Inequality In The United States

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.

Jill Lepore's essay puts a spotlight on the growing issue at hand and provides heartfelt examples of the dangers that inequality has caused America; she provides facts that show the growing dilemma that inequality is causing U.S. citizens. In this essay, there will be an analysis of some of the facts and evidence Jill Lepore has provided of this growing issue within America.

As you can see, inequalities have plagued America for hundreds of years and continue to do so.

Professor of ecology and evolution, Peter Turchin, describes the condition of the U.S. with a few statistics, “Today, the top one per cent of incomes in the United States accounts for one fifth of US earnings. The top one per cent of fortunes holds two-fifths of the total wealth. Just one rich family, the six heirs of the brothers Sam and James Walton, founders of Walmart, are worth more than the bottom 40 per cent of the American population combined.” (Cite) Turchin also analyzes economic inequality within the United States over the past 200 years. Within the time frame of the 1800s to the 1920s, economic inequality “increased more than a hundredfold.” Then from this point until the 1980s there was a period known as the “Great Compression” where economic equality grew. Over the past 40 years the trend has turned back towards inequality, and we find ourselves reentering an elitist, discriminatory system. Using historical economic patterns, the U.S. appears to have entered a new era of stagnation for economic equality.

Economic inequality has been a problem in the United States for a long time now, and is only getting worse as the years go by. Some people may not notice, but data researched by economist and UC Berkeley professor Robert Reich proves it. We all need to start noticing how bad our economy is becoming and make actions to make it better again before it becomes too late. Some questions that need to be answered is: how much inequality can we tolerate? And when does it actually become a problem?

Social inequality exists in the United States through the Elite’s power to maintain their dominance in the United States capitalist system. The Elite Ruling class is made of the upper class and this class of individuals share similar ideology and are the members of the United State’s Superstructure. The Elite Ruling Class members of society are the decision and policy makers in the United States. Research and history has proven that many policies and decisions made by the Elite Ruling Class serve their own interest and promote their ideas. These decisions are the source of the inequality in the United States and it contributes to their ability to maintain their dominant status. The inequality is trickled down to the other classes through social policy and social institutions that affect our lives everyday citizens. A major example of this social inequality can be seen in the United States housing market or home ownership. A significant amount of studies, statics and data supports the evidence of social inequality within the US housing market or home ownership. The following passages will discuss social inequality in the United States as it is connected to Karl Marx’s theory of capitalism’s power and influence of the Elite Dominant i.e. the Ruling Class view as it relates to homeownership within the United States. Karl Marx’s theory however focuses mostly on economic s and the difference between upper and lower class not race. It is also important to point out that the Elite

People can not put on the news without seeing at least one story about social inequality or injustice, if everyone knows about these inequities why are they not being solved? Inequities are not limited to America, social inequity is a global problem making it extremely important to raise awareness of the topic. Inequities such as racism and sexism impact teenagers in America, but to counteract this persecution authors can use various genres of literature to promote tolerance and reduce the effects of inequities. Racism and sexism violates people’s rights in schools, the workplace, and almost every place in the world. Through the words of authors, society can learn the harmful effects of these inequities, and learn how

Inequality is one of the biggest problems facing our country today. The wealthiest 1% of Americans have as much financially as the poorest 50% of Americans. Many people in this country are working hard every day and are barely able to make ends meet. The voice of the poorest in this country is being ignored in favor of the voice of the wealthy. Most Americans do not desire to be poor but they are not given the chance and the resources to overcome poverty.

First, the SBTC model that describes the relationship between inequality and innovation assumes that changes in technology dictates the demand for unskilled and skilled workers. Lazonick and Mazzucato describe this model as an issue with the market rather than an issue with organizations. Also, SBTC proponents argue that the government must intervene in order to compensate for this market failure. As technology progresses, there is a systematic change in the type of labor that is needed in the market. This model characterizes that with the progression of technology, the market becomes biased towards the group of workers it’s dependent on.

Income inequality has come to the front as an issue over the past few years due to low-wage workers demanding a raise in the minimum wage. While the United States remains one of the richest countries in the world,

Inequality appears frequently in daily life; from children being discriminated against others in schools due to the fact that they have a low status compared to rich people, to workers not receiving the same rights, it generates a negative outcome in most scenarios. There are many people living in the world who are classified under two categories; the ones who are wealthy and are able to afford more than enough of their needs and plenty more of their wants, and the ones who are just about surviving with their basic human necessities. There are numerous factors which are a cause of rising gap between the rich and the poor, major issues being education, taxation, unemployment and being a member of minority ethnic groups.

Inequality has been seen throughout history and socially by how people differentiate each other by what they have. It started with hunting and gathering in that the wealthiest had the most power and told their tribe what to do and had most of the goods.In the middle ages where they started to use other people as their workers to work for their land. Everything has changed from 1940 until present day by government, technology, and globalization having high poverty in the country.

(Castillo-Merino, Sjoberg 2008). The impact in inequality is argued to occur in both ways, through the increasing demand for skilled workers and by the elimination of lower and middle skill jobs which leads to an increasing competition for these lower-wage jobs. (Kochan, Riordan 2015)

Inequality has been shown throughout American history and has affected various countries including the United States. The two forms of inequality this paper will address are global and social inequality. Social inequality refers to the distribution of resources based on socially defined characteristics, while global inequality is the systematic differences in wealth and power between countries. Children living in poverty don’t have the same opportunities as those who live in a higher income county. Discrimination, segregation, and unequal distribution of income and resources have caused inequalities to form. These two types of inequality are still affecting our society today and making it difficult for people to strive for a better future.

One of the reasons for income inequality is education. The more education one has, the greater their possibility of making a higher income. Based on information provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “earnings increase and unemployment decreases as educational attainment rises” (Vilario 2016).