Analysis Of Confronting Inequality By Paul Krugman

Paul Krugman, in a recent article has eloquently discussed the issue of unequally distributed income in the United States (Krugman, 2015). He alludes to a number of general economic principles in this article. He talks about how a major misconception about the effect of taxes on income inequality in the United States has been addressed through a recent research carried out by Branko Milanovic and Janet Gornick.

In Paul Krugman’s essay, “Confronting Inequality,” he discusses various points about how America has developed into quite the divided country over the years. The United States of America has become unequal in terms of annual income, living standards, education and school districts, politics, and social standards, just to name a few. Several matters of combatting the injustice faced by the nation are also mentioned. All of Krugman’s points revolve around one central question, being “why should we care about high and rising inequality?” (Graff, Birkenstein, Durst 561). I believe inequality truly does raise concerning problems within our society, but it also may be a positive thing for our people. Extreme equality could, in turn, result in a communistic government in which those who work into overdrive earn the same titles as those who do not.

Income Inequality in America is a problem that’s been going on for decades, and many feel that it hardly exists, the many people that feel that way are highly uneducated, and seem to not really care about this tremendous problem that in one’s eyes really has no end in the near future, in fact it has been gradually rising and one feels that it’s just not fair. 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: 1. Upper Class, 2. Upper Middle Class, 3. Middle Class, 4. Working Class, 5. Poor.

Why is it so important and why has it caused the economy such agony? Americans, both wealthy and poor, try their absolute best to maintain a decent lifestyle for their children so they may have more open opportunities, especially during these difficult hardships. Many middle class Americans are purchasing homes that they may not be able to afford. Why? Because they want to make sure their children are living in a good neighborhood with a good school to receive an education. This shows how the wealthy and poor have different standards of living in terms of money management. This inequality connects back to predatory lending. People who purchase homes over their budgets will have more income difficulties and financial problems. This is likely to lead to subprime mortgages which, in an unfortunate turn, adds to the distress of the economy. Paul Krugman, an economy professor at Princeton and op-ed writer for the New York Times, states in his essay, “The lack of clear economic progress for lower- and middle- income families is in itself an important reason to seek a more equal distribution of income.” The inequality within our present society has caused a ridiculous amount of misfortune and concern. Incomes are unequal which raises questions as to who is living the better life and who is at a better advantage. Krugman also mentions in his essay, “Our unique lack of universal health care, all by itself puts Americans who are unlucky in

In “Confronting Inequality” by Paul Krugman he tries to show how inquailty in the united states has been getting worse and how it s affecting the united states. He provides many reason to why iniquility is the way it s and how he belives it can be helped. He also states the positive effects in helping the inquility in the united states will have.

Wealth inequality in the United States has grown tremendously since 1970. The United States continuously reveals higher rates of inequality as a result of perpetual support for free market capitalism. The high rates of wealth inequality cause the growing financial crisis to persist, lower socio-economic mobility, increase national poverty, and have adverse effects on health and well being.

Her argument and reasoning within the essay talks about how economic inequality is “widely known and widely studied” (1). She persuades her readers with many convincing facts and research that contribute to her argument that economic inequality in the United States is nearing its breaking point (2). Jill Lepore writes about the Gini index and how we have been using this method for a hundred years to measure economic inequality and writes “In 2013, the U.S. Census Bureau reported a Gini index of .476” (1). Jill Lepore argues “The growth of inequality isn’t inevitable. But, insofar as Americans have been unable to adopt measures to reduce it, the number might seem to suggest that the problem doesn’t lie with how Americans treat one another’s kids, as lousy as that is. It lies with Congress” (10). She clearly states that even with this knowledge Americans still have made no changes and are incapable of decrease the inequality as it grows within the United States but are willing to blame other things instead of the real issue.

Throughout the article, Krugman attempts to grab the attention of his audience and help them become mindful of how the limited movement between social classes will have an effect on their life. In order to do so, he implements rhetorical questions that appeal to pathos and ethos, while displaying a negative tone and fearful mood. Rhetorical questions are used throughout the article to introduce an important idea and make the readers evaluate their current social status. For example, the author creates a hypothetical situation about the rich wanting to seek more advancements, he then questions, “What would you do?” (11) and follows this question with steps one could take to control the government and receive more leverage over the poor community. This question and response strengthened his argument because it appealed to the readers emotions about the ability the rich have to further harm the poor. Krugman also proposes questions that appeal to his ethos. After stating the steps one could take to “close off as many routes to upward mobility as possible,” (14) he asks, “It all sounds sort of familiar, doesn’t it?”(15). This question is meant to be unanswered but make the audience reflect. If the audience did feel that the

In his article "Confronting Inequality" Paul Krugman is asserting the fact of high socioeconomic inequality in the United States, while demonstrating its consequences and the variety of statistic evidences upon it. He is depicting modern American society where we have a huge gap between economic elite and lower-and middle-income classes. There is a time for ''a Great Moderation" reforms that will bring a socioeconomic equality.

In the essays “The American Dream: Dead, Alive, or on Hold?” by Brandon King and “Confronting Inequality” by Paul Krugman, the authors discuss a wide variety of ideas that affect or maintain the idea of income inequality in America today. In the essay by Brandon King, he clearly states that the values of the American Dream are still alive today, but are getting harder and harder to achieve for the average person. King argues that the American Dream of today has drastically changed from what it used to be, and that the thought of being successful only lays within having a steady life with little to no struggle. However, in “Confronting Inequality”, Krugman has a different approach on the topic, arguing that the American Dream is no longer alive. Krugman states that the rise of income inequality will also lead heavily to social inequality, and that the rise of income inequality is a huge cause of social inequality as well. The two authors use a majority of viewpoints and methods to explore the same topic of inequality. However, there are also many ways in which both authors offer different sides of the argument and how it should be handled.

“One reason to care about inequality is the straightforward matter of living standards. The lions share of the economic growth in America over the past thirty years has gone to a small, wealthy minority…”(Krugman 586).

In Robert Reich documentary “Inequality for All” he makes a compelling discussion about the serious crises that the United States faces due the widening economic gap. He looks to raise awareness of the U.S. economic gap between the rich and poor. According to Reich the widening divide in America is real and growing. Income levels at the middle and labor class is stagnant and are at it’s lowest levels compared to upper class incomes since the beginning of WWII and is growing wider each year. Reich suggests that the economy runs more smoothly when the middle class has jobs with fair wages, when unions are strong, and when middle class workers have some extra money to spend if possible when the government uses the tax policy properly and when it raises the minimum wage regularly to control the income gap between labor and management. In other words Reich argues that economically healthy middle and labor class equality is the foundation of a thriving economy and is necessary to maintaining a sound national infrastructure and educational system within

One of the social issues concerning power, status, and class in American society today is income inequality. The income gap between the social classes has increased drastically throughout the last few decades, creating a significant gap between the wealthy and the poor. This gap has become so large that the middle class has nearly diminished, creating a social class comprised of the rich and the poor. The significant gap between the two social classes is unhealthy for the economy because it provides too much power in the hands of those with high social status.

That top portion manipulates the facts because they want the rest of America to believe that there is little inequality in the society. This causes a massive misunderstanding by the majority of the population where they underestimate the adverse economic effects of inequality and overestimate of the cost of taking action. There are also many misconceptions concerning the government which include the overestimate the ability of government to fix their inequality problems and the failure to understand what the government is doing to fix society’s problems. Despite the seemingly obvious facts, “only 42 percent of Americans believe that inequality has increased in the past ten years,” (Stiglitz 185) this believe is due to the optimism when it comes to social mobility, most Americans believe that there is a way to “cheat” or overcome the inequality. This idea that hope is necessary for a society to be controlled is consistent throughout a lot of governments and even literary works as well. In Suzanne Collins’s Hunger Games trilogy the dictator like President Snow makes a point to say that hope is the only thing stronger than fear. This is true in society today, it is easier to rule and control people who think that things will get better

Many in America today like the idea of equality. We want people to have the same opportunities as everyone else has. Paul Brugman in "Confronting Equality," argues on the side of equality. He points to three areas where changes is needed in order for equality to exist. He states that children with wealthy parents have more opportunities than those with poor parents. He believes that if the rich are taxed at a higher rate than the poor, than that money can be used to put both poor and rich children on an equal playing field and will offer both similar opportunities. Brugman also pushes for universal health care. If the poor do not have to pay for a doctor's bill then they will not use all of their money caring for the health of their children. Brugman also believes that the government should raise minimum wage. By raising the minimum wage, those who are struggling financially would be able to work only one job while living a moderate lifestyle. Even though these idea sound great, they are actually inequitable. No one should not have to pay higher taxes because they make more money. Many people often live a financially unstable life that causes them to remain in poverty, while those who have more money are often more careful with what they have. Rather than universal health care, it would be better if doctors' offices were privately owned, and everyone paid for his or her own medical bills. Raising the minimum wage sounds good but would have a negative affect on non