...Income Inequality in America: An Analysis of Policies from Reagan to Obama and What Policies Can Help Close the Gap Income inequality in America has been of great importance in recent election cycles. Candidates from both sides of the political aisle have addressed the growing economic and social concern of increasing income and wealth inequality throughout the country. However, policies to address this growing concern are vastly different. This paper seeks to examine policies from Reagan to Obama that contributed to today’s massive income and wealth inequality. Was it tax reform throughout the 1980s and 1990s that contributed to inequality? Did the Federal Reserve perpetuate policies through massive quantitative easing that led to...
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...shared evenly by everyone. In other to find out if this is happening you have to use the Lorenz curve, which was developed by an American economist called, Max Lorenz in 1905, it’s a graph that represent wealth distributed in a society. A coefficient of 0 means everyone has exactly the same income, while a country with 1.0 means only the rich takes home everything while everyone else earns nil. American is the richest and most unequal nation, at 0.42, America’s level of post-tax-and-transfer inequality outranks Israel, Britain and Canada, and dwarfs the figures in Japan and Scandinavia. Ms Gornick’s light-blue lines reveal a less well-reported story. Those lines show pre-tax-and-transfer income inequality, and on that count America doesn’t fare badly in comparison to other OECD countries. At 0.57, America is neck-and-neck with Spain and every Scandinavian nation, and less unequal than Britain, Greece and Ireland. But the American taxation and welfare state clips only 0.15 off of the pre-tax-and-transfer Gini coefficient, while more aggressively egalitarian countries slice off 0.20 (Luxembourg, Norway), 0.24 (Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden) or 0.28 (Ireland)....
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...Many Americans across the United States are faced with income inequality. These income inequalities have many negative effects on communities and neighborhoods. These income inequalities also have a couple positives changes as well. Only time will tell how the economic state of the middle class and lower classes will improve or continue to fall into harder times. Johnson and Rhodes state “where you live clearly affects how you grow up”, which is absolutely true (p. 387)! Those that live in poverty may also deal with school systems and other institutions such as clinics that don’t have enough funding to go around. The wealth distribution has been a continuous problem that has no simple answer, what once may have seemed like a private trouble...
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...Why Is Income Inequality in America so Pronounced? Questions for Article 3 Seminar 3 (Week 4) “Why Is Income Inequality in America So Pronounced? Consider Education”, by TYLER COWEN – May 17, 2007. 1. The article states, "starting about 1950, the relative returns for schooling rose, and they skyrocketed after 1980. The reason is supply and demand….Those in need of skilled labor are bidding for a relatively stagnant supply [of educated workers] and so must pay more." U.S. trade as a fraction of the economy has also grown somewhat since about 1950. Compare the statement from the article with the prediction about the distribution of income from Heckscher-Ohlin model. The Heckscher-Ohlin model predicts that an economy will be relatively efficient in producing goods that intensively use factors of production, which are relatively abundant, and that owners of abundant factors of production will gain from trade and owners of scarce factors of production will lose from trade. From the article, it is not clear if the U.S. is abundant in educated workers relative to some other factor of production, like land, capital or unskilled workers, but it is arguable that the U.S. is relatively abundant in educated workers relative to unskilled workers compared to many countries that it trades with. In contrast, the statement from the article does not consider trade per se, but simply the supply and demand of educated workers, which can change due to trade or for other reasons...
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...(Week 4) “Why Is Income Inequality in America So Pronounced? Consider Education”, by TYLER COWEN – May 17, 2007. 1. The article states, "starting about 1950, the relative returns for schooling rose, and they skyrocketed after 1980. The reason is supply and demand….Those in need of skilled labor are bidding for a relatively stagnant supply [of educated workers] and so must pay more." U.S. trade as a fraction of the economy has also grown somewhat since about 1950. Compare the statement from the article with the prediction about the distribution of income from Heckscher-Ohlin model. The Heckscher-Ohlin model predicts that an economy will be relatively efficient in producing goods that intensively use factors of production, which are relatively abundant, and that owners of abundant factors of production will gain from trade and owners of scarce factors of production will lose from trade. From the article, it is not clear if the U.S. is abundant in educated workers relative to some other factor of production, like land, capital or unskilled workers, but it is arguable that the U.S. is relatively abundant in educated workers relative to unskilled workers compared to many countries that it trades with. In contrast, the statement from the article does not consider trade per se, but simply the supply and demand of educated workers, which can change due to trade or for other reasons. 2. What is wrong with claiming that changes in the distribution of income are associated...
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...Gerardo Contreras Gene Lee Econ203 March 1 2013 Income Inequality in America Dissemination of income in America has been a major topic of study by many institutions as well as scholars. Statistics have been gathered from numerous sources, which show that the problem of income inequality has significantly risen since 1970. Income inequality was stabilized for many years. Although income inequality has increased amongst the elite countries in the world, America suffers from this problem the most. Research shows that cause of the wide gap in income inequality has not been decided by gender, which by the way has decreased in America in last twenty years. The Income inequality gap has also not been because of race, or the gap been amongst middle class and lower class, however it has increased. The main reason exists and lies amongst the middle class and highest wage earners, with the disparity being extra dangerous as an individual’s income increases. It is stated that upward redistribution can be held accountable for forty percent of the forecasted Social Security deficit in the following century. Research states that in 2011 it was established that the highest earning one percent of families multiplied about 275 percent after federal taxes and income transfers over a period of 28, compared to a gain of just fewer than 40 percent of the 60 percent in the middle of America's income distribution. Additional researchers found that the trend has continually been ongoing since...
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...Introduction Income inequality means that the income is distributed in an uneven manner among a population. It generally refers to a society which the income gap between individuals or groups and also the international wealth gap. The percentage of income to a population is often presented by income inequality. It’s also considered as the gap between the rich and others and has been obviously growing for recently years. There have measures for income inequality. It’s important to view this data sets and measures as it can show the differences of a country, especially the advantages and disadvantages. Income inequality should have a clearer data or picture to explain the differences and can be also obtained by using those measures. The “Gini Coefficient” can measure income inequality. Gini Coefficient is the way to measure the distribution of nation residents’ income. Corrado Gini (Italian statistician and sociologist) is the person who developed and published it. The among values of distribution will be measured by Gini coefficient such as income levels. If everyone has the same income, it will be shown as Zero (perfect equality) in the Gini coefficient. Conversely, if Gini coefficient shows one mean that only got one person have the income, as know as perfect inequality. In the United States, there has been growing obviously for income inequality and the gap between rich and others. According to the report of Gini coefficient, united States have the high income inequality and continuously...
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...Although Latin America has faced many social, political, and economic issues within the last three centuries, inequality remains one of the most important, historical, and omnipresent aspects of the region’s culture. As Europeans took over Latin America during the time of colonization, they implemented many elitist social structures that have held strong and are evident today (Harris). Income inequality is the most visible and greatest disparity that the region faces; yet inequality between gender, ethnicities, and education remain strong and significant problems with a necessity for improvement. Inequality of wealth and disparity of power and influence are Latin American’s greatest curses and are at the root of many of the developmental, social, criminal, and political problems that continue to plague the region (De Ferranti). Since inequality has pervaded into every feature of Latin American society, it is important to measure inequality accurately in order to obstruct the causes of the discrimination and prevent new ones from beginning. The Gini Coefficient is an effective way that people indicate the inequality of a country by measuring a frequency distribution of income or wealth. Using the "Gini Index" of inequality in the distribution of income and consumption, the researchers found that Latin America and the Caribbean, from the 1970s through the 1990s, measured nearly 10 points more unequal than Asia, 17.5 points more unequal than the 30 countries in the Organization...
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...Student’s name Subject Title Lecturer’s Name Date of submission Income Inequality Introduction The problem of an increase in household income inequality has been a major talk point in political discussion and public policy. According to Winston Churchill, inequality is unavoidable especially in capitalist societies. However, President Barrack Obama views inequality as not only a major problem but as a defining problem of this generation. It cannot be disputed that income inequality in the United States has been rising over the past four decades. The trend is evident when income is measured both before and after taxes. The income inequality in the U.S today can be compared to those of other developed countries. However, the country ranks amongst the worst in inequality especially after taxes and transfers. This means that less income that is received from higher income households trickles down to lower income earners. A recent study in 2011 revealed that the top earners income increased by around 275% after income transfers and federal taxes. Today, there is ongoing debate as to the effects, causes and solutions of the income inequality. Over the years, debates have arisen whether the income inequality gap in America is a social or an ethical problem. Despite businesses breaking profit records, these income gains have been concentrated on the top 1% (Glenn 58). It is often argued that income inequality is a social injustice and that it is unfair. However, social injustice...
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...Introduction In America, the wealth gap between the rich and the poor has undoubtedly increased over the years. Most Americans do not doubt the presence of this gap, but not all believe it is an issue that impairs our economy. Scholars from the Intelligence Squared U.S. debate argue over whether the American dream of upward mobility is hindered by our economy’s disproportionate income distribution. Based on statistical evidence and facts from the arguments, it is clear that income inequality does, in fact, impair the American dream of upward mobility. Analysis According to a census performed in 2015 by the U.S. Census Bureau, America has experienced economic growth in regards to national income. Though this sounds like a factor that would...
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...racial inequality has powerfully shaped American history from its beginnings. Racial inequality has integrated into American culture and simulates a false presence of true freedom and equal justice for all. From the assassination of early Native Americans, slavery, black codes, Jim Crow laws, segregation, the civil rights movement, mass incarceration, to present day black lives matter movement, racial inequality is a hard barrier for the United States to overcome. The true impact of racial inequality in America is belittled. Racism in America is the unjust treatment of collective individuals based on the color of their skin due to historical contexts and systematic oppression (Baber 1). Racism roots from the belief of one race has qualities that defines it as inferior or superior to other races. Inequality is the...
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...Income inequality is one of the big issues in 21st century. Unequal distribution of income in society is considered to be an obstacle to economic growth. The income allocation of a country’s population can be measured by a Gini coefficient. The value of Gini coefficient can be between 0 and 1 and used to define the income gap between the rich and the poor. The value 0 shows perfect equality and value 1 illustrates perfect inequality. The US can be an example of country with high income inequality. The US Gini coefficient has risen by 20% between 1979 and 2010 (Frizell, 2014). Factors like family structure (i.e. how many earners are there in family), technology (i.e. changes the way that we live), and immigration (i.e. changes the supply of...
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...Anthony Giovenco Political Science Inequality Paper 12-18-14 The Effects of Wealth Inequality in the United States Wealth inequality in the United States has grown tremendously since 1970. The United States continuously reveals higher rates of inequality as a result of perpetual support for free market capitalism. The high rates of wealth inequality cause the growing financial crisis to persist, lower socio-economic mobility, increase national poverty, and have adverse effects on health and well being. There is no doubt that wealth inequality in America has been escalating quickly; the portion of total income earned by the top one percent has doubled since the beginning of the 1970’s. The wealthy are the main beneficiaries regarding income inequality. In the latest consensus of wealth distribution, the top one percent of Americans owned thirty five percent of the nations private wealth, and the top ten percent took home about fifty percent of all income in 2012. This figure is greater than the bottom 90 percent combined. The question commonly asked concerning this matter: How and why is this becoming so quickly unequal is to be examined. First, we must explain what is meant by the term “wealth.” Wealth is the collection of the assets people own. This includes homes, stocks, savings for pension, and bank accounts, minus all existing debts. The main issue regarding wealth inequality is income inequality. Income equality has grown increasingly in the past 30 years....
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...security Name Institution Course Date Income Inequality: A Hindrance to Retirement Security Holland, K. (2015). On retirement security, US rank far behind others. CNBC. Retrieved 8 November 2015, from http://www.cnbc.com/2015/02/09/ In this article, the author suggests that America lags behind 18 other countries in retirement security because of the high-income inequality observed in many states in America. The author suggests that according to the recent study, the United States offers little support for retirement security services unlike other developed countries. The author quotes Sweden, Denmark, and Switzerland as among countries that have good retirement security systems. Many characteristics define these economies. First, most of the nations that score higher than the United States in retirement security have high tax burdens. However, these countries have a narrow income inequality. In addition, most countries are also improving on the gap between the poor and the rich. The universal healthcare schemes provided by these countries have also contributed to the good ratings of the most countries that have better retirement schemes than the United States (Holland, 2015). The author has focused on highlighting the importance of retirement security as a key pillar in economic developments. The author clearly states that the United States social security problem lies with the expanding income inequality. The author states that in order to have a good retirement...
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...In William Domhoff’s article, Wealth, Income, and Power, he examines wealth distribution in the United States, specifically financial inequality. He concludes that the wealthiest 10% of the United States effectively owns America, and that this is due in large part to an increase in unequal distribution of wealth between 1983 and 2004. Domhoff also states that the unequal wealth distribution is due in large part to tax cuts for the wealthy and the defeat of labor unions. Most of Domhoff’s information is accurate and includes strong, valid arguments and statements. However, there is room for improvement when identifying the subject of what is causing the inequality. The most important points made in Domhoff’s article are his statistics, the reason behind the unequal wealth distribution, and his closing statement concerning the top 10%. In his article, Domhoff cites many statistics regarding the distribution of wealth between America’s top and bottom percentiles. There is quite a bit of research to back up his claims, and his data is generally very accurate. However, when it comes to the cause of such gaps in wealth distribution, there is more to consider than simply tax cuts and labor unions. Domhoff begins with a broad overview of wealth distribution in the United States. He states that the top 1% held 34.6% of all privately held wealth, with 85% in the hands of the top 20%, leaving the bottom 80% in control of only 15% of privately held wealth. In terms of financial wealth...
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