What is wealth inequality? “It is the difference between individuals or populations in the distribution of assets, wealth or income.” [1] In sociology, the term is social stratification and refers to “a system of structured social inequality” [2] where the inequality might be in power, resources, social standing/class or perceived worth. In the US, where a class system exist, (as opposed to caste or estate system) your place in the class system can be determined by your personal achievements. However, the economic and social class that an individual is born into is a big indicator of the class they will end up in as an adult. [3] What are the effects of this wealth inequality in the US and what causes it as well as some possible solutions and their ramifications will all be discussed and answered below. There has always been a wealth gap between the richest and poorest in society. However, in the past decade, the wealth gap between the richest and poorest citizens in the US has been growing rapidly. In the 70s and 80s, the wealth and income growth rate for both poor and rich people were similar, however, between the years 2009 and 2012 the top 1% income increased 31% while for the bottom 20%, their income actually dropped and for the vast majority of Americans, the average yearly income only increased by 0.4% [4]. The question is, is wealth gap bad? Is a growing or extreme wealth gap unhealthy for the economy and social stability or is it a necessary part of it. Functionalism argues that inequality is important and necessary because it “motivates people to fill different position in society that are needed for the survival of the whole of society.” [8] The rewards, i.e. wealth, prestige, and power and the resulting wealth gap ar... ... middle of paper ... ...y." Bloomberg Business Week. Bloomberg, 16 Nov. 2011. Web. 17 Apr. 2014. Trello, Julia. "Income Inequality: Views & Solutions From Experts" Finances Online Income Inequality Views Solutions From Experts Comments. Finances Online, n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2014. Bob, Friedman. "Wealth Inequality: Its Causes and Cures." CFED The Inclusive Economy Blog. CFED, 19 Mar. 2013. Web. 21 Apr. 2014. Rugaber, Chistropher S., and Josh Boak. "Excite News - Wealth Gap: A Guide to What It Is, Why It Matters." Excite News - Wealth Gap: A Guide to What It Is, Why It Matters. Associated Press, 27 Jan. 2011. Web. 20 Apr. 2014. Tankersley, Jim. "Economic Mobility Hasn’t Changed in a Half-century in America." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 23 Jan. 2014. Web. 20 Apr. 2014. "Wealth Inequality in the United States." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Apr. 2014. Web. 19 Apr. 2014.
“A Guide to Statistics on Historical Trends in Income Inequality.” cbpp.org. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 2013. Web. 06 April. 2014. .
Stone, Chad, Danilo Trisi, Arloc Sherman, and William Chen. "Center on Budget and Policy Priorities." A Guide to Statistics on Historical Trends in Income Inequality. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 6 Nov. 2013. Web. 03 Dec. 2013. .
Throughout the years, “ U.S income inequality has been increasing steadily since the 1970s and now has reached levels not seen since 1928” (Source A).
There is a high degree of social inequality within the United States. Of most modern industrial countries, the United Stated has some of the richest and some of the poorest people to be found. That fact is very disturbing, however, explains why much of the inequality exists in the US. In the following essay I will explain to you about the inequality in our country and why it occurs, based on the theoretical perspectives of a functionalist, conflict theorist, and social interationist.
Wealth inequality did not always exist in human life. In fact, “Human life have not only been changed, but revolutionized, within the past hundred years” (Carnegie 1). There used to be
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.
Between the end of World War II and the late 1970s, income inequality in the U.S. was reduced; but since 1970s, the situation with wealth distribution has changed. Data from tax returns in 1976 show that the top 1 percent of households received 8.9 percent of all pre-tax income. In 2008, the top 1 percent’s share had more than doubled to 21.0 percent.
Income inequality in the United States, as of 2007, has reached levels not seen since 1928. In 1928, the top one percent received nearly 24% of all income within the United States (Volscho & Kelly, 2012). This percentage fell to nearly nine percent in 1975, but has risen to 23.5% as of 2007 (Volscho & Kelly, 2012). Meanwhile, in 2007 (see
Wealth inequality is a real issue that needs to be fixed. The imbalanced growth of the upper class compared to the middle class is a danger to American society as a whole. The rich becoming richer while the middle class remains the same leads to a power imbalance, with the rich using their money to run the country the way they see fit while the middle class speaks to ears that do not listen. The issue of wealth inequality needs to be fixed by raising taxes on the rich.
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 income gap in America has been increasing steadily since the late 1970’s, and has now reached historic highs not seen since the 1920’s (Desilver). UC Berkeley economics professor, Emmanuel Saez conducted extensive research on past and present income inequality statistics and published them in his report “Striking it Richer.” Saez claims that changes in technology, tax policies, labor unions, corporate benefits, and social norms have caused income inequality. He stands to advocate a change in American economic policies that will help close this inequality gap and considers institutional and tax reforms that should be developed to counter it. Although Saez’s provides legitimate causes of income inequality, I highly disagree with the thought of making changes to end income inequality. In any diverse economic environment, income inequality will exist due to the rise of some economically successful people and the further development of factors that push people into poverty. I believe income inequality e...
In America, wealth inequality is seen distinctly between the average home and the mansions of billionaires and sport superstars. It has been severe for a very long time and wealth differences in the poor and the rich are extremely distinguishable. However, people do not realize how serious the wealth differences are in America, because of how nearly every action a person makes affects wealth. Even being born a certain race may affect your wealth positively or negatively. Wealth inequality in America is impacted or influenced by many factors.
Income inequality is the uneven distribution of pay among the population. Income inequality is seen as the gap between the top ten percent and everyone else. In America income inequality has reached an historic high and is higher than any other rich, democratic country. (Heerwig) Though it’s at an historic high now it has not always been this way. Income inequality in the United States has varied over time and this variation is often called the great U-turn. Before World War I the top ten percent earned between forty and forty-five percent of all income earned in the United States. Then this number dropped to about thirty-three percent in the early 1940s. Then in the late 1970s and accelerating in the 80s the income share of top earners began
Stewart, Charles T., Jr. "Inequality of Wealth and Income in a Technologically Advanced Society." The Journal of Social, Political, and Economic Studies 27.4 (2002): 495-512. Print.
Income inequality continues to increase in today’s world, especially in the United States. Income inequality means the unequal distribution between individuals’ assets, wealth, or income. In the Twilight of the Elites, Christopher Hayes, a liberal journalist, states the inequality gap between the rich and the poor are increasing widening, and there need to have things done - tax the rich, provide better education - in order to shortening the inequality gap. America is a meritocratic country, which means that everybody has equal opportunity to be successful regardless of their class privileges or wealth. However, equality of opportunity does not equal equality of outcomes. People are having more opportunities to find a better job, but their incomes are a lot less compared to the top ten percent rich people. In this way, the poor people will never climb up the ladder to high status and become millionaires. Therefore, the government needs to increase all the tax rates on rich people in order to reduce income inequality.
Wealth inequality is the uneven distribution of resources in a given state or population, which can also be called the wealth gap. The sum of one’s total assets excluding the liabilities equates the person’s wealth also known as the net worth. Investments, residents, cash, real estates and everything owned by an individual are their assets.In reality, the United States is among the richest countries in the world, though a few people creating a major gap between the richest, the middle class and the poor control most of its wealth. For more than a quarter of a century, only the rich American families have shown an increase to their net worth.Thisis a worrying fact for the less fortunate in the country and calls for assessment (Baranoff, 2015).