Economic Inequality in the United States
According to the Gross Domestic Product, also known as GDP, United States was measured the “largest” economy in the world (Mahoney 10/27/2015). However, all Americans do not share the high standard of living in the U.S. Levels of income and wealth inequality have always been high in the United States. While it is ideal for a democratic country like the United States to have political equality, the reality shows that this is not the case; as economic inequality ultimately causes political inequality under the current system of government. Income inequality has not only been prevalent, but has been polarizing further since the 1970s. Currently, twenty-percent of the population takes home 50% of the total income and the top 1% takes home 25% of the income and owns 40% of total wealth (Mahoney, 2015 October 27). While CEOs of the Fortune 100 makes over $14 million a year, an average worker makes $45,230 a year; this is a clear illustration of the income disparity in the United States. Further, it is worth mentioning that such trends are not necessary common; the United States has always had higher levels of income and wealth inequality when compared to other rich democracies (Mahoney, 2015 October 27). The average household income is currently stagnant, which suggest that the average household cannot easily grow economically in the U.S and cannot help close the income inequality gap. In the movie Inequality for All, the manager of Circuit City has been laid off for making too much money from staying at the job for too long (Kornbluth, 2013). This is evidence of the elites’ efforts in keeping the majority of the wealth to themselves, thus contributing to an even greater inequality. Although such income inequality has always been prevalent, the gap has only become wider since the 1970’s. For example, in 1970, the highest 5th percent of Americans controlled almost 41% of the wealth, while in 2010, this rate grew to above 50% (Mahoney, 2015 October 27). Furthermore, income and wealth inequality grew during the economic booms of the 1980s and 1990s after the World War II. One explanation of such widening disparities is President Reagan’s tax reform law of 1981. Reagan signed into law one of the largest tax reduction laws in the postwar era (Sahadi, 2010). According to Jeanne Sahadi of CNN, this bill caused a slash of the top income tax rate from 70% to 28% (2010). With such great reductions in tax for the wealthy, the wealth were not only able to keep their wealth, but become even more wealthy, contributing to further wealth inequality. As such, the trend toward greater wealth inequality is clear.
While economic and political inequality do not seem to affect one another, when observed more closely, it becomes clear that the two share a causal relationship. First, economic inequality refers to the rates at which the wealthiest percentage of Americans versus the poorest percentage of Americans controls in terms of the GDP. One the other hand, political inequality refers to the deterrence away from the fundamental belief that one’s political influence is no greater or less than another person’s political influence; in other words, every citizen has an equal voice in the policies that become law. Economic inequality causes political inequality because politicians respond to people or groups of people much more with increased monetary contributions. During an election, candidates with the lowest level of funds tend to drop out of the race (Mahoney, 2015 October 27). This is because with insufficient funds, candidates cannot attract the attention of media or air advertisements, hence limiting their exposure to the public, and therefore, cannot win the election. Consequently, in order to get elected and stay in office, politicians pay attention to the wealthiest people and groups who can contribute the most money. One resource in which politicians raise money through are private interest groups; private interest groups are made up of—for example—large businesses such as Google, Microsoft, and Boeing, who share similar interest when it comes to policies that get passed (Mahoney, 2015 October 27). Furthermore, political action committees (PAC) play a similar role in contribution—individuals donate money to their desired PAC, which in turn contribute to the candidates of the group’s choice. While all individuals are able to take part in such donations, with the existence of super PACs, which are able to “accept unlimited amounts in donations from corporations, unions and individuals,” the wealthiest individuals have the greatest voice in regards to which politician receives the funds. Therefore, low-income individuals cannot compete with private business interest groups or have a significant influence in super PACs, rendering their political voice meaningless. The fundamental principle of democracy holds that every individual influence politics equally; however, because of this economic inequality, the voices of the wealthy and poor have different weight in influencing politics.
The economic inequality that negatively affects democracy can be solved through several reformations in policy. First, creating a policy that lessens the influence of interest groups and super PACs would in turn increase the influence of the average citizen. Moreover, placing caps on the amount a wealthy individual could donate to super PACs and to candidates running for office would further balance the current skewed voice of the wealthy. With this, politicians would be more likely to pay attention to the needs of the lower class because they would need a channel to raise the funds needed to win an election. Further, and perhaps the most fundamental to a democratic nation, is for every citizen to vote. Because the population of the middle and lower class greatly outnumber the extremely wealthy, with every average citizen’s vote, policies that would lessen the wealth inequality gap may emerge. Lastly, social movements can help with the betterment of economic and social disparities in the United States. Social movements refer to a group of common people who challenge elites and authorities (Mahoney, 2015 October 27). A major social movement that brought about significant change in improving the influence of the underprivileged is the Civil Rights Movement. Through the Civil Rights Movement, African Americans were finally granted their long outdated right to vote. Through marches and peaceful; but sometimes violent; protests of the voting rights activists, minorities’ voices were heard that would influence legislation (The Voting Rights Act, 2009). Furthermore, through the Civil Rights Movement, African Americans were able to influence the Supreme Court of the United States and were, for the first time, able to attend public schools with the whites and win a ruling that rendered segregation illegal (Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka Kansas 347 U.S. 483, 1954). The method of social movement was effective for African Americans in their fight to improve their status as underprivileged Americans.
While the United States was founded on one of the fundamental principles of political equality, the current economic inequality prevents such principles from becoming a reality. With the wealthiest individuals holding the most impact on who gets elected to office and what types of laws get crafted, economic inequality is bound to polarize further. However, as the Civil Rights Movement illustrated, social and economic reform is possible with the participation of large amounts of average citizens. Hence, it is crucial that the average citizen part take in the political process in order to change their under privileged reality.

References
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka 347 U.S 483 (1954).
Civil Rights Movement. (n.d.). Retrieved November 8, 2015, from http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h2876.html.
Inequality For All. Dir. Jacob Kornbluth. Perf. Robert Reich. RADiUS-TWC, 2013. DVD.
Mahoney, Charles. “Economic Inequality in the United States.” CBA, Long Beach. 27 Oct. 2015. Lecture
Sahadi, J. (2010, September 12). Taxes: What people forget about Reagan. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
Voting Rights Act. (2009). Retrieved November 8, 2015, from http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/voting-rights-act