How the Rich Benefit from the Poor

5331 Words11 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Development of industrial relations

How the Rich Benefit from the Poor

this paper has problems with formatting

The United States is the most developed capitalist economy in the world. The markets within the economy provide profit-motivated companies endless potential in the pursuance of pecuniary accumulation. Throughout the twentieth-century competitive companies have implemented modernized managerial procedures designed to raise profits by reducing unnecessary costs. These cost-saving procedures have had a substantial effect on society and particularly members of the working class. Managers and owners of these competitive and self-motivated companies have consistently worked throughout this century to exploit the most controllable component of the production process: the worker. The worker has been forced by the influence of powerful and affluent business owners to work in conditions hazardous to their well being in addition to preposterously menial compensation. It was the masterful manipulation of society and legislation through strategic objectives that the low-wage workers were coerced into this position of destitute. The strategies of the affluent fragment of society were conceived for the selfish purpose of monetary gain. The campaigns to augment the business position within the capitalist economy were designed to weaken organized labor, reduce corporate costs, gain legislative control and reduce international competition at the expense of the working class. The owners have gained and continue to gain considerable wealth from these strategies. To understand why the owners of the powerful companies operate in such a selfish manner, we must look at particular fundamentals of both capitalism and corporation strategy. Once these rudiments are understood, we ...

... middle of paper ...

...stadl, and Mark Weller. Dollars and Votes. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1998. Downs, Alan. Corporate Executions. New York: AMACOM, 1995.

Foley, Duncan K., Thomas R. Michl. Growth and Distribution. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1999.

“Industrial Revolution.” Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia. 1st ed. 1999.

Zieger, Robert H.. Republicans and Labor 1919-1929. Lexington: University of Kentucky Press, 1969.

Works Consulted

“Democratic Party.” Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia. 1st ed. 1999.

“Fair Labor Standards Act.” Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia. 1st ed. 1999.

Porter, Glen. “Industrial Revolution.” Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia. 1st ed. 1999.

“Republican Party.” Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia. 1st ed. 1999.

“Strike.” Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia. 1st ed. 1999. “Taft-Hartley Act.” Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia. 1st ed. 1999.

Show More
Related

  • The Communist Manifesto, by Karl Marx

    872 Words  | 2 Pages

    Under the oppression of the bourgeoisie, the proletariats, who composed the mass majority, only owned one resource—their labor. However, the bourgeoisie could not continue to exist without the instruments of production. Since the common worker lived only so long as they could find work, and could only work so long as their labor increases capital, they continued to be oppressed by the bourgeoisie, who controlled the capitalist society by exploiting the labor provided by the proletariats. People sell their laboring-power to a buyer, not to satisfy the per...

    Read More

  • The Pullman Strike of 1894

    1479 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Pullman Strike of 1894 was the first national strike in American history and it came about during a period of unrest with labor unions and controversy regarding the role of government in business.5 The strike officially started when employees organized and went to their supervisors to ask for a lowered rent and were refused.5 The strike had many different causes. For example, workers wanted higher wages and fewer working hours, but the companies would not give it to them; and the workers wanted better, more affordable living quarters, but the companies would not offer that to them either. These different causes created an interesting and controversial end to the Pullman strike. Because of this, questions were raised about the strike that are still important today. Was striking a proper means of getting what the workers wanted? Were there better means of petitioning their grievances? Was government intervention constitutional? All these questions were raised by the Pullman Strike.

    Read More

  • Social Analysis Of Nickel And Dimed By Barbara Ehrenreich

    1054 Words  | 3 Pages

    Ehrenreich states “…the United States, for all its wealth, leaves its citizens to fend for themselves — facing market-based rents, for example, on their wages alone. For millions of Americans, that $10 — or even $8 or $6 — hourly wage is all there is.” (Ehrenreich 214) A large portion of us human beings in society today, only care about making money to benefit ourselves rather than those less fortunate. People who have worked their entire lives on low wages may never experience luxuriousness due to the greed of our employers and government. Those graced with a generous amount of money tend to leave others in need of assistance, thusly causing inhuman nature to develop within our communities. Ehrenreich experiences this when she found out that her own self-esteem lowered at the hands of her employers who treated their workers as disposable. These employers as well as their companies, devalue a worker to essentially keep them powerless against them. Many of the job interviews she had gone through avoided any discussion of wages because, the employers wanted to keep the paychecks at a bare minimum. In most situations within our community workplace, a worker is not compensated correctly for his or her labor. Most of the human beings today would do just anything to stay wealthy, even if it means devaluing another. Most of our society spends their lifetimes

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Rich Get Richer And The Poor Get Prison

    1347 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Prison by Jeffrey Reiman and Paul Leighton has been used for years as a way to address issues such as ideologies and class struggles within the criminal justice system. The book focuses on controlling crime, defining crime and disparities between social classes. I believe the book makes some very interesting points but was overall a waste of my time to read because most of what is said were things I was already very much aware of.

    Read More

  • Racial Challenges African Americans Faced Throughout History

    1752 Words  | 4 Pages

    The social and economic developments of the last quarter of the nineteenth century drastically changed the United States. The business world changed once industrialization was introduced to the world. Opportunities grew as people heard about the boundless American opportunities. Immigrants from all races flooded the cities which doubled in population from 1860-1900 (Barnes and Bowles, 2014, p. 34). However, as industries grew, owners prospered off the hard work of others. People started to feel they were not being treated fairly. People had to work harder and longer for their money. Barnes and Bowles (2014) noted “In the era of industrialization, millions of workers fought to simply have the right to work in safe conditions, and earn a fair wage” (p. 45). Many Americans feared that giant corporations would one day seek to restrict the ability of common people to get ahead and curtail individual freedoms. These fears were particularly strong among farmers, laborers, an...

    Read More

  • Capitalism and Democracy: A Conflict in American Ideologies

    733 Words  | 2 Pages

    Democratic ideologies in the United States provide the basis for both the limitations and boundaries given to each individual living in the country. However, the term individual is very tricky in a society that promotes democratic ideals but functions by capitalistic principles. This imbalance is seen throughout society but remains highly prevalent in lower economic classes in the country. The core values of Capitalism are not incorrect; however, when intertwined with American core values – democracy, equal opportunities, and pursuit of happiness – they cause conflict and damage the lives of certain individuals. Low-wage workers are often victims of this disparity and find themselves working for their employers without enough compensation

    Read More

  • Labor Unions During The Gilded Age

    891 Words  | 2 Pages

    The United States’s industrialization lead to a great boom in both economic and population growth, allowing businesses to flourish. With more money and workers at their disposal, employers often would often mistreat workers, suddenly cutting their wages or firing them. With only profit in mind, industries eventually became monopolized and the conditions of workers only worsened. Defenseless and barely able to survive, laborers soon found power in uniting with each other, leading to the establishment of American labor unions during the Gilded Age. They provided workers with necessary protection from their employers’ capricious decisions, and while their presence elicited fear in business owners, unions eventually bettered the standard of living for the American proletarian through compromise.

    Read More

  • Why Do People Living In Poverty?

    963 Words  | 2 Pages

    In America, the goal of corporations is to maximize profits, while workers aspire to maximize

    Read More

  • Capitalism: A Love Story By Michael Marx

    1130 Words  | 3 Pages

    In this essay, I will discuss how Marx’s Theory in the Communist Manifesto outlines how the Bourgeoisie supplies the proletariat with it’s own element of political and general education, which in the end, leads to the demise of the bourgeoisie and the capitalist class. In the movie, Capitalism: A Love Story by Michael Moore, he clearly outlines contemporary issues that show how the capitalist class causes it’s own demise through it’s selfish focus on profit and how a united population can eradicate slavery.

    Read More

  • The Capitalists Who Shaped Post-Civil War America

    972 Words  | 2 Pages

    Accurately established by many historians, the capitalists who shaped post-Civil War industrial America were regarded as corrupt “robber barons”. In a society in which there was a severe imbalance in the dynamics of the economy, these selfish individuals viewed this as an opportunity to advance in their financial status. Thus, they acquired fortunes for themselves while purposely overseeing the struggles of the people around them. Presented in Document A, “as liveried carriage appear; so do barefooted children”, proved to be a true description of life during the 19th century. In hopes of rebuilding America, the capitalists’ hunger for wealth only widened the gap between the rich and poor.

    Read More

  • Why the Rich are Getting Richer and the Poor, Poorer

    1571 Words  | 4 Pages

    The report of Robert Reich: “Why the Rich are getting Richer and the Poor, Poorer,” is an eye opener and a warning for society regarding unemployment that it will be facing and is currently facing due to a lack of technology and education. It clearly articulates that the jobs of routine producers and in-person servers have vanished totally as modern techniques have replaced them. The author has stated that the only people whose jobs are on the rise are symbol analysts. As stated in the report, symbol analysts are the real problem solvers. Their skills are highly in demand worldwide because they are the ones who first analyze the problem and then solve it. The Hart Report, on the other hand, also states the same problem of unemployment and the global recession which has left employers focusing on employees not only with specialists’ skills but also a “broader range of skills and knowledge” (page 6-7). The Hart Report clearly reflects what the needs of contemporary employers are, but the question is whether it is the universities or the students themselves who fail to cope with the requirements of the contemporary world which is filled with technological advancement and critical thinking. The Texas Work Source has also played an important role in examining what is actually missing in today’s generation and the reasons behind such a great decline in employment. The central

    Read More

  • Social Challenges Facing The Middle And Low Income Classes

    924 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...inues to grow not only because of the poor corporate governance styles but also due to the concerned authorities’ reluctance to solve the crisis. The elite families have created strong networks with influential personalities from across the world. This form of modern slavery means the underprivileged families cannot compete favorably with the elite families for the limited economic and social opportunities. Like the proletariat of the 19th century, the modern low-income American families lack capital, land and adequate entrepreneurial skills to start their businesses. As a result, most of these bottom 25% of the income distribution are always willing to accept the low paying jobs. Whereas the chief executive officers, managing directors and major shareholders create policies that allow them to gain lucrative compensation packages, dividends and other profit shares.

    Read More

  • Karl Marx's Analysis Of A Capitalist System

    1047 Words  | 3 Pages

    The contributions of a worker diminish once owners figure out ways to increase the means of production. If an employee is producing twenty pairs of shoes a day, and working ten long excruciating hours earning the minimum of ten dollars an hour. The company begins to incorporate new technology that speeds up the production process, and now the worker is producing forty pairs of shoes. If each pair of shoes is selling for forty-five dollars, then the total profit made is 1,800 dollars. After compensating the worker for their labor, the surplus value of that company is 1,700 dollars just accounting for one employee. If the new technology speeds up the process of production, then the worker may end up working less hours and her role makes less of an impact. Marx recognizes that the worker is an “expendable object that performs routinized tasks” in a capitalist economy (Appelrouth & Edles, 2016). The worker is at a disadvantage because companies will determine their decisions based on profiting over jeopardizing their economy by placing the worker first. Capitalism reinforces globalization because relocation tends to take place, and then there are individuals competing for labor and

    Read More

  • Karl Marx And Social Conflict

    759 Words  | 2 Pages

    But as many societies modernized and grew much larger then working class became more educated, gaining specific job skills and achieving the kind of finical well-being jobs Marx would of never thought possible. As we see in today era in the year of 2016, workers are no longer getting exploited. Workers are now working under the protection of a union and a labor law. In a recent, New York Time article published on September 13, 2016, titled "Americans Inequality Problems: Real Income Gains Are Brief and Hard to Find". American 's income increasion was presented. A recent count by the Census Bureau provided good news for a beleaguered set of working class. A typical American working class income had increased by a heavy 5.2 percent in 2015. The first sky high jump since 2007, the year right before the economy had sank into a hard recession. The average income for the poorest population increased by a 6.6 percent after three back to back consecutive years of decline, the American economy has began to lift, the fellow ruse of the minimum wage across many states and municipalities. But what many American 's ask is what "why now why after so many years after the increase of labor income?" The answer to this question has many factors that can imply but one cause was mainly on distribution.Most agreed that the only way Americans were going to make it ahead would be through a paycheck. But the question still stands

    Read More

  • Poor Are Better Than Rich

    369 Words  | 1 Pages

    Poor people are filled with hope and the desire to help others that are in need of

    Read More

More about How the Rich Benefit from the Poor

Open Document