Problem Of Income Inequality

Brittany LamberthProfessor Wells English 102June 15, 2018Paul Krugman, agrees that the country is becoming economically diverse bit by bit. The middle ground amongthe richest and poorest is vanishing, and inequality is`widespread. His essay, “Confronting inequality” revealsonly how inequalityaffects us, but, as McClelland opposes, how recurringinequality can be. He references a study performed by the National Center for Education informationfrom the 1988 to 2003, in which eighth grade students were arrangedboth by academic skilland the socioeconomic rankof their parents, and the college graduation percentage. If our educational system truly gave all students equivalentopportunities, then we would expect the graduation rates to depend onlyon

In Income Inequality: Too Big to Ignore, Robert H. Frank paints a picture to the reader about the struggles of pier pressure. For example: an upper-classmen chooses to buy a big house and fancy clothing. This acts as a “frame of reference” to the changes and norms of the society. If he spends money on something nice, a middle-classmen will then go and decide to do the same thing, and then a lower-classmen…all the way down the social hierarchy. This is what he calls an “expenditure cascade.” Robert relates this with a person’s downfalls, which can be traced due to lower income inequality. Income inequality basically means that in a given quantity, the dispersion of income is underlined by the gap between individuals and or households with

The issue of income inequality in the United States is complicated and does not have a definite answer. Income inequality can be measured in a few different ways. The first measurement for the income inequality in a country is to look at the percentages on households and group them into income categories, called distribution by income category. The second measurement for income inequality is called distribution by quintiles or fifths. This is when you divide the total number of people, households, families into five groups called quintiles to examine the percentage of total before tax income received by each quintile. Each quintile would then be ordered by income and households in the category.

Income Inequality is a major problem that has been going on in America for decades. Many people feel that it barely exists today, but those people are very uneducated and don’t really care about the huge problem in front of them the many people that feel that way are highly uneducated, and seem to not really care about which has been gradually increasing instead of decreasing. Unfortunately, there’s not much that can be done, only of course if the poor class of people decide to actually educate themselves and get a higher education. One says poor class, simply because that’s how they’re classified. There are five types of levels that Americans are classified as, and they are: Upper Class, Upper Middle Class, Middle Class, Working Class, Poor. The highest percentage of Americans fall in the Poor department, and it has been that way for decades, and will continue to be that way for decades to come.

Income inequality is increasingly becoming a significant concern for many countries around the world. The income difference between the highly-educated, skilled, wealthy class and the poor, low to mid-skilled workers is growing larger and larger. In fact, the incomes of the rich are increasing significantly, while the low skilled workers’ incomes have been declining (The Economist, “Wealth Without Workers”). According to The Economist, real median wages have been decreasing since 2000 in half of the member countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). In the United States, there was a 4% increase from 1980 to 2012 in the share of national income that was distributed to the top 0.01% (The Economist, “True Progressivism”). Canada is facing a similar problem of rising inequality.

In any given population, there is a difference between what people within the population earn. The uneven distribution of income in any given population is income inequality. In order for there to be income, there has to be several sources of income. These sources of income may be combinational or independent per person receiving the income. Income may result from wages, rent, bank account interests, salaries or even profits made in business transactions ( Stiglitz, 2012).

The United States is currently experiencing increased income inequality and a large gap between rich and poor that continues to grow. After the Wall Street meltdown in 2008 and the recession that followed, economic recovery has been extremely slow and the inequality of America’s income distribution seems to be intensifying. Since the recession, the top one percent of earners in the US has experienced notably higher percentages of income growth, while the incomes of the middle class have become frozen with little to no significant increases. This has led to a substantial concentration of wealth. Many Americans have become skeptical and concerned about the chance of upward mobility in such an unbalanced economy. Education inequality is

The wealth gap should not be allowed to continue because, by letting the wealth gap continue, people are turning themselves into slaves. People's perceptions on the subject are secured by what is reality. There are solutions to make the wealth gap shrink but it will take education and the commitment of everyone. Who is affected by the wealth gap? If the gap was to shrink who would benefit from it? Wealth inequality is wrong but it can be fixed with education.

Has there been a demise in the middle class? Edward McClelland believes there has been. Could he be right? Since the 1970’s, the middle class has been slowly declining is the assumption that McClelland makes. Through my life experiences, I believe McClelland has some strong points but could be wrong in some areas.

Corporations and businesses should take responsibility in devising multiple solutions that help society as a whole. In Joseph Stiglitz’s essay “Rent Seeking and the Making of an Unequal Society” shows the corruption of wealth inequality in society. While, in Ethan Watters’ essay “The Mega-Marketing of Depression in Japan” shows the corruption of Western pharmaceutical companies shaping culture to market depression in Japan. [Drug marketing is a big problem in today’s society since big firms neglect their obligation to share the profits with others in society. Both Watters and Stiglitz offer objections to the economic markets in America as unjust due to market competition, false marketing techniques, opposition to cultural or income differences,

Edward McClelland is a journalist, as well as the author of several other books. Young Mr. Obama: Chicago and the Making of a Black President (2010), was the latest published, in addition to the several articles that appear in the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, and online sites such as, www.alternet.org. McClelland’s article, RIP, the Middle Class was first published on September 20, 2013, in Salon, an online news site. Having grown up in the midst of 1946-2013, Edward McClelland easily relates to that era. A time, when finding a well-paying job just out of high school was easily done. A time, when the Middle Class was still in existence.

An important factor in the creation of inequality is variation in individuals’ access to education (Becker, et. Al, 2007). According to Bosworth et. Al, (1999) education in a field that requires or demand a high number of workers, creates high wages for those with advance education. As a result, those who are unable to afford good quality education or choose not to participate in schools or colleges, generally receive much lower wages and thus it lowers aggregate savings and investment. In particular, the increase in family income and wealth

First, the increased income inequality in the United States is due to increasing problematic issues in the education sector. Education plays an increasingly vital part in the economic success in the United States as technological transformations and globalizations increase. A weakening middle class leads to decreased improvements in the education system, while a stronger middle class leads to increased

Wealthier individuals often have more power than the poor and are sometimes even able to maintain their wealth at the cost of the poor. Inequality of income is often one of the most significant reasons for the disparity within classes socially and one of the most important reasons that poverty is often intergenerational. Particularly in this tumultuous political time of divisiveness, people who are willing and able to make changes to the status quo in meaningful ways are of the utmost importance. Closing the gap in wealth is one of the most essential ways to ensure that inequality is addressed and that the other social issues surrounding this gap will be lessened and lessened until it hopefully eventually disappears. Change-makers are more important than ever and those groups and nations as well as individuals with power that are willing to be honest with themselves and

Income inequality has been a major issue in American history. There are many different factors that contribute to inequality. These include education, wealth, discrimination, ability, and monopoly power.