http://www.concordmonitor.com/article/313764/income-inequality-deserves-our-attention?SESS96c27dfd6f2e414a723fc2dbe68dad59=ysearch&page=full
This article argues the importance of equality and the lack of focus on this issue by the government. Occupy Wall Street was the beginning for the government to pay attention to the 1% vs 99% reality that is caused by the dynamics in our sociological reality and it is only getting worse. If economic equality existed, the whole country would benefit from happier people, better health, less social issues, increase in the life expectancy of infants, stronger educational performance from students, lower imprisonment rates, and better mental health.
"According to the AFL-CIO, our CEO-to-worker pay ratio is 343:1. Japan is 11:1. The U.K. is 22:1. We are in a class by ourselves."
The rich is getting richer and the number of the poor is increasing. US should not accept this condition; rather fight against this immorality.
Do you think equality is something US should be focuing on today? This is almost a taboo topic considering how the economy was set up to benefit a certain population, but let's talk about it.
I hesitate to cast blame on the top wage-earners. I think we need to reflect on bigger societal trends when we assess the problem of income inequality. I think we need to address the role of outsourcing and technology and its impact on unemployment. The U.S. is in a transitional phase as technology has replaced many manual labor jobs. Simultaneously, companies are outsourcing jobs. I think the issue of income inequality starts with education and employment. We need to strive to improve educational standards and create innovative jobs.
ReplyDeleteImproving educational standards is quite difficult especially in the low income neighborhoods. The instability in the residential condition along with the perception of "school" is completely different from those of higher societal status. I tutor local children in kalamazoo, but students are already faaaar behind from 2nd grade. To improve educational standards would be altering the view of the children and the parents towards education, improving the resources available in the educational setting, altering the vision of students' futures so they would be motivated, encouraging the participation of the parents and other assistance after school, and creating an environment where the students can focus on their school work. Easy said than done.
DeleteThe increased difference between the top and bottom is a result of two broad categories. Market forces, such as increased trade and technological advances, skyrocket productivity of highly skilled and well-educated workers to new heights. This new level of productivity yields paychecks at levels never seen before. In addition, there are institutional forces such as deregulation, the decline of unions, and stagnation in the minimum wage. A weakened, decreasing middle class, as in the case with our country, is the least favorable option in terms of all those potential benefits Sam mentioned.
ReplyDeleteThis issue of inequality is extremely complicated and there is no one solution. We can never put and end to inequality only try to decrease it to the level of other nations. The only way to end inequality would be for humans to move away from our fight or flight mentality in which we have based our lives from since the beginning off time and realize that we now have the technology and capability of making the world a great place for everyone to live. I don't see this ever happening unfortunately and with the way capitalism is set up, it makes it even more difficult to have people think about the whole instead of just oneself. I don't know what the correct first step in lowering inequality should be but I think by attempting to bring down the highest class is as good as a start as anything else.
ReplyDeleteThe way that the US economy has been headed is one where the highly skilled workforce has become essential and they are being compensated accordingly. Trying to bridge the gap by focusing on the higher income earners, I think, would stunt the growth, attractiveness and competitive advantages of the US. Its true that their wages are absurdly disproportionate, however I think this problems needs to start with education. By increasing the levels of education in the US, I think it would drastically change the inequalities. That being said, this will not be an easy task, especially since we are attempting to dig our way out of a recession.
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