The Widening Income Gap Of Modern America

The documentary “Inequality for All” focusing on Robert Reich, a Berkeley professor, Harvard graduate, and previous Secretary of Labor under Bill Clinton, argues how the United States economy is struggling with the widening income gap; indeed, since the 1970’s, the income gap between the wealthy and middle class has continued to widen which has created many problems within this country.

The author provides great detail in each rhetorical category and causes the reader to associate on a personal level. While connecting the audience with the message Ms. Lepore also causes the reader to feel a deep-seated responsibility to be part of the solution. She delivers a broad overview of statistical data from many sources to lend credibility to her position. Jill Lepore uses a very logical approach to show the reader there is a large income inequality gap in the U.S. The author shows there is a direct correlation between the inequality of income and the inequality of

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.

Capitalism has been the central force behind the growth of the United States’ progressive economy. Within such advanced economic system the chances of economic disparity are significantly high. In fact, over the past three decades there has being a steady increase in unequal wealth distribution among the economic classes. To sustain the current unequal wealth distribution among the classes of the American population, there are numerous factors that influence and shape this trend. For some members of the population it is alarmingly disturbing to know that recent statistics have shown that, “In the US [alone] the wealthiest 1% of its population owns more than the bottom 95 %” (Gutman). As for the difference in economic wealth, it resulted

At the root of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders’ highly touted (and shouted) policies, from free college to an increase in the minimum wage, is the issue of inequality in America. Perhaps it’s no surprise that Sanders has seen great success on his message of fixing inequality in the United States, the gap between the wealthy and poor has been growing at an alarming rate. The focus tends to be on income inequality rather than wealth inequality. According to Google Trends, searches for “Income Inequality” significantly outnumber searches for “Wealth Inequality”, and have consistently done so since 2004 (Web Search Interests). Despite this, wealth inequality is a far greater problem than income inequality. Income inequality

Income inequality in the United States has been on the rise since 1970 (Piketty & Saez 2003). The consequences to high levels of inequality include: economic decay, financial instability, lack of economic mobility, and distrust in political institutions(citations). In theory, these consequences should be impacting Americans attitudes toward income inequality. Americans take pride in being the land of economic opportunity; however, the American dream is at risk with high levels of inequality. A 2013 study, argued that intergenerational mobility is lower with high levels of income inequality, which indicates some families are struggling to advance up the economic ladder (Corak 2013). Furthermore, Americans recognize that economic opportunity

Income inequality has been a rising problem in the United States for the past few decades. One of the main issues surrounding this years is election, especially for the Democratic candidates is income inequality and how to address it. Public opinion on income inequality and the government’s role in changing it can easily shape how the election turns out this year which can make great differences to the lives of American’s for years to come.

m here, the bipartisan comity ends. The reasons for this narrative and some possible prescriptions to alleviate or reverse income inequality differ. Some conservative thinkers such as Charles Murray believe that income inequality derives from cultural practices. He notes that Americans who get married and raise their children in a nuclear family are wealthier, have arduous work ethics that lead to a perpetuation of success, and are more likely to send their children to college. One corollary of Murray’s argument is that traditionalist conservative values need to be readopted by lower-class Americans. Conversely, liberal thinkers such as Thomas Friedman see income inequality as a result of a divide in education. Friedman argues that in a “flat

Income inequality has affected American citizens ever since the American Dream came to existence. The American Dream is centered around the concept of working hard and earning enough money to support a family, own a home, send children to college, and invest for retirement. Economic gains in income are one of the only possible ways to achieve enough wealth to fulfill the dream. Unfortunately, many people cannot achieve this dream due to low income. Income inequality refers to the uneven distribution of income and wealth between the social classes of American citizens. The United States has often experienced a rise in inequality as the rich become richer and the poor become poorer, increasing the unstable gap between the two classes. The

Income inequality in America is higher than in any other industrial nation in the world. Many believe this creates serious problems for both United States citizens and its economy. The inequality difference is continually getting larger and worsening these problems.

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.

The data suggests that in general, there are more people who think we need to lower the income gap rather than leave it be. However, the amount of people who favor lowering income inequality does not exceed half of the population, so it cannot be said that the majority support lowering the income gap. This is due to the significant portion of people, 20%, who are indifferent on the issue. Lowering the income gap does not get support across party lines. Most Democrats are for reducing the income inequality, whereas most Republicans are against it. Independents’ opinion on the issue is the same as the general population’s. When it comes to education, there is a trend indicating that the higher the education level of the individual, the less likely they are to support reducing the income gap. Finally, the survey points out that individuals which have a higher income are less likely to support reducing income inequality.

Currently Wall Street protestors are among the most outspoken activists about this issue. She notes that “According to the Congressional Budget Office between 1979 and 2007, income grew by 275% for the top 1% of households and just 18% for the bottom 20%.”The United States Census Bureau also identified a gap between the highest income earners and the lowest during this period, even further expanding on it mentioning the gap had remained consistent until the mid-1970s. This widening gap is even more pronounced over that last dozen years where the top 1% captured two thirds of all income growth (Mehdi). Describing this as neither communism nor capitalism and considering this as evidence of income discrepancies in this country it shows sharp growth of disparities. The impact of this gap goes beyond what many would consider “fair” and has the potential to disrupt the fundamental values and systems of America. Contributing factors may be due to changing economies, globalization, decline of trade unions, or elitist aspiring towards

Income inequality is a global problem, but In America it’s just now starting to make the news (NPR). It used to be seen as a liberal issue as the right end of the spectrum always believed in the American Dream and if you worked hard you could rise up and out of the lower class. This sentiment has done a complete 180 as now both sides are shifting their focus to the issue of inequality, each with their own ideas on how to solve the problem (Pew Research). One of the basic American ideals has always been equal opportunity in the work place while Europeans often focused on equal outcomes. The problem currently is that the growing inequality undermines all chance of equal opportunities. We always hear about the Bill Gates billionaires and the self made millionaires and it gives people hope that they can achieve that amount of wealth. The truth is that the top 1% is becoming more and more a fixed club due to inequality (CNBC). It isn’t as obvious in

The focus of the research is on the gap between rich and poor in the United States. Especially in income inequality, how the shares are distributed among families and in what ways are the poor affected. Also, to show how the gap between the rich and poor alternated throughout the years.