Income Inequality, Poverty And Discrimination In Today's Society

1725 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Social classes and education attainment

Discrimination in Today’s Society Income inequality, poverty and discrimination are issues that the United States is currently facing. The United States is among one of the countries that have the highest average household income, however this does not accurately represent each household. Data shows that there is significantly less income inequality over a longer period of time rather than in a single year because income mobility is more substantial over time. The more period of time that is considered for an individual, the more equal the distribution of income becomes. Government taxes and transfer significantly reduce income inequality by redistributing income from higher income groups to lower income groups. There is no simple way to explain why some individuals have more income than others. Some factors that explain why income inequality exists include: ability, education and training, discrimination, preference and risks, unequal distribution of wealth, market power, and luck/connections/misfortune. Abilities and skills vary from people to people that allows individuals to be successful …show more content…

Statistical discrimination involves the judgment of people bases on average statistical characters of the group rather than the productivity or efficiency of that individual. This belief in the labor market may lead to profitability but fails to address the worker’s skills/abilities and limits their opportunities. Occupational segregation implies that women and minority groups are crowded into minor quantity of occupations. The supply of workers is larger than the demand for the workers consequently their wages and income are lower in crowded jobs. Not only does discrimination affect individuals because it results in lower wages and few opportunities but it also affects the economy because it leads to a reduced total output and creates false barriers for

Show More
Related

  • Sklar and the Economist: Inequality in America

    1700 Words  | 4 Pages

    Both Sklar and the Economist offer suggestions to improve the inequality in America, but unfortunately the inequality continues to grow. Sklar’s use of detailed facts about the richest Americans, the poorest Americans and her discussion of the impact on society add clarity to the Economist’s argument that the American dream is broken due to the inequality in America. Until the American government starts to make changes, the problem of inequality will continue to grow.

    Read More

  • Wealth Inequality in the US with Sociological Viewpoints

    1100 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Income Inequality Dbq

    662 Words  | 2 Pages

    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).

    Read More

  • Alex de Tocqueville's Teachings on Inequality and Poverty in the United States

    2380 Words  | 5 Pages

    Income inequality has been and will forever continue to be a highly discussed topic in society. As a social experiment, income equality has historically failed. The adage from the communist era “from each according to his ability; to each according to his needs,” ran counter to human nature and experience. On balance, there are positive aspects to unequal income which include; its success in creating a more educated work force, competition among people to succeed and more stimulated productivity, which do not always, but tend to balance out any negative impacts such as; concentration of wealth, social consequences and outsourcing, that it may have.

    Read More

  • Summary: Income Inequality In America

    1137 Words  | 3 Pages

    America in today's society is burdened with many economic and political problems that have begun to plague the nation. Controversial topics are constantly being debated from sunrise to sunset across the country with supporters and those who oppose each bearing various levels of financial and political misfortune. With the numerous economic and political problems that affect the nation, the argument over the issue of income inequality is one of the most notable. Creating a political civil war, proponents from both sides have brought the issue into national view and debate has grown substantially within recent years.

    Read More

  • Income Inequality in the United States

    795 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Inequality in America

    562 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the United States there are four social classes : the upper class, the middle class, the working class, and the lower class. Of these four classes the most inequality exists between the upper class and the lower class. This inequality can be seen in the incomes that the two classes earn. During the period 1979 through the present , the growth in income has disproportionately grown.The bottom sixty percent of the US population actually saw their real income decrease in 1990 dollars. The next 20% saw medium gains. The top twenty percent saw their income increase 18%. The wealthiest one percent saw their incomes rise drastically over 80%. As reported in the 1997 Center on Budget's analysis , the wealthiest one percent of Americans ( 2.6 million people) received as much after-tax income in 1994 as the bottom 35 percent of the population combined (88 million people). But in 1977 the bottom 35 percent had about twice as much after tax income as the top one percent. These statistics further show the disproportional income growth among the social classes. The gr...

    Read More

  • Income Inequality in the United States

    3100 Words  | 7 Pages

    Income inequality in the United States has increased and decreased throughout history, but in the recent years, the widening gap has become a serious issue. Income inequality is usually measured by Gini coefficient. According to this method coefficient varies between 0 and 100; while 0 represents complete equality (income is distributed equally among all the population of the country), 100 represents complete inequality (only one person receives all the country’s income, while the rest of the population receives nothing). According to the Census of Bureau, the official Gini coefficient in the U.S. was 46.9 in 2010. This is way higher than the all-time low coefficient of 38.6 set in 1968 (qtd. in Babones).

    Read More

  • Income Inequality In The United States Essay

    1035 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Social Inequality in the United States

    692 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Paul Krugman Income Inequality

    900 Words  | 2 Pages

    According to David Leonhardt, “Inequality Has Been Going on Forever…but That Doesn’t Mean It’s Inevitable” tries to explain that Americans have been living with rising income inequality for so long-in good and bad, under Republican presidents and Democratic ones-that it has come to seem inevitable” Gerald, Cathy, and Russel (542). The system needs to be reformed by policies that provide opportunities for ordinary Americans, justice for all Americans. Everyone should be able to be treated equal.

    Read More

  • The Cycle of Poverty

    1204 Words  | 3 Pages

    Inequality exist and is high in America because the amount of income and wealth that is distributed through power. In America the income distribution is very inequality and the value of a person wealth is based on their income with their debts subtracted. “As of 2007, the top 1% of households (the upper class) owned 34.6% of all privately held wealth, and the 19% (the managerial, professional, and small business stratum) had 50.5%, which means that just 20% of the people owned a remarkable 85%, leaving only 15% of the wealth for the bottom 80% (wage and salary workers)” (Domhoff, 2011). In contrary the poor do not get ahead and the rich get more. Americans are judged and placed in class categories through their home ownership which translates to wealth. Americans social class is often associated with their assets and wealth. “People seek to own property, to have high incomes, to have interesting and safe jobs, to enjoy the finest in travel and leisure, and to live long and healthy lives” (Domhoff, 2011). Power indicates how these “values” are not distributed equally in American society. Huge gains for the rich include cuts in capital gains and dividends and when tax rates decrease for the tiny percent of Americans income is redistributed. Taxes directly affect the wealth and income of Americans every year.

    Read More

  • Negative Essay On Inequality In America

    878 Words  | 2 Pages

    Inequality as previously mentioned is a subject that gets debated when brought up and in any debate there is two sides. In class we have discussed both side of the story of inequality, and it has give me a better perspectives of income inequality. When discussion income inequality, we brought up the concept of the economic pie in which states that the economic pie is a reference to the way income gets distributed among the lower, middle, and higher class of America. So the concept of the economic pie states that the rich is getting richer, so they are

    Read More

  • Income Inequality

    939 Words  | 2 Pages

    Income inequality has affected American citizens ever since the American Dream came into 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.

    Read More

  • Essay On Income Inequality

    1524 Words  | 4 Pages

    Income inequality is a big problem in the United States because the top, wealthiest American saw huge increases in their incomes, which the rest had their incomes go down. Bottom people do not have the same amount of money and the opportunity to move up the social ladder as the rich people do. In order to reduce income inequality, the government needs to tax the rich people more, and give poor people more money and more social services - education, food subsidies, health care.

    Read More

More about Income Inequality, Poverty And Discrimination In Today's Society

Open Document