INEQUALITY: CAUSE AND CONSEQUENCES In the United States the land of equal opportunity one might be surprised to find a great deal of economic disparity. Research on the topic was not extensive until a rise in economic disparities over the past thirty years grabbed researcher’s attention. This research would reveal that economic inequality was not just some random conclusion, but legitimate cause and patterns of these causes could be traced It would also uncover the consequences economic inequality had on social and political life. Research not only focused on economic inequality in America but also globally, researchers have also greatly expanded on literature concerning economic disparities with hope of raising the consciousness of the people and penetrating the heart of the social problem of economic inequality that many are faced with (Neckerman, Torche 2007). Economic inequality has been on the rise in America for more than two decades. This socially divisive trend emerged from the sluggish economy of the 1970s and continued through the booming 1980s, when surging tides clearly failed to lift all ships. Instead, escalating inequality in both individual earnings and family income widened the gulf between rich and poor and led to the much-publicized decline of the middle class (Gottschalk, P. (1993). I believe economic disparity is a social problem simply because of the definition of economic inequality which is self-explanatory when things are unequal this almost always leads to negative consequences and things seem to be unfair. Those that fall on the downside of the inequality are more likely to be face with poor housing, conditions, poor healthcare, and most importantly the will be faced with poor educational opportunity ... ... middle of paper ... ...owing interdisciplinary inquiry in inequality. The Russell Sage Foundations’ Research program on inequality is based off Sociologists can make a distinctive however sociologists can make a distinctive contribution by taking advantage of disciplinary strength. Much research has been done on the patterns and cause of inequality over the past two decades (Neckerman and Torche 2007). The consequences on individual’s perception and interpretation of inequality are mediated by social relation institutions and culture context. Sociologist can advance research on inequality by bringing discipline based expertise to be not only on the organization and political economy of firms and labor market but also on the pathway through which inequality has an effects and the sound political and cultural contingencies that might modify this effects (Neckerman and Torche 2007).
The Economist. “Inequality and the American Dream”. They Say I Say. Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein, Russel Durst. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2009. Print.
Inequality, itself, may seem like an aspect that is surrounding the academic subject of history. An American economist, Paul Krugman, substantiates that inequality exists within our society through connections to several important historical movements. “One of the best arguments I’ve ever seen for the social costs came from a movement [...].” (Page 562) He implies how inferior inequality could be, and discusses why he along with a wide array of an American audience, may give some attention to its rising. Krugman makes “Confronting Inequality,” interesting, challenging, and enjoyable. This author approaches the audience by giving a powerful inception, and appealing to the senses of ethos and pathos.
Hurst, Charles, E. 2013. Social Inequalities: Forms, Causes, and Consequences (8th ed). Boston, MA: Pearson.
“Confronting Inequality” by Paul Krugman opens our eyes to the fact that, in America, we are becoming more and more unequal based on our standing in society. Our standing in society is directly related to the amount of money that we make and what class our parents were in while we were growing up. However, being judged based on parents’ status is not justifiable. America is full of injustice when it comes to the social structure of it’s’ citizens. The majority of America used to belong to the middle class, now there is less middle class and a widening gap between the high class and the low class of people.
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.
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.
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.
Economic inequality is ingrained in our society. Because of this fact, many would argue that “that’s just how it is,” but in reality this is not how a community is suppose to function. As Michael Sandel writes in his book Justice, “As inequality deepens, rich and poor live increasingly separate lives.” Sandel makes an excellent point. As economic divisions, such as the ones present in the United States, worsen, the classes diverge on every level. Wealthy people attend different schools, purchase luxury cars, and live in gated communities. Meanwhile, the poor live in squalor, use public transportation, and attend failing schools. Aside from the lack of a quality education making it harder to escape poverty, the poor are from birth at a disadvantage to those on the other side of the economic scale. The United States is not a land of guaranteed equality of result, that is...
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.
Whaley, Mary. "Falling Behind: How Rising Inequality Harms the Middle Class." Booklist 1 July 2007: 15. EBSCO Academic Search Premier. Web. 6 Feb. 2014.
The United States has a pervasive issue of income inequality (Volscho & Kelly, 2012). While the wealthy few live in absurd abundance, poor hardworking individuals often cannot afford basic necessities. Such a dynamic is not only an affront to the ideals of equality of opportunity, but also may increase crime as a result of relative deprivation and lack of legitimate opportunities to achieve (Thio, 2010). This essay describes the magnitude of income inequality in the United States, reveals barriers that obscures its magnitude, and suggests a starting point from which corrective measures might develop.
Frank, Robert H. “Income Inequality: Too Big to Ignore.” They Say, I Say: The Moves That Matter
Ever since agriculture replaced hunting and gathering, the division of labor led to the creation of social classes and the division of land and unequal distribution of food surplus allowing inequality to flourish. Unfortunately, this has not only remained, but inequality has exponentially grown, making the difference between each social class quite noticeable. This distressing factor makes American economy highly unstable, and there is little to be done in order to fix this grave issue. It is only a matter of time before America’s economy comes crashing down. American economic inequality has been around for a long time, and it has become a monumental issue.
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...
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.