Introduction - The book talks about the audacious quest of economists which is to discover the means by which the poor countries in the tropics could become rich like the countries in Europe and North America. Previous measures such as foreign aid and fostering education have failed to create an impact and hence there is a need to find actual measures which work in favour of the quest. The writer, Mr. William Easterly, begins the chapter by talking about his visit to the village of…
result of the rise of income and social inequality over the past few decades, many economists and scholars believe that the gap separating the wealthiest Americans from everyone else will continue to widen unless the United States government puts forth effort to reverse it. Economists, such…
Economic inequality in the United States has steadily increased throughout the past decades and has consequently led to many social conditions that negatively impact the lower and middle class. The unequal distribution of income and wealth is primarily due to the capitalist government economy as well as globalization and technological advances. Political inequality is similarly another consequence that results from the economic disparity that further affects democracy and political…
Although the article, The Inequality Hype, questions many aspects of both poverty and inequality, I was most interested on what it stated about the middle class. Feeling identified with the middle class, it seems to me that its condition is worsening, so the contradictory question, “But with household incomes increasing amid rising inequality, what do the facts tell us about the real material state of the middle class?” drew me in (Gilbert). I have always felt that the middle class and success…
Following a rise of the contemporary consumer society in America in 1920s, the accompanying lifestyle choices have become aspired to and as a result have spread across the ocean to the rest of the world. Nevertheless, the origins of consumer society date back to 16th century; and the real development began following the industrial revolution, when higher production required swift and higher consumption and as a result an expanding middle and working class have transformed into consuming class,…
Income Inequality in the United States The inequality of wealth and income, as well as the gap between the rich and poor, has been a factor of the public for a long while. For many years, back to the great depression, the gap has continued to grow. What is causing it to grow? One theory includes the decreasing value of the real United States minimum wage and limited job opportunities for people without a college degree. It is not yet clear whether income inequality affects the larger economy…
Regarding the question on James Madison’s belief that the wealthy should be in charge of power I would say that he does not have a point. I don't believe that anyone who is part of or near the 1% should be in charge of anything at all. Perhaps this is a biased opinion but based on what I have been seen and learned over the years, allowing the rich to become in charge of power is asking for even more problems in the world. Perhaps to James Madison it made sense based on the context of time,…
upper class has made a world of their own by tripling their incomes; it’s their decision to help those who are falling behind or not. “The Broken Contract: Inequality and American Decline” In earlier time periods in the United States, institutional forces held together different aspects of the country. However, in…
Social Setup At the start of the 90s, the gap between Russia’s rich and poor grew steadily, its continued to grow to this day where the wealthiest %10 earn nearly ten times as much as the poorest 10$% of Russian people. Full employment on a minimum wage job basically get you by with your necessities. The social classes of Russia consist of the Capitalist class, the worker class, and peasant or in other terms: The upper class, the middle class and the poor class. Ethnicity and race are not the…
Please take Cornell's Center for Inequality studies "Inequality Quiz. How did you do? What facts were most and least surprising? What further questions does the quiz leave you with? I scored a 12 out of 14 on the Inequality Quiz. I have taken several Tacoma Community College courses that discussed elements of racial inequalities within the American society. I believe this is a contributing factor to the high score that I received…