Let’s Not Let Poverty Be Our End Game
Income inequality is currently at its peak. If I drew a picture between the last economic crash and today, it would look much akin to a suspension bridge, an idea Robert Reich cleverly displayed in his film Inequality for All. Visualizing is an important tool when discussing complex topics, as it’s sometimes difficult to see each piece of the puzzle without relating them to everyday experiences. So let me paint a picture, one that’s currently a hot topic in America; the growing inequality between the classes.
Imagine, if you will, a suspension bridge looming before you. At each peak is an audacious division between the rich and the poor. The factors we believe make up this imbalance decide how we go about …show more content…
Lobbyists have been around as long as government has, but it is only recently that the gap in wealth has caused disproportionate access to this sort of influence. Large corporations are able to congregate large sums of money, and I’m talking millions or even billions of dollars, to pay for leverage which is then used to push certain laws over others. Often, this system is used to protect the money and power of the affluent, with no regard for the normal citizens who will be negatively influenced by its passing. Since there aren’t many advocates for the poor at this level of wealth, their voices are being suppressed by the sheer amount of money being poured into the government. This kind of corruption can only further deepens the hole in which the poor stand. In Reich’s film Inequality for All, he once speaks to Senator Alan Simpson who proclaims that “widening inequality can undermine our democracy” if government is “on the auction block.” Our democracy is being threatened by lobbying, where the rich are unfairly represented due to the amount of wealth they can invest in persuading politicians, and tossing this money around is exactly what Simpson is saying; an auction where the affluent can practically buy the rules that work in their favor with little to no regard for the people below them that are effected
Income inequality is currently at its peak. If I drew a picture between the last economic crash and today, it would look much akin to a suspension bridge, an idea Robert Reich cleverly displayed in his film Inequality for All. Visualizing is an important tool when discussing complex topics, as it’s sometimes difficult to see each piece of the puzzle without relating them to everyday experiences. So let me paint a picture, one that’s currently a hot topic in America; the growing inequality between the classes.
Imagine, if you will, a suspension bridge looming before you. At each peak is an audacious division between the rich and the poor. The factors we believe make up this imbalance decide how we go about …show more content…
Lobbyists have been around as long as government has, but it is only recently that the gap in wealth has caused disproportionate access to this sort of influence. Large corporations are able to congregate large sums of money, and I’m talking millions or even billions of dollars, to pay for leverage which is then used to push certain laws over others. Often, this system is used to protect the money and power of the affluent, with no regard for the normal citizens who will be negatively influenced by its passing. Since there aren’t many advocates for the poor at this level of wealth, their voices are being suppressed by the sheer amount of money being poured into the government. This kind of corruption can only further deepens the hole in which the poor stand. In Reich’s film Inequality for All, he once speaks to Senator Alan Simpson who proclaims that “widening inequality can undermine our democracy” if government is “on the auction block.” Our democracy is being threatened by lobbying, where the rich are unfairly represented due to the amount of wealth they can invest in persuading politicians, and tossing this money around is exactly what Simpson is saying; an auction where the affluent can practically buy the rules that work in their favor with little to no regard for the people below them that are effected