Having seen the how past government programs can shift the distribution of wealth in the United States, it is important to recognize how effective government run social and anti-poverty programs are to providing profitable opportunities for impoverished citizens and communities. In the democracy we live in, income distribution offers incentive to become more productive and successful should compel citizens to work harder and earn more. (Tucker 324) However, there will always be uncontrollable factors right away that create different opportunities for future success. It can be argued that some people are initially considered to be better off in life because of a family’s prior wealth or through a better quality education at a young age, and
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A historical example of failed economic equality can be seen in China under Mao Tse Tung, where extreme policies intended to produce economic equality resulted in enormous sacrifices in total income and loss of human lives. Another example can be seen in the Soviet Union where policies intended to create equality and lower the poverty rate ultimately lowered total income and ended up negatively effecting the economic futures of citizens. History has demonstrated that although poverty can be reduced with a rise in economic production, but that success cannot be influenced by the creation of an equal income distribution. In open and inclusive economies, the degree of income inequality is limited to the ability of workers to acquire skills and knowledge in order to enter occupations where they can be successful and earn a …show more content…
Stephen Moore states that assumption is caused by many statistical illusions (Moore 32). In fact, all three of the economic classes’ average income has risen over the years. The average income of the middle class in 1967 was $40,000, but in 2005 it had increased to $60,000 (Moore 33). The average income of lower class families more than doubled from 1996 to 2005 (Moore 33). With such a large gain in total income, it is hard to effectively use the economic class labels to help gage how income is currently distributed in the United States. In the years following the 2008 recession, the United States has shown slight economic growth that has increased the ease of mobility into higher economic income classes. In recent years, a trend of lower and middle class individuals earning significantly higher yearly income has caused these people to move up a class from lower to middle class, or middle to high class. Such change in class mobility has led to a significant change of real data regarding how fairness in American income distribution can be judged. Along with the lower and middle class citizens who are earning larger incomes, there is also a large percentage of individuals who are already in the upper economic class that are earning more. Because there is not a class that is higher than the upper class, top class
A historical example of failed economic equality can be seen in China under Mao Tse Tung, where extreme policies intended to produce economic equality resulted in enormous sacrifices in total income and loss of human lives. Another example can be seen in the Soviet Union where policies intended to create equality and lower the poverty rate ultimately lowered total income and ended up negatively effecting the economic futures of citizens. History has demonstrated that although poverty can be reduced with a rise in economic production, but that success cannot be influenced by the creation of an equal income distribution. In open and inclusive economies, the degree of income inequality is limited to the ability of workers to acquire skills and knowledge in order to enter occupations where they can be successful and earn a …show more content…
Stephen Moore states that assumption is caused by many statistical illusions (Moore 32). In fact, all three of the economic classes’ average income has risen over the years. The average income of the middle class in 1967 was $40,000, but in 2005 it had increased to $60,000 (Moore 33). The average income of lower class families more than doubled from 1996 to 2005 (Moore 33). With such a large gain in total income, it is hard to effectively use the economic class labels to help gage how income is currently distributed in the United States. In the years following the 2008 recession, the United States has shown slight economic growth that has increased the ease of mobility into higher economic income classes. In recent years, a trend of lower and middle class individuals earning significantly higher yearly income has caused these people to move up a class from lower to middle class, or middle to high class. Such change in class mobility has led to a significant change of real data regarding how fairness in American income distribution can be judged. Along with the lower and middle class citizens who are earning larger incomes, there is also a large percentage of individuals who are already in the upper economic class that are earning more. Because there is not a class that is higher than the upper class, top class