Joseph Stiiglitz The Price Of Inequality

In his book, The Price of Inequality: How Today’s Divided Society Endangers Our Future, Joseph E. Stiglitz addresses the pressing topic of America’s economic situation. When one reads the title, one can understand what Stiglitz is about to argue; however, one must actually open the book in order to understand how America is spiraling into economic disaster because of economic inequality. He claims that if we, as a country, do not repair the serious inequality in income and financial positions, then this country will be financially ruined by “undermining [its] growth and impairing [its] efficiency” (Stiglitz, 6).
Joseph E. Stiglitz is an American economist who currently works at Columbia University as a professor. In 1979, he “was awarded the …show more content…
The government aids big businesses with unfair taxes, particularly regressive taxes, because they “pay a smaller fraction of their income than those who are much poorer” (Stiglitz 38). Stiglitz also describes how the government is also aiding small farms by giving them handouts, which will then keep the farms going and the production of produce flowing. Since economics is concerned with how a society distributes its wealth, The Price of Inequality is a good book that is relevant to its field. Stiglitz’s main thesis is that inequality did not just appear out of thin air; the inequality that exists today was created by the choices of business owners with the help of the government. When big business owners or government workers make policies or regulations that serve their interests, even at the costs of the middle and lower classes. By making policies that favor one group instead of the whole society, these people have increased the income inequality that already …show more content…
A positive note on his writing was that he mentioned the opposing viewpoints to his statements ever so briefly; a negative note was that he would consider them not intellectually competent. It can always be said that a book is well-written when it involves both sides of an argument; however, there should not be any biased references. In the end, I believe that the book was really well written except for the fact that the opposing side is looked down upon. Stiglitz is very thorough with his work and explains his argument well. Before I had read Stiglitz’s work, I had known the basic details about the inequality that separated the middle and lower classes from the upper classes. After reading The Price of Inequality¸ I can safely say that I have gained more knowledge about this pressing and serious issue. I had known that prices and incomes were unfair, favoring certain individuals because of their status, but what I did not entirely comprehend was that the government always seems to have a connection with regulations or unfair