Do I think economic inequality is a problem that Americans
should take seriously? Yes I do! Economic inequality to me, is basically the
gap between the rich and the poor; the rich get richer and the poor get poorer,
as my political science teacher would say. In the graph that Richard Wilkerson
shows, where how much richer are the richest 20% in each country than the
poorest 20%, the U.S. has the second biggest income gap out of the other
countries. Richard Wilkerson shows us many graphs where research has been done
to prove that this can lead to problems in countries and especially in America.
To summarize his point, Wilkerson is mainly talking about the psychosocial
effects of economic inequality. He believes that we can improve the quality of
human life if we can reduce this economic inequality. Wilkerson thinks this can
be done if we look at pre and post taxes and change those things, like
promotions within companies or stopping tax avoidance. I do agree with him that
things should be done about this problem. If we don’t fix the economic gap,
then it will never stop. This is a never ending cycle because it is most likely
that a child coming from a wealthy home will grow up wanting a good paying job
and a child coming from a poorer family will likely follow that cycle. Like
Wilkerson explains, if we fix this, we could possibly help people live happier
without the stress of being looked down upon because they don’t have a lot of
money. We could also fix things like trust within countries because if there is
no gap, we have more trust because we would be more equal. By Wilkerson showing
so much information and research, it really convinced me that economic
inequality is a big problem.
Valerie I also agreed with Richard Wilkinson in regards to his argument on economic inequality. In the Ted Talk “How Economic Inequality Harms Society” Mr. Wilkinson proved that different social problems in separate democratic nations were directly affected by income inequality by presenting graphs based on those various types of social problems that are seen in society today. In most of his graphs you could see an absolute correlation between high and low economic inequalities in regards to matters of life expectancy, high school dropout rates, health issues, and many other types of social dilemmas in democratic nations across the world. The correlation of each graph almost always showed how nations with higher economic equality were worse off than those nations that had lower economic inequality on that specific social issue. Wilkinson further proved his point by also adding informational graphs pertaining to the same dilemmas but in respect to the nations gross national income which showed no correlation whatsoever. In America, you can compress the issue of the wealth gap to a single city and can see that neighborhoods with higher levels of income not only have better schools and more kids but also lesser crime rates and better life expectancy. I don't believe that ceos shouldn't make their millions but I believe that their employees should be equally be equally compensated according to their work load which rarely happens.
ReplyDeleteEconomic inequality is a problem that Americans should take seriously and in turn, try to solve. Wilkinson provides the viewers with many different statistics to support his claim that the bigger the income gap, the more problems that a country will face. For example, he shows us that countries, such as the United States, face health, social relations, and human capital problems. To expand on this some issues include- drug abuse, math and literacy scores, life expectancy, and much more. Along with these issues, Wilkinson points out the psychosocial aspects of economic inequality. When there is greater economic inequality people begin to emphasize competition and care about “keeping up with the Jone’s.” People begin to care about their status in society and are not content unless they are seen as being wealthy. It is apparent that the greater gap in economic inequality the greater problems there are in not only issues like education and health but also the social stigma of wanting to be seen as financially successful. Wilkinson says at one point, “If you want the American Dream, move to Denmark.” He says this because we constantly spew out the saying if you work hard success will come to you but this is actually rarely true. It’s hard to escape poverty
ReplyDeleteI agree that Americans should take Economic inequality seriously. It is very problematic and Richard Wilkinson makes very valid points as to why it is problematic. He brings to peoples attention that it is really hard to become successful when you work hard to get what you deserve. It is not everyday that someone can evolve out of the social class that they have lived in and attributed to for so long. I think that it is also important to recognize when he brings out all the data that shows that people are affected by all of the inequalities in a society. It is also crazy to think that the top 1% of america are really rich and that it is becoming a widespread reality for people to be at a disadvantage no matter how long or how hard they have worked in one place over a long time. I think that Americans should take a stand on making themselves great and not some much worrying about what everyone else is doing and how they are doing it. I think that another thing that is declining in America is the work ethic at which children are occurring when they are growing older. Things just aren't the same anymore, people are getting things handed to them so they don't work as hard as they used to and that also provides economic inequality. I think that the main issue with it all is that people are so worried about what other people have and what they are doing so that makes everything go down hill, For example and as said in a previous comment, the crime rate increases as the class decreases and although it is sad, that is the way it goes and it has always been. If everyone had the same work ethic everyone would receive the same rewards. I do not think that it will ever really become extinct however I do agree that it is a good idea to do everything possible so that we can being it to a minimum so that like he said, people can start to live a more stress-free life.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Richard Wilkinson’s argument that economic inequality should be taken seriously. I believe it to be one of the main sources of the problems the country faces today. It is now more difficult for someone to earn money for the equal amount of work they put in. On top of that there are people who hardly do any work and make too much money. I noticed the differences in the data Wilkinson showed addressing the effects of the inequalities within our society. Crime rates get higher and higher as the class of people become lower and lower. In my political science class I learned that the distribution of drugs and drug trade has gone up because people aren’t given the opportunity for good clean jobs due to large corporations. People are kept from making an honest living so they resolving to illegal ways to pay for things. Society disguises these things and try to push the idea that hard work automatically brings success. The reality is that someone who does half as much work as they next person makes just as much as someone who’s gone to school, college, etc. People with college degrees aren’t even guaranteed good jobs anymore and on top of that student loans are high as ever.
ReplyDelete