Preview

Income Inequality In America Case Study

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
3280 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Income Inequality In America Case Study
KEY POINTS FROM DR. ROBERT REICH’S FILM, INEQUALITY FOR ALL

THE STATS+
Wealth Distribution
• Today, the U.S., by far, has the most unequal distribution of income of all developed nations.
• The U.S. ranks 64th in the world on income inequality (i.e., 63 nations are more equal than the U.S.)
• The top 1% holds more than 35% of the nation’s overall wealth, while the bottom 50% controls 2.5%.
• The richest 400 Americans have more wealth than the bottom 150 million Americans combined.
• In 1970, the top 1% of earners took home 9% of the nation’s total income. Today, they take in approximately 23%.
Earning Power
• In 1978, the typical male worker earned $48,302; while in 2010, that worker earned a typical $33,751. In the same years, the top 1%
…show more content…
• 2010: $26,578 disposable income; housing cost $21,684; healthcare expenses $7,082; childcare $3005; college $1,833
• In the U.S., 42% of children who are born into poverty will not get out. In Denmark, the figure is 25%. In Great
Britain, 30%.
• In the 1970s, the average CEO earned just under 50 times more than their average employee. By the 2000s, average CEO pay was 350 times more than their average
…show more content…
Economic Policy Institute www.epi.org - a non-profit, non-partisan think tank focused on giving voice to the needs of low- and middle-income workers in discussions about economic policy. See, especially their interactive www.inequality.is site, which personalizes explanations of the income gap.
Generation Progress (formerly Campus Progress) http://genprogress.org/ - organizes young people on and off college campuses to promote progressive solutions to key political and social challenges.

KEY POINTS FROM DR. ROBERT REICH’S FILM, INEQUALITY FOR ALL
National Employment Law Project / Raise the Minimum Wage Campaign www.nelp.org – NELP uses a grassroots organizing model and combines it with research to develop and implement policies aimed at restoring the promise of economic opportunity for all in the 21st century global economy.
Roosevelt Institute www.rooseveltinstitute.org – this nonprofit works to ensure that the values championed by Franklin and Eleanor
Roosevelt infuse current public policy.
SEIU
www.seiu.org – the Service Employees International Union.
United for a Fair Economy www.faireconomy.org – With annual reports, special projects, and issue briefs, UFE raises awareness about the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The foundation supports many causes including interests in expanding childhood immunization; supporting polio eradication: supporting the United Negro College Fund; supporting plans to transform how teachers are recruited, developed, rewarded, and retained: mproving seeds and soil for African farmers: increasing small farmer income: supporting a coalition of countries from the developing world making savings accounts, insurance, and other financial services available to people living on less than $2 a day: testing and promoting the use of information and communications technologies to deliver microfinance products: supporting the installation of public computers with Internet access, training for staff, and implementation support for public libraries: and many other causes. With the exception of college scholarships the foundation does not does not provide funding to individuals. It only accepts proposals from 501(c)(3) and other tax-exempt organizations. However it is college funding for the individual that I want to center this paper on.…

    • 786 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    After watching the video, "Wealth Inequality in America", published by Politizane, I was surprised when finding out that only the top one percent of America has 40 percent of all the nation's wealth. It was also surprising to discover that the top one percent owns half the country's stocks, bonds, and mutual bonds, while the bottom 50 percent of Americans own only half a percent of these investments. One of the notions I had that was challenged by the video was the amount of money the wealthy actually have compared to the rest of the classes. I was aware that wealth mostly distributed to the wealthy class, but I never imagined that the division between the wealthy class and the rest of the classes would be so huge. Its incredible that the CEO's…

    • 227 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Modern economics have widened the gap between rich and poor in society. This gap can be illustrated by the fact that the three wealthiest individuals in the world have assets that exceed those of the poorest ten percent of the world’s population.…

    • 1388 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Moreover, Mrs. Jill Lepore addresses that "Income inequality is greater in the United States than in any other democracy in the developed world"(Lepore 1)…

    • 727 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Individually, the U.S. has the one percent of Upper Class, the thirty percent of the Upper Middle Class, the thirty two percent of the Middle Class, the seventeen percent of the Lower Middle Class, and lastly, the overwhelming twenty percent of the poor. Now lets specifically look at that top one percent and the bottom twenty percent. How is it that one percent of America controls fifty percent of the national currency, and twenty percent controls a small fraction of it? A major reason for this is due to the rich influencing a specific idea or creating legislation for wealthy politicians in return for a large payoff. If a person were to look at Paine’s quote, “There, the poor are not oppressed, the rich are not privileged,” he/she would be in great…

    • 467 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Windshield Survey

    • 2221 Words
    • 9 Pages

    * The average household income is about $50,000 per year with 24% of the population with an income less than $15, 000 per year (CLR Search website, 2012).…

    • 2221 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    With nearly 99% of America’s wealth going to the top 1% (or estimated to be by 2016), how can there be even the slightest argument for a peaceful nation where all are intermingled in a way that creates equality? The proven statistic of America’s wealth distribution is not equal to any other developed country of the same stature. There’s even more proof and evidence for the “So clear it shouldn’t have to be proven“ wealth inequality in America. Using a scale called the Gini coefficient to calculate wealth inequality the results were (not exactly) surprising, “[The Gini coefficient is] a measure of inequality in which 0 is perfect equality and 100 perfect inequality. It found that the U.S. had the greatest wealth inequality, with a score of 80.56” (Sherman). A nation with a significant divide such as wealth inequality - and thus the lack of the wealth going to the majority- cannot possibly be perfect, just, or…

    • 778 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Chile Income Inequality

    • 732 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In a study of a variety of developed countries, the United States had the second highest level of income inequality in the world, right behind Chile. Income inequality has always been a problem in the world, but especially in the United States. There is frequent debate on whether a person is getting a high enough salary or not. If not, the person that is not getting the sufficient funds often resorts back to the argument of their sex, race, or religion. This leads to worrisome debate throughout the country which causes a number of people to point their finger back towards their government. I stand with many other Americans and say that income inequality does threaten democracy in the United States, as well as the world.…

    • 732 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Social Class in America

    • 12194 Words
    • 49 Pages

    Links: to many other class-related sites. Additional Web sites -- from activist groups to think tanks: www.Acorn.org Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now - an activist group that works to eliminate injustice. www.calltorenewal.com Call To Renewal - a faith-based network that fights poverty and inequality. www.census.gov The official site of the U.S. Census Bureau contains reports, statistics, graphs, and other information about the distribution of wealth in the United States. www.chn.org The Coalition on Human Needs - an alliance of national organizations concerned with public policy affects on low income people, and other vulnerable populations, including women, children, and the disabled. www.fair.org FAIR - a national group that monitors bias and censorship in the media and advocates for greater diversity of viewpoints and concerns in the press. www.urban.org The Urban Institute - a nonpartisan economic and social policy research organization.…

    • 12194 Words
    • 49 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Some people feel the rich do not pay their fair share in taxes. “The 95th/50th ratio in 2011 was $186,000 divided by $50,054, which equals 3.72. In other words, the income of houses in the 95th percentile was 3.72 times the income of households in the 50th percentile. Those in the top 25th percentile obtained a vast majority of the income in America (79.5% in 2007 and 75.9% in 2010.” (Evans, “Wealth”). This does prove that wealth is not evenly distributed among all Americans, which is an understandable thing to be upset…

    • 1059 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Quintile Income Inequality

    • 1654 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Income inequality is often associated with negative things such as decreased quality of life and a lack of social mobility. Yet, the lower classes are receiving less and less of the United States’ overall income while the top earners' share is increasing. Why? This paper will explore causes of the growing income inequality as well as possible solutions to slowing it down.…

    • 1654 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The United States is a capitalism nation, which is a normal phenomenon to have a wealth inequality. Otherwise, it would be a communism nation. However, when the wealth gap is too wide, there would be a big problem. In recent years, the wealth gap has expanded historically and unprecedentedly wide. The middle class and working class people start suffering. If the gap keeps expanding, the United States will be destroying by this economic issue. A better way describing this situation, The United State is having a cancer that cannot be exacerbate and has to cure.…

    • 1347 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Income Inequality Essay

    • 758 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Income inequality has been, and continues to be, an issue among the different genders and ethnicities in the United States. The gap continues to widen not only between men and women, but also among other women when age, ethnicity, appearance, and physical limitation biases are taken into account.…

    • 758 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    America is known for many things, such as the wealthiest country in the world. However, America has also been known for the injustice and inequality that many people face. This chapter explains why America is so unequal. Florencia Torche, clarifies that the higher the income share of the wealthiest 10%, increases inequality. Not only does America face inequality, but other small countries had increased amounts of inequality. Due to this, there is a common factor that both country share, that can indicate the reason for an increase of inequality. A major reason why inequality increased is due to change between technology expansion and education. As technology involved, jobs for middle and lower levels of education decreased. However, it also increased new jobs. In addition, these new jobs required higher levels of education.…

    • 279 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Wealth Inequality

    • 1395 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Life in present-day America is very unequal. There are wide gaps in income distribution which causes negative impacts on the everyday lives of most Americans. This income gap is wider than at any other time in the past century. The United States has the largest gap between rich and poor than any other democratic country in the world. Income inequality has negative effects on the entire society. American minority groups and women earn less money than their white counterparts. The educational system in the country is suffering ranking fourteenth among industrialized nations. Research shows that the wealthier a person is the longer their lifespan will be. Increased crime rates in the poorer inner cities…

    • 1395 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays