Wealth inequality, or the unequal distribution of wealth, is a heavily debated topic in the United States, a nation that, according to Inequality.org, “exhibits wider disparities of wealth between rich and poor than any other major developed nation.” To some, like Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, “we can either have democracy in this country or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can’t have both;” to others, wealth equality is a form of socialism. The majority of Americans, however, are not aware of the disparity at all. Yet one does not have to be an economist to notice the imbalance; it can be seen in every day life, even in the consumer habits in relation to entertainment. Presence of the “VIP experience” at amusement parks, implementation of internet-based
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The argument states that, because gambling relates to the American Dream of rising up in social class, gambling is only done when people believe in the American Dream. According to the argument, if wealth inequality was real, why would people still believe that they could rise in social class? The answer is simple: people don’t know they are unequal. Respondents to a study by Michael I. Norton of Harvard Business School and Dan Ariely of Duke University “vastly underestimated the actual level of wealth inequality in the United States, believing that the wealthiest quintile held about 59% of the wealth when the actual number is closer to 84%” (Norton & Ariely). Therefore, just because people are gambling does not mean there is no wealth inequality. In fact, even if they were aware of the inequality, “Americans exhibit a general disconnect between their attitudes toward economic inequality and their self-interest and public policy preferences” (Norton and
The argument states that, because gambling relates to the American Dream of rising up in social class, gambling is only done when people believe in the American Dream. According to the argument, if wealth inequality was real, why would people still believe that they could rise in social class? The answer is simple: people don’t know they are unequal. Respondents to a study by Michael I. Norton of Harvard Business School and Dan Ariely of Duke University “vastly underestimated the actual level of wealth inequality in the United States, believing that the wealthiest quintile held about 59% of the wealth when the actual number is closer to 84%” (Norton & Ariely). Therefore, just because people are gambling does not mean there is no wealth inequality. In fact, even if they were aware of the inequality, “Americans exhibit a general disconnect between their attitudes toward economic inequality and their self-interest and public policy preferences” (Norton and