We are all boats it just depends on the type of boat and how well it is built. That is the structure of Reich’s essay he uses a lot of metaphors to get across what is really happening in the United States. He says we all used to be in the same boat now we are in different boats some are sinking some are about to sink and the other boats are doing just fine and looking for an upgrade. “It’s a game that gets people in the lower and middle classes comfortable with a declining standard of living, provided they can be made to believe some rich guy somewhere is suffering worse than they are.” (Hayward) Having money is like a game you are not rich or poor it is the way you think about your life. If you are happy it should not matter how much money
One of the biggest differences in the two groups of people rich and poor is the types of jobs they are working. You do not see too many millionaires getting their hands dirty working in the field, construction, and doing the dirty jobs that no one wants. Reich even says in his essay the rich people are the ones who are the creators and the poor are the ones doing manual labor. “Most of the poverty in the United States is artificially manufactured. It is poverty created in the pursuit of “free market ideals.” (Davidson) In this the people who are working shift work do not have the time to worry about how the stock market is doing, but they think they have to live up to the standard of the people who do have money so they are pretending to be someone who they are not. Another important factor is their attitudes poor is hardworking and never give up kind of sense while rich is not afraid to throw anything away and have people do the dirty work for
“However, if poverty is defined in the relative sense, the lowest fifth of income-earners, "poverty" will always be with us. No matter how poverty is defined, if I were an unborn spirit, condemned to a life of poverty.” (Williams) Reich always says that money is relative and it is depending on your mind set not how you compare to everyone else. This is correct because there is always going to be someone who does not make as much and someone who has to work the jobs that no one wants. It will probably get worse unless the government inflicts a protocol on some kind of taxes or have to give some money away in order to keep the society going smoothly. Like in any sport activities there is always going to be someone that ends up on top it just depends on how hard you want to work for it. Someone has to be on top and someone has to be on the
In this paper, Gregory Mantsios compares and contrasts class in America. He uses facts to support his point that things are getting better for the upper class, while things are increasingly getting worse for the middle and lower classes. Throughout the paper, he demonstrates comparing and contrasting by using “myth” versus “reality”.
In the documentary “inequality for all”, Robert Reich examines the overall state of inequality in America, and explains the intricate processes involved in the economy, which determines the distribution of wealth, and how both the middle and upper classes utilize it. During the introduction of the documentary, Reich states “I like having a Mini Cooper. I sort of identify with it…. We are sort of together, facing the rest of the world”. Although Reich is making a comparison between the size of his car and himself, the overall inference of this quote refers to the immense scale of the American economy. In this sense, Reich acknowledges that he, and many other Americans, are unequal to upper class residents; although, the inequality itself isn’t labeled as a negative consequence. In fact, Reich acknowledges that “some inequality is just inevitable”, meaning that inequality within an economy is an intended consequence of American capitalism which, if done correctly, can create prosperity for any economic class. Instead of seeing inequality as either black or white, Reich examines the different effects of inequality at different magnitudes, and asks whether inequality can be a problem, and if so, when it becomes one. To do
With each class comes a certain level in financial standing, the lower class having the lowest income and the upper class having the highest income. According to Mantsios’ “Class in America” the wealthiest one percent of the American population hold thirty-four percent of the total national wealth and while this is going on nearly thirty-seven million Americans across the nation live in unrelenting poverty (Mantsios 284-6). There is a clear difference in the way that these two groups of people live, one is extreme poverty and the other extremely
Shipler concludes the book with these thoughts: "Workers at the edge of poverty are essential to America's prosperity, but their well-being is not treated as an integral part of the whole. Instead, the forgotten wage a daily struggle to keep themselves from falling over the cliff. It is time to be ashamed." No, it is time to move past the ideology and make work pay for all Americans.
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.
has generally lowered, further showing the inequality that exists in our nation. It is usually difficult for the lower classes to achieve financial success because a high income job requires good education which the lower classes lacks because they cannot afford it.
Let's take it back to the past in regards to wealth distribution in this country. The fact is that the economy boomed from the end of WWII into the 1970's. “Incomes grew rapidly and at roughly the same rate up and down the income ladder, roughly doubling in inflation-adjusted terms between the late 1940s and early 1970s” (CBPP). Through the 70's economic growth slowed, and the wealth gap widened. Middle-class families were now considered lower class. People relied on the government to help them out with welfare programs. The middle-class class was weakened and the gap grew and grew. There were periods of positive fluctuation, however the middle-class simply never regained it's status that was held in more prosperous times in the past.
Reich, Robert B. “Why the Rich Are Getting Richer and the Poor, Poorer.” A World of Ideas:
Is Inequality in America really as bad as we perceive it? In America, we have many people discussing back and forth on the issue of inequality. Some people claim that inequality is a rapidly growing phenomenon, separating the rich from the poor. Though, other Americans claim that we’re progressing and departing away from inequality. However, the way in which we choose to perceive inequality is our choice, but we cannot ignore the fact that it exist. Inequality is an issue that has been constantly debated in the past, and will continue to be debated, so long as we do not put an end to it. Inequality is changing our country. The people who enjoy higher social statuses are spending their money with no limitations, whereas the people in the lower
...ment, income inequality will exist due to the rise of some economically successful people and the further development of factors that push people into poverty. Although it may not seem fair that there are rich people blowing money on impractical and meaningless things while people live in poverty, it’s a reality that the United States has experienced for centuries.
This group is typically small. These people are more known individuals such as actors and artist. Even though the group is fairly small compared to others, it is also divided into two subsections. The subsections are “lower-upper” and “upper-upper.” The lower- upper class are people who have money because they worked for it. They invest in things that will produce more money for them in the future. An example of someone who might fall into the “lower -upper” class is Will Smith. Will Smith fits under this category because he invested in a clothing company, because of that he will make money which will keep in the upper class. Because of the company, Will Smith will most likely always have some sort of money coming to him. People who fall under the “upper-upper” class are considered rich because the money has been passed on and on between generation of family members. An example of someone who might fall under the “upper-upper” class is someone who has parents as celebrities, like Blue Ivy, because both of her parents are famous she will grow up and be considered rich because of what her family will be able to pass to her. These people typically never work for money. The people who fall under the upper class social class are people are on top.
“Why the Rich are getting Richer and the Poor, Poorer” written by Robert Reich, describes as the title says, why the rich are getting richer and the poor, poorer. In Reich’s essay he delves into numerous reasons and gives examples of each. It makes one wonder if the world will continue on the path of complete economic separation between the rich and the poor.
A problem America is experiencing is the economic growth, it is a problem because the wealth growth is only affecting the rich. It is as simple as this, the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. Robert Reich points this out in his text, Why the Rich Are Getting Richer and the Poor, Poorer. This has been a problem recurring since the industrial revolution, because of the labor groups being stuck in that position. Also, the mergers, and lawyers cycle around their money through lawsuits, and takeovers. Reich uses metaphors in his text about the fall of economy, and he uses boats. There are three boats that are being represented by different economic standing. The reason why Americans are having such troubling economic standings
The opposite claim, as it were, is that the gap in income levels does not necessarily prevent the lower and middle classes from achieving the American Dream and that the supremely rich are a necessary fixation in the United States because they employ so many people. Therefore, the stability of the economy requires this inequality. In an essay written by Brandon King, who believes that the American Dream is still fully obtainable by all classes, he says, “...We should keep in mind the ways in which large businesses and financial insti-tutions enable many others to attain economic stability and security.” Although this view is very understandable and yes, the economy does partially rely on people of wealth for business, the excess wealth of those that own most of the money in the United States (not those of moderate wealth, but those who own the majority of it) is unnecessary and unbeneficial to the rest of the country. The majority find themselves unable to gain enough footing to provide themselves with the requisite materials to catch up to a world in which the list of imperative resources for success keeps growing longer and the ability to acquire these things keeps getting
Money is an essential part of life where every people can satisfy whatever they need and every person in America has a chance to find a job. However, some of the people in the country wanted to go on with their life freely by being a part of a welfare. Furthermore, distribution of wealth is a huge demand of every citizen. Everyone today is trying to look down for every people in the lower class, as they did not give any benefit to the country, waiting for the benefits that they will receive from the government. For instance, when most lower class people have gone through a financial crisis due to overspending, insufficient fund or pay for their work to support themselves and/or their family. The example shows that lower class people made the economy of the country unstable, however, the middle class and the higher class is at fault as well. Furthermore, even though the benefit of that the lower class received is from the middle class, the middle class as well benefits from the higher class. To sum up, every class is at fault towards giving the country’s economy a positive