The article “Confronting Inequality,” written by Paul Krugman, a professor at Princeton University, emphasizes that the middle class suffers from social inequality and economic inequality. Krugman suggests making a stronger safety net so the gap between the poor and rich can be limited to an extent. Krugman uses this theory to highlight the fact that the middle class needs to be stronger and the only way to achieve that is to have a strong safety net. Income inequality is another point Krugman focuses on as he mentions the rich are finding loopholes in the tax system and the poor pay a relatively high tax compared to what the rich are paying. Krugman suggests these ideas to bridge the gap and restore income equality which at the moment is being
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He mentions there is a gap between the rich and the poor and this gap has been created by social and economic inequality. The creation of social and economic inequality has brought a weaker middle class into society, which Krugman says “Has a corrosive effect on social relations and politics…into a new Gilded Age.” (587) The middle class should be educated on politics and social relations, however with the middle class diminishing it has brought less educated people being able to keep up with society and politics in the country. Krugman says that, “The fact is that vast income inequality inevitably brings vast social inequality in its train.” (589) Income inequality is unequal according to Krugman as he mentions the upper class controls the nation with their business’s as the rich have unequal tax breaks, compared to the poor. The tax cuts the rich receive is the reason why economic and social inequality exist, as Krugman uses a quote saying, “The nonpartisan Urban-Brookings Joint Tax Policy Center estimates that letting the Bush tax cuts expire for people with incomes over two hundred thousand dollars would be worth about $140 billion a year starting in 2012.” (595) Krugman uses this quote to show that he feels the rich are not being taxed enough or fairly compared to the middle and lower class. He later mentions, at the time if the Bush tax cuts expire, the money made from those taxes could fund a universal health care program, thus bridging the gap between the rich and
He mentions there is a gap between the rich and the poor and this gap has been created by social and economic inequality. The creation of social and economic inequality has brought a weaker middle class into society, which Krugman says “Has a corrosive effect on social relations and politics…into a new Gilded Age.” (587) The middle class should be educated on politics and social relations, however with the middle class diminishing it has brought less educated people being able to keep up with society and politics in the country. Krugman says that, “The fact is that vast income inequality inevitably brings vast social inequality in its train.” (589) Income inequality is unequal according to Krugman as he mentions the upper class controls the nation with their business’s as the rich have unequal tax breaks, compared to the poor. The tax cuts the rich receive is the reason why economic and social inequality exist, as Krugman uses a quote saying, “The nonpartisan Urban-Brookings Joint Tax Policy Center estimates that letting the Bush tax cuts expire for people with incomes over two hundred thousand dollars would be worth about $140 billion a year starting in 2012.” (595) Krugman uses this quote to show that he feels the rich are not being taxed enough or fairly compared to the middle and lower class. He later mentions, at the time if the Bush tax cuts expire, the money made from those taxes could fund a universal health care program, thus bridging the gap between the rich and