...Wealth and Power in the US EDWIN SMITH Pol 443 January 6, 2015 KYLE HAGENBURGER Wealth and Power in the US Wealth and Power in the US To whom it may concern: This letter is to inform the public of how health care relates to the distribution and concentration of wealth in the U.S. and support the need to redistribute wealth in America. Wealth refers to the value of everything that a individual and family owns minus all its debts. Most of economists define wealth as marketable assets such as stocks bonds and real estate. In marketable securities, consumer durables like cars are not included because they are not readily converted into cash (Domhoff 2011). Power refers to the ability of controlling the behaviors of others, even against their will. Groups and individuals who have power are able to use it to increase their own interest. It is not necessary that individuals take these benefits at the cost of society. In the Unites States, social class is an arguable issue because there is a disagreement on its models and its existence in the country. Three class model that includes the rich, the middle class and the poor as believed by Americans. Among all the major economies, distribution of income in the United States is most unequal (Domhoff 2010)). The poverty level in the U.S. was $16,036 in 1997 for a family size of four. As with earnings difference, the poverty pace vary significantly between cultural groups. Difference in poverty and earnings has a chief...
Words: 838 - Pages: 4
...The Inca Empire and Latin America are comparable due to their similar location but different time periods in which they were successful. After reading “The Lost City of the Inca,” by Hiram Bingham and the textbook sections on Latin America, it is clear that both had similar class structures with some differences. The ruling and lower classes had an unequal distribution of power and wealth. The absolute power of the ruling class led to tragic conditions including slavery, which resulted in the deaths of thousands, and diminished the rights for the peasants, who never were able to participate in how the government was run or managed. Similarities between the Incan and Latin American class structures included a small population in the elite ruling class which consisted of wealthy landowners and a significantly larger lower class consisting of poor peasants who worked on estates. As a result, these governments were dominated by rich civilians who enacted laws and rules to meet their own wants and needs, without any considerations for the peasants. In both...
Words: 597 - Pages: 3
...Social stratification exists in America because the wealth and power belongs to a small portion of the population. Wealthy people possess an enormous amount of power over the political system and are held in high esteem by our society. There is a general feeling that those who are wealthy and powerful are superior to the average person. Social stratification involves not only socio-economic inequality, but the belief system held by people in America. A stratified society exists when there is an unequal distribution of wealth, power and prestige. In American society, political power and wealth are not distributed equally (Johnson, 1996). Paul Krugman is an economist and author of the book, 'The Spiral of Inequality' (1996). Krugman believes corporate greed, the decline of organized labor and changes in the way goods are produced are the causes of the growing social and economic inequality in the United States (Anderson, 2003). There is an unspoken general agreement in America that certain occupations deserve higher wages and more respect. Professions, such as physicians, lawyers, athletes and actors, are held in high esteem, whereas custodians, waitresses and trash collectors are considered professions that are not worthy of respect or praise and require minimal skill or intelligence. America most definitely needs skilled physicians and lawyers, but it also needs custodians, trash collectors and others who perform much needed tasks in order for society to thrive and function...
Words: 3589 - Pages: 15
...Finical District was movement organized by people to expose corruptions in cooperate America. The Occupy Wall Street Movement was known, as the peaceful protest due to it’s non-violent, non-aggressive nature and spread to over a one hundred and fifty cities cross the United Sates. Moral and ethical implications are the essentially what is right or wrong This paper looks at the moral and ethical implications related to the movement and uses some common ethical theories to determine which applies best to the issues surrounding the movement. The Occupy Wall Street Movement began in Zuccotti Park in New York City. Being that the park was private police did not have the right to kick the group of protesters out. The pretest was the people’s reaction to cooperate greed, social inequality, and the power of big business over the democratic process. Their slogan was heard across America, “we are the 99 percent.” They believed that one percent of the population; the banks, the mortgage industry and large corporations were controlling all of the countries wealth and preventing the ninety nine percent from prospering (The Occupy Wall Street Movement, 2012). Thousands of people organized across the United States in major cites and college campuses. To get there message heard. They sought to expose cooperate greed and unethical business practices and put an end to the unequal financial distribution of wealth (The Occupy Wall Street Movement, 2012). The movement was supported by democrats...
Words: 1050 - Pages: 5
...In his work “Who Rules America?”, G. William Domhoff provides us with a revealing look at class domination. He defines social and economic class status; the corporate world and it`s power and the intertwining between the corporate community and the upper class. To gain insight how one class can dominate the other we must define the terms social class and power. “They (social scientists) begin with a crucial analytical distinction between economic classes, which consist of people who have a common position in the economic system, such as ‘business owners’ or ‘employees’ and social classes, which consist of people who interact with each other, develop in-group social organizations, and share a common lifestyle” (Domhoff, 4). According to the author the most dominate social class in America is the upper class. This group can be defined as less than one percent of the population yet owns 34.3 percent of all marketable assets. As a group this class is very private, elite and secretive. They attend selected schools; they are members of private clubs and possess the most wealth in America. The upper class consists of networks which are created through social circles, alumni groups and club memberships. “This network-based way of thinking about a social class as a duality of persons and groups fits well with earlier definitions of social class” (Domhoff, 6). This group`s networks are the basis for shared interests. In an ideal world no...
Words: 1245 - Pages: 5
...Occupy Wall Street Movement Holly Hyder Professor Zimmerman Business Ethics July 28, 2013 Occupy Wall Street Movement In the fall of 2011 there began a movement in America. This movement would forever be known as Occupy Wall Street. Taking over Liberty Square in the Manhattan Financial District in New York, a group of Americans began a nonviolent protest over the economic state in America. One of the stances that Occupy Wall Street held was that 99% of American’s economic well-being was controlled by the top 1% of Americans. This economic truth would no longer be accepted by this group of Americans. This group also called for solidarity inside of the 99% of Americans defining this in a set of principles. These principles involved a direct and transparent engagement of participatory democracy, exercising responsibility on collective and individual levels, empowerment of each other against all oppression, redefining how labor is valued, the sanctity of individual privacy, that education is human right, and that all knowledge, technologies, and culture be open to free access, creation, modification, and distribution (Stone, 2011)). Together in this movements solidarity they came together in New York to speak out about the injustices that they have suffered at the hands of corporations. These facts were that homes had been placed in foreclosure without the original mortgages, bonuses have been given to executives after corporations have received bail outs from taxpayers, the...
Words: 1960 - Pages: 8
...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, he states that...
Words: 1179 - Pages: 5
...Due to major advances in technology in the 15th century, the expansion of European powers onto the Americas were in full rotation due to potential high profits. The major causes for the expansion of these countries were in pursuit of God, glory, and gold. The idea of exploring and discovering new areas in the name of God played a large factor in staying in compliance with the Church. By using the expansion of Christianity as an excuse to colonize the New World, the European powers gained immense power. Also, many expeditions were carried out in pursuit of gaining power, fame, and glory, reflecting upon feudalistic themes. Lastly and most importantly, what served as the basis for the expeditions into the New World was the potential of gaining large profits through colonization...
Words: 825 - Pages: 4
...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...
Words: 3191 - Pages: 13
...either send back or simply can't make it to their destination. The refugee crisis in central america is a huge problems because there are more push factors that make people flee their countries. The refugee crisis in central america has being a problem from a long time. In Central america there has being many conflicts. These conflicts make people wanna leave or be forced to leave their country for safety. One of the major problems in central america that cause people to flee is...
Words: 459 - Pages: 2
...MODERN LATIN AMERICA ESSAY 1 Question: Despite most of the Latin American countries achieving political independence in the early 19th century, not one of them was able to achieve first world status over the next one hundred years. Why was this so? Concentrate on one country in your analysis. Latin America is the vast continent with three distinctive regions of Central America, South America and the Caribbean coast, and is composed of 33 republic countries varying in terms of population size from over 19 million Brazilians to 11 thousand citizens of Grenada. The ethnic make-up of modern Latin America comprises a variety of racial and ethnic groups such as Europe, Africa, Asia and American-Indians, all of whose root is based in 4 different continents. The notable physical geography is the range of Andes Mountains that are long narrow backbone of the continent from Venezuela through Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and on into Chile, and cut off the east coastline and the west inland areas. The other features are the Amazon and rivers, huge tropical rain forest, and lastly, an abundance of natural resources as well as vast hectares of farmland. These geography features are an important factor that hampered economic growth due to difficulties in public transit and transportation between regions, hindrance of social and political unity, and therefore, unable to achieve a formation of large unitary state, like North America, that led to separation into large and small 30 countries...
Words: 2403 - Pages: 10
...Table of Contents 2 What is Plutocracy? 3 Is America a Plutocracy? 3 Ethics and Plutocracy 4 Why is America Still a Plutocracy? 4 The Rich Get Richer 5 The American Dream 6 Objectivism and Plutocracy 7 Utilitarianism and Plutocracy 8 Solutions to Plutocracy 9 Glossary of Terms 12 Bibliography 13 Plutocracy in America: What is Plutocracy? Plutocracy is a political system where the wealthy rule. Examples of plutocracies throughout the years include the Empire of Japan before WWII, some city-states in Ancient Greece, Carthage, and the Roman Republic. (Wikipedia, 2011) It’s not surprising that places such as these were plutocracies. Wealth can easily be converted into power and power can easily be used for political control. Systems such as these have an immense disparity between those that are wealthy and those that are not because once you are wealthy you can use that to become even more wealthy which leads to more power and if desired, more political control. (Warden, 2008) Before WWII Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany referred to western democratic states, such as the United States of America and Great Britain, as plutocracies. They implied that a small number of extremely wealthy individuals were controlling these countries and holding them ransom. (Wikipedia, 2011) While this may sound completely untrue there is more merit to this implication than meets the eye. Is America a Plutocracy? Yes, America is a plutocracy. We may think of ourselves...
Words: 3262 - Pages: 14
...human history the strongest nations were comprised into a group known as the West. The west is home to the ideologies of democracy, capitalism, and consumerism. The idea of democracy has been forced upon many nations in the world by the Western states. Democracy however has been shown to be a very easily manipulated system. Capitalism has shown the need for expansion and exploitation over Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The west has always been in contention with other nations, along with contending with each other. Competition between western nations has led to a technological race and an arms race, which is now more apparent than ever in the United States. With military might came the need to take over other nations and thus the ideas of imperialism, and nation aristocracy. Africa, Latin America, and Asia has suffered and continues to suffer a great deal because of the triumph of the west through exploitation, expansion, and wealth, all major goals of capitalism and imperialism. The West has retarded the development in all facets for many countries in Africa, Latin America, and Asia and thus led to the suffering of the world. One of the oldest ideologies from the west to the world is democracy. Democracy comes from the Greek words “demo” meaning people and “kratia” meaning rule, therefore rule of the people. Democracy is an egalitarian system of governance where all citizens together decide public policy, laws, the actions of the state, and public representatives. It makes...
Words: 2729 - Pages: 11
...of America: George Washington James Butler, a founding father of America, stated during the first Presidential elections, that “many of the members cast their eyes towards General Washington, as President, and shaped their ideas of the powers to be given a President, by their opinions of his virtue” (“George Washington” 127). In saying this, he meant that George Washington was a man that, in the eyes of all the chair-holders, fit all the characteristics that a President should have. For over 150 years before George Washington’s time, America was a colony of the British Empire that controlled the do’s and don’ts of the people living there. However, with the accumulation of laws and acts set forth by the distant British Empire, the...
Words: 2041 - Pages: 9
...Distribution of Wealth? Wealth has affected american society and evermore has affect the fabric of families. Has the distribution of wealth gotten so out of control that the effect will reverberate for generations to come and as a society can we do something about it. When we were tasked to write this final research paper on one of the topics from the discussions over the past semester i knew that i had to do a topic that i had dealt with on some personal level even know i have experienced many of the topics over the last semester the one that spoke to me the most is the distribution of wealth because of the simple fact that in my core family unit there is a gap in the distribution of wealth with me now below the poverty line my mother and father who i live with who are apart of the middle class and my birth father who is of the upper class in this paper i will uncover the differences and the similarities between these classes also is it fair that some have all and some have none and will the government do or should not do anything with the situation as well as the themes of what can change and how people feel about the situation at hand and how much is enough and why is it not enough and does the level of wealth make us happy i will also discuss these topics in interviews with my family. In a study conducted by the American psychological association they posed a question money can’t buy happiness? and in reading the article which puts poignant questions to people who make...
Words: 1478 - Pages: 6
