“You’re fired,” the first thing an employee hears in his/her job at a real estate company in 2008 without knowing the cause while his/her CEO gets a massive raise. Ever since the subprime mortgage crisis occurred in 2008, which left a multitude of people without a stable, well-paying job, CEOs and other executives in the United States have been making gargantuan amounts of money from their respective companies while laying off workers. For example, according to From Beyond Outrage written by Robert B. Reich, “The chairman of Merck took home $17.9 million in 2010, as Merck laid off sixteen thousand workers and announced layoffs of twenty-eight thousand more.” and that is not just “worrisome, but also outrageous.” However, this paramount issue did not begin in the twenty-first century, but in the late 1980’s. During this time, George H. W. Bush’s Administration had utilized the concept of trickle-down economics that was implemented by the Reagan Administration, and, as a result, helped to create a growing gap in wealth in the U.S. Furthermore, this expanding gap has led to growth in poverty as well as the constant growth of the power of the upper class in which the author Gregory Mantsios, who wrote Class in Americaㅡ2012, wanted to clarify the myths and truths within the United States social hierarchy in order to explain the need to strengthen the middle class. In the contemporary United States, Mantsios describes that the lifestyles of individuals depend on several factors,
Throughout Robert Reich article Why the Rich Are Getting Richer and the Poor, Poorer, discusses about the growing gap between the upper and lower class in modern society. Reich’s article is certainly an eye opener regarding unemployment, and how it is currently surfacing from the shortage of technology and education. Through the text Reich uses a firm metaphor to describe how the economy is like a boat that constantly moves up and down the current portraying the upper class and working class. This boat however is extremely important because it is a boat we are all currently in and one is sinking faster than the other and that one is rising; here Reich is distinguishing the different types of social classes. However, the rich are yet getting
The success of the up-and-coming middle-class made America the place many dreamed to be. It is this similar type of journey of America’s riches to rags history that one will come to recognize has occurred many times throughout the nation. In “RIP The Middle Class-1946-2013”
Since the time we are born we are fed the lies of capitalism. We are taught that capitalism hurts no one and that capitalism is the only way. Johnson and Robbins have some very influential ideas about capitalism. Johnson writes about the complexity of privilege. He also addresses why some privileged people do not feel privileged through the matrix of capitalist domination. Robbins gives us a background on how privilege became what it is today. He addresses the anatomy of the working class by drawing attention to how they were mobile, divided, powerless, and anxious for a revolution. Through Johnson and Robbins’ eyes we can begin to see how the world is not the one we were taught it was.
. In the Gilded Age the economy was dominated by the wealthy corporations, “And so it went, in industry after industry---shrewd, efficient businessmen building empires, choking out competition, maintaining high prices, keeping wages low, using government subsidies” (Zinn 257). This is seemingly what is happening again in the 21st century; the level of inequality has peaked once more with, “…inadequate wages, poor social mobility, lack of access to universal healthcare and basic social safety nets, limited labor rights and attacks on unions, a tax system that benefits the rich in general and unearned wealth in particular” (Morning's Minion
George W. Bush was born in New Haven, Connecticut on July 6, 1946. Just like other presidents, he had his good times and his bad times. He was the forty-third president of The United States. Because of those who had preceded him in The Oval Office, he understood the importance of being the Commander in Chief. In all of the events that happened during his presidency he never gave up on his country (Biography; Gale: Vol 21).
The course of a presidency is shaped by decisions made before inauguration day. The choices a president-elect makes when staffing their White House determines how they will use the precious time they will spend in the Oval Office. The management style of a president is a function of the president’s personality with consequences for the future of the country. George W. Bush and Barack Obama are different men who constructed for themselves distinctly different White Houses, each with their own priorities, strengths, and weaknesses.
The United States of America was once renowned for and demarcated by the size and successfulness of its middle class. Currently, America faces a shrinking middle class and a new rising oligarchy that is creating the largest wealth disparity in eighty years. Robert B. Reich wrote Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few, for the sole purpose of exposing the reasons why the wealthy get wealthier and poor get poorer. Reich contends that the free market vs government debate serves as a means of distraction, covering up the real issues of the top one percent reaping economic gains. Reich states in the book that the “free market” is a myth that prevents us from examining the rule changes and questioning who they serve. Reich further states “it is no accident that those with disproportionate influence over these rules, who are the largest beneficiaries of how the rules have been designed and adapted, are also among the most passionate supporters of the “free market” and the most ardent advocates of the relative superiority of the market over the government.”
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
George W. Bush, the 43 President of The United States of America, is one of the greatest leaders we have ever seen. In this essay I will describe why, I feel that Mr. Bush is a highly qualified leader for this country. Mr. Bush is highly educated, has the aptitude for being the President and is a great communicator. Mr. Bush is also a person of strong constitution or stability, extremely motivated and cooperative. The later being extremely important when one considers the close ratio of Democrats to Republicans in the U.S. House and Senate. Due to his high level of leadership potential I am of the opinion the US is currently being lead by one of the most capable and qualified candidates of recent memory.
George Walker Bush is the son of the 41st President George H. W. Bush and Barbara Bush. Born on July 6, 1946, Bush was raised in Houston, Texas and was the oldest of four children. Bush finished his high school years at Phillips Academy, which was an all-male boarding school in Andover, Massachusetts, where he was the head cheerleader during his senior year. Bush went to college at Yale University from 1964 till his graduation in 1968 where he finished with a Bachelor’s degree in history. In the fall of 1973, Bush attended the Harvard Business School, where he earned an MBA. He is the only US President to have earned an MBA. He also is the first US President to get into office with a criminal record, as he had multiple
America is often referenced with the idea of the “American Dream” and the “Land of Opportunity.” For centuries, people have flocked to America in hopes of a better life and greater opportunity. However, if they are searching for equal opportunity, America is not the country that they will find it in. Success in the United States is limited to the opportunities available to the individual, and without equal distribution of opportunity, financial success is not reachable to those in the lower classes of American society. Notable educators and authors such as Gregory Mantsios and Diana Kendall have brought the problems of American society to attention, claiming that the rich are getting richer and the poor continue to remain poor. In his essay, “Class in America – 2009,” Mantsios discusses the myths that revolve around class in America, and then refutes these myths by describing the realities of the society Americans live in. Similarly, in her essay, “Framing Class, Vicarious Living, and Conspicuous Consumption,” Kendall writes about the realities of the classes in America while advocating for a change in the way the media portrays the class issues. The United States was founded on the belief of equal opportunity for all individuals, and many still believe that equal opportunity still holds true today. Despite the way media masks the class issues, empirical evidence and research show that equal opportunity does not exist in America due to
There are many inequalities prevalent in the US, and as a capitalist society, one of the most common is economic inequality. The Equality Trust defines economic inequality, as the gap between the well off and less well of in regards to overall economic distribution (“How Is”). See, our capitalist society strongly benefits those with a capitalist mentality and can afford the means to invest/own capital. Over the years there has been an increasing wealth gap between the top one percent earners and the general population. So why are the rich flourishing while the poor are struggling in this capitalist environment? The policy decisions of our country allow this inequality to permeate throughout our industries, thus creating a culture of power and greed. One result of this culture is the explosion of high salaries in the US and Emmanuel Saez explains this trend in Striking it Richer. Saez affirms, “Indeed, estimates based purely on wages and salaries show that the share of total wage and salaries earned by the top 1 percent wage income earners has jumped from 5.1 percent in 1970 to 12.0 percent in 2006” (Grusky 89). Too bad that the 99 percent of America missed out on this massive economic growth spurt. When economic growth is not evenly distributed among the general population, people tend to question our entire system. This has been an increasingly controversial issue, where corporate America is responsible for the constant exploitation of low-level employees. Through my
The role of the President as Chief Executive is a complex matter because it covers a wide area of responsibility and involves many government agencies and offices, that the President is responsible for overseeing. The history of Chief Executive starts in the constitution with Article II section I “Executive Power shall be vested in the President of the United States of America” this did not create the role although it was a front runner to it. Executive Power is understood to mean “seeing that laws are executed” this would be a hard task for one person to accomplish in a newly formed government let alone in today’s political world (Kalllenbach) . To briefly explain this requires and understanding of what it is, what it does and how it
Although it is often said that the President of the United States holds the most powerful office in the world, this does not mean that he is able to decide very much for himself. The American Constitution, which was adapted in 1789, clearly states the Separation of Powers. Thus, the president makes up only one third of the government, namely the executive branch. He is also controlled by a complex system of checks and balances, which makes sure that he (or any of the other branches, for that matter) does not become too powerful. We will now have a look at the different problems which may be facing a recently elected president, and then discuss to what extent his powers are important.
The United States is experiencing a great divide. The middle class is dividing into two groups, those who are incredible rich and those who struggle to afford necessities of life. This concentrates a large percentage of the country’s wealth into the hands of a small percentage of people. In Joseph Stiglitz’ book, The Price of Inequality, many claims are made giving reason to the growing inequality in the United States. Among those reasons are the economic trend of globalization, the practices of U.S. financial institutions, and the rent-seeking behaviors of those with wealth and power. These reasons are also tied together by an overarching reason, which