning of the 2000s the internet was seen as an oddity and now nearing the 2020s the internet is now something that most people cannot live without. The major pluses and minuses that come along with this increase in internet are that increased internet bridges the culture gap, it increases educational opportunities, children can easily become vulnerable with increased internet, and there is less physical connection in society with more internet availability.

John Sloan once said, “I feel that if five thousand people in this city are wealthy and content and two million are unhappy, something is wrong.” Citizens it todays society are either wealthy or poor, there is no in between. The social gap between the upper-class and the rest of society is too large. Lower-class citizens, including children, have to work very hard to try and make ends meet; many times, women will have to join the workforce. The wealthy live a very comfortable life, while the lower-class and hard working citizens struggle with daily life and providing for their families. The same goes for the immigrants; they are no better off than the lower class. They were unwanted and got the worst end of the deal. This big gap between the

The usage and access to the Internet are very low in many areas due to some factors: ethnic, geographic, economic or societal. For instance, people who live in the rural area have limited access to the internet. Individuals who live in urban areas with high income and educated are adopting new technologies faster and are always connecting. Unfortunately, the distribution of resources among people and societies is already heavily unbalanced, and to access to information technology is even worst. The growing gap between the underprivileged and privileged citizens is a global concern that continues growing at an alarming rate around the world. According to William Kennard, the Chair of the FCC, "In a society where increasingly we are defined by access to information and what we earn is what we learn, if you don't have access to technology, you're going to be left in the digital dark ages” (Digital). Hence, the governments must subsidize internet access for low-income individuals and create community access centers with well-trained staff. Moreover, the private sector must provide equal service and network to rural areas and the creation of more computer clubs for underprivileged communities

Technological infrastructure in Germany is considered as developed. Since Internet will be considered as a key tool for must businesses nowadays, considering the fact that from a population of 80,996,685 million people, 65.125 million have access to Internet and are considered as active users. (See Appendix B)

The Australian Communications and Media Authority data (ACMA,2015) shows the differences between income level and technology clearly and confirm that whilst technology is more affordable and internet access is increasingly universal, a “digital divide” between rich and poor continues to grow.

There are the rich and poor in every period in human history and everywhere in the world. Has the disparity between the rich and poor existed since ancient time? How does the disparity between the rich and poor come out? Has the disparity between the rich and poor became more narrow or wider? Although some people think that the gap between the rich and poor is more narrow because of the development of human society, the fact is that the disparity between the rich and poor is gaining because of the change of the structure of workforce, Matthew Effect in economy, unscientific social welfare system, unreasonable tax policy and knowledge explosion.

Another problem would be the amount that Internet Service Providers charge for the services in those areas. In the interview Who’s Widening America’s Digital Divide, S. Crawford discusses how ISP are “charging a lot for internet access and giving [out] second class