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Income Inequality in the US
Income Inequality in the US
Student’s Name
Date
Institutional Affiliation
Introduction
Growing income inequality is one of the biggest challenges that the US has faced. Recent crises such as the 2007 to 2009 recession further increased the income gap between upper-class and lower-class households and shrank middle-class households. The rates of income inequality differ from one state to another, and it is apparent that the rich are getting richer quickly. In contrast, middle-class and lower-class families have a lower income growth rate resulting in stagnation. The rates of income inequality in America are among the highest among developed nations. Income Inequality results in social and political dysfunction. Addressing this problem is crucial to ensuring better income distribution and spurring economic growth for people across all social classes. Income inequality is an ever-growing problem that needs to be addressed to ensure the country’s economic, social, and political wellbeing.
Income Inequality Rates
Income inequality in the US is among the highest among all developed nations. Over the last five decades, high-earning households have brought in more than half of the country’s total income. According to the US Census Bureau, the median household income in 2020 was $67, 521 and the households that brought in an annual income of more than $100 000 were less than 20% of the country’s households (Shrider et al., 2021). Income inequality has been on the rise in each state in the country since the 1970s. However, the rates of income inequality have risen further after the 2007 to 2009 recession, with the top 1% growing their incomes faster than the bottom 99%. Between 2009 and 2015, this top 1% earned half, or more than half, of all the income growth, witnessed across states (Sommeiller & Price, 2018). As of 2015, families in the top 1% brought in an annual income 26.3 times higher than families in the bottom 99%. Levels of income inequality are not similar in all states as regions have top income earner households that bring in more income than the bottom 99%. For instance, in 2015, high-income households in New York brought in 44.4 times more annual income than low-income households. Also, most high-income families resided in states such as New York, California, Texas, Florida, and Illinois. The high-income families from these states accounted for up to 40% of the country’s total income (Sommeiller & Price, 2018).
Income Growth Rate
Income growth rates have also been significantly skewed between the top income earners and the bottom income earners. Before the 2007 to 2009 recession, top income earning families experienced an income growth that accounted for 58.7% of the total income growth witnessed in the country. However, after the recession, 85.1% of the total income growth was only witnessed among the top-income families. In contrast, families with low annual income experienced income growth of 0.7% to 10.3% between 2009 to 2015 (Sommeiller & Price, 2018). While the percentage of income growth garnered by the bottom income earners increased with time, these figures indicate that the top income families grew their income average faster than the bottom income families. This unequal distribution of income growth was also witnessed across states. States with a high number of top-earning households had significantly higher income growth rates than other states. For instance, in 2015, the average income of the top-earning households in New York was $2.2 million, while the average income of the top-earning households in New Mexico was $615 thousand (Sommeiller & Price, 2018).
With the growth of income tipping in favor of upper-income households, America’s middle class is slowly shrinking. During the 1970s, most Americans belonged in the middle as they comprised a clear majority of up to 60% of adults (Horowitz et al., 2020). However, this figure has shrunk over the decades, signifying a downsizing in the number of American households that can generate enough income to belong in this category. In addition, households generating middle-class income have not grown at the rate witnessed in upper-income households. For instance, between the 1970s to 2018, the median middle-class income grew by 49%, while the upper-class income grew by 64%. Also, the percentage of the aggregate income going to middle-class households fell by 19% (Horowitz et al., 2020). These income trends, coupled with the data highlighted above, are clear indicators of the growing income inequality in the USA.
Income Inequality in Other Developed Nations
Compared to other advanced economies, America ranked highest in its levels of income inequality. Income inequality across different countries is measured using the Gini Coefficient, with 0 representing the perfect rate of equality to 1 representing the perfect rate of inequality. According to the World Bank estimates, America’s Gini coefficient was 0.434 in 2018 (Horowitz et al., 2020). This figure was the highest among the G7 countries. In 2018 France had a Gini coefficient inequality rate of 0.326, the UK recorded a rate of 0.392, and most Eastern Europe countries recorded low Gini coefficient rates of below 0.25 (Horowitz et al., 2020). Despite having a high income per capita, the US’s high rate of inequality is due to poor redistribution of resources and inefficiency in the tax system used. The tax system in the US rewards top earners resulting in wealthy households saving billions in taxes. In contrast, the tax systems in developed nations with a similar income per capita as the US but a lower income inequality Gini coefficient is due to tax systems that redistribute resources.
Effects of Income Inequality
Income inequality adversely affects economic growth, resulting in political and social dysfunction. Wealthy households tend to spend less of their income, resulting in a lower economic demand that lowers future economic growth rates. Income inequality promotes political and social dysfunction as wealthy households exert their influence in various government functions, further entrenching their power in society. There is a need for more progressive tax policies that focus on redistributing wealth across households of all social classes to address the income inequality problem in America. The proposed wealth tax is one of the suggested tax policies that has gained popularity since its championing in 2020. This policy aims to tax households with an accumulative wealth of more than $100 million with a 20% tax on their income, including taxation on unrealized gains from stocks (Siripurapu, 2020). Increased access to higher education by introducing low tuition fees in public colleges and canceling students’ loans is another measure proposed to reduce income inequality rates in the country.
Conclusion
Income inequality is an ever-growing problem in America. Income inequality has resulted in the disproportional distribution of wealth and power. As the rich get richer, their influence and power increase, further affecting the economic, social, and political wellbeing of the country. Addressing the problem of income inequality ensures economic prosperity and promotes social and political stability.
References
Horowitz, J. M., Igielnik, R., & Kochhar, R. (2020). Most Americans say there is too much economic inequality in the US, but fewer than half call it a top priority. Washington, DC: Pew Research Center.
Shrider, E. A., Kollar, M., Chen, F., & Semega, J. (2021). Income and poverty in the United States: 2020. Current Population Reports. US Census Bureau.
Siripurapu, A. (2020). The US Inequality Debate.
Sommeiller, E., & Price, M. (2018). The new gilded age: Income inequality in the US by state, metropolitan area, and county.
Income Inequality in the US Introduction
Income Inequality in the US
Student’s Name
Date
Institutional Affiliation
Introduction
Growing income inequality is one of the biggest challenges that the US has faced. Recent crises such as the 2007 to 2009 recession further increased the income gap between upper-class and lower-class households and shrank middle-class households. The rates of income inequality differ from one state to another, and it is apparent that the rich are getting richer quickly. In contrast, middle-class and lower-class families have a lower income growth rate resulting in stagnation. The rates of income inequality in America are among the highest among developed nations. Income Inequality results in social and political dysfunction. Addressing this problem is crucial to ensuring better income distribution and spurring economic growth for people across all social classes. Income inequality is an ever-growing problem that needs to be addressed to ensure the country’s economic, social, and political wellbeing.
Income Inequality Rates
Income inequality in the US is among the highest among all developed nations. Over the last five decades, high-earning households have brought in more than half of the country’s total income. According to the US Census Bureau, the median household income in 2020 was $67, 521 and the households that brought in an annual income of more than $100 000 were less than 20% of the country’s households (Shrider et al., 2021). Income inequality has been on the rise in each state in the country since the 1970s. However, the rates of income inequality have risen further after the 2007 to 2009 recession, with the top 1% growing their incomes faster than the bottom 99%. Between 2009 and 2015, this top 1% earned half, or more than half, of all the income growth, witnessed across states (Sommeiller & Price, 2018). As of 2015, families in the top 1% brought in an annual income 26.3 times higher than families in the bottom 99%. Levels of income inequality are not similar in all states as regions have top income earner households that bring in more income than the bottom 99%. For instance, in 2015, high-income households in New York brought in 44.4 times more annual income than low-income households. Also, most high-income families resided in states such as New York, California, Texas, Florida, and Illinois. The high-income families from these states accounted for up to 40% of the country’s total income (Sommeiller & Price, 2018).
Income Growth Rate
Income growth rates have also been significantly skewed between the top income earners and the bottom income earners. Before the 2007 to 2009 recession, top income earning families experienced an income growth that accounted for 58.7% of the total income growth witnessed in the country. However, after the recession, 85.1% of the total income growth was only witnessed among the top-income families. In contrast, families with low annual income experienced income growth of 0.7% to 10.3% between 2009 to 2015 (Sommeiller & Price, 2018). While the percentage of income growth garnered by the bottom income earners increased with time, these figures indicate that the top income families grew their income average faster than the bottom income families. This unequal distribution of income growth was also witnessed across states. States with a high number of top-earning households had significantly higher income growth rates than other states. For instance, in 2015, the average income of the top-earning households in New York was $2.2 million, while the average income of the top-earning households in New Mexico was $615 thousand (Sommeiller & Price, 2018).
With the growth of income tipping in favor of upper-income households, America’s middle class is slowly shrinking. During the 1970s, most Americans belonged in the middle as they comprised a clear majority of up to 60% of adults (Horowitz et al., 2020). However, this figure has shrunk over the decades, signifying a downsizing in the number of American households that can generate enough income to belong in this category. In addition, households generating middle-class income have not grown at the rate witnessed in upper-income households. For instance, between the 1970s to 2018, the median middle-class income grew by 49%, while the upper-class income grew by 64%. Also, the percentage of the aggregate income going to middle-class households fell by 19% (Horowitz et al., 2020). These income trends, coupled with the data highlighted above, are clear indicators of the growing income inequality in the USA.
Income Inequality in Other Developed Nations
Compared to other advanced economies, America ranked highest in its levels of income inequality. Income inequality across different countries is measured using the Gini Coefficient, with 0 representing the perfect rate of equality to 1 representing the perfect rate of inequality. According to the World Bank estimates, America’s Gini coefficient was 0.434 in 2018 (Horowitz et al., 2020). This figure was the highest among the G7 countries. In 2018 France had a Gini coefficient inequality rate of 0.326, the UK recorded a rate of 0.392, and most Eastern Europe countries recorded low Gini coefficient rates of below 0.25 (Horowitz et al., 2020). Despite having a high income per capita, the US’s high rate of inequality is due to poor redistribution of resources and inefficiency in the tax system used. The tax system in the US rewards top earners resulting in wealthy households saving billions in taxes. In contrast, the tax systems in developed nations with a similar income per capita as the US but a lower income inequality Gini coefficient is due to tax systems that redistribute resources.
Effects of Income Inequality
Income inequality adversely affects economic growth, resulting in political and social dysfunction. Wealthy households tend to spend less of their income, resulting in a lower economic demand that lowers future economic growth rates. Income inequality promotes political and social dysfunction as wealthy households exert their influence in various government functions, further entrenching their power in society. There is a need for more progressive tax policies that focus on redistributing wealth across households of all social classes to address the income inequality problem in America. The proposed wealth tax is one of the suggested tax policies that has gained popularity since its championing in 2020. This policy aims to tax households with an accumulative wealth of more than $100 million with a 20% tax on their income, including taxation on unrealized gains from stocks (Siripurapu, 2020). Increased access to higher education by introducing low tuition fees in public colleges and canceling students’ loans is another measure proposed to reduce income inequality rates in the country.
Conclusion
Income inequality is an ever-growing problem in America. Income inequality has resulted in the disproportional distribution of wealth and power. As the rich get richer, their influence and power increase, further affecting the economic, social, and political wellbeing of the country. Addressing the problem of income inequality ensures economic prosperity and promotes social and political stability.
References
Horowitz, J. M., Igielnik, R., & Kochhar, R. (2020). Most Americans say there is too much economic inequality in the US, but fewer than half call it a top priority. Washington, DC: Pew Research Center.
Shrider, E. A., Kollar, M., Chen, F., & Semega, J. (2021). Income and poverty in the United States: 2020. Current Population Reports. US Census Bureau.
Siripurapu, A. (2020). The US Inequality Debate.
Sommeiller, E., & Price, M. (2018). The new gilded age: Income inequality in the US by state, metropolitan area, and county.
First, Second, Third Wave Feminism
First, Second, Third Wave Feminism
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Feminism may be referred to as the theory of the political, economic and social parity of males and females. Feminism may also be referred to as systematized activities that tend to serve the women’s right and their common interest. It is worth noting that there are a number of feminisms and various theories addressing women interest (Ritzer & Ryan, 2011). Feminisms attempts to recognize women as human beings despite the fact that they may approach things and are created differently when physically viewed. It further empowers women to participate in various things equally without any discrimination through recognition of the integral relationship of gender of gender. There was a belief that gender intersects with other social hierarchies and in order to achieve equality you must engage in social movements. This article evaluates and analyses the first, second and third waves of feminism and relates them with my own experience as a child, teenage and adult.
According to Ritzer & Ryan (2011), the three waves of feminism range from suffragettes to the third wave that is known as grrls. First wave feminism was because of context of industrial society and liberal politics. First wave feminism relates to the liberal women’s right movement and early socialist feminism between 19th and 20th century affecting the Eastern and Western societies. In the first wave, there was a huge concern regarding the access and equal opportunity of women in the society.
The second wave of feminism arose between 1960s to 1970s in the post-war Western welfare societies when the discriminated groups such as blacks and homosexuals were being defined and the issues of women empowerment. Finally, the third wave feminism began in the mid 1990sas a result of post-colonial and post-socialist world order. Third wave of feminism manifests itself in “grrl” rhetoric, which is global and multicultural and addresses womanhood challenges. These three waves of feminism have had huge impact on my life as a child, teenage and an adult (Walby, 2013).
I felt felt as a teenager that first wave feminism was very significant in addressing some of the challenges affecting the female sex. It was interesting to note that the demonstrators were very much comfortable with their arrests and did not even attempt to resist the police arrest. I took this very bold step as a child knowing that I have my own rights that I can only achieve when I fight for them. I understood that teenagers who are the most oppressed group could only access freedom through conflicts and radial practices. The human right movements were very effective and since then, I knew as an adult that women are equal to men and should therefore be given equal rights (Walby, 2013).
It was so obvious to me that even after agreements of exercising a specific right would still require certain reinforcement. There is actually a worry amongst the people responsible in infringing others rights when the oppressed realizes the impact of the injustice as well as the way out. As an adult, I realized that sexism and racism played significant role in the white male dominance society. National unity and patriotism serves as an important factor as far as growth and development in a working environment is concerned. It is undeniable that when issues such as discrimination against colour and sex are put forward, the nation or institutions may not succeed. As an adult, I have always felt that there is conventional behaviour applying to both males and females and that female should never be discriminated against (Ritzer & Ryan, 2011).
Women can equally be public persuaders and I have learnt that it is equally better to listen to a woman just as you would listen to a man. As a child, I experienced the power and strength that my mother and other women had in performing various tasks. The cult of domesticity was never that big issue to me because both my parents could perform any chore in the house. The presence of father and mother in the family were equally important. They were both responsible in ensuring that they controlled my behaviour, provided for our home and every other financial assistance (Herman, 2012). Allowing women to vote was therefore crucial in enabling them to participate in public issues. Being in class and even having played with girls at my tender age taught me a lot about women and made me realize their equal capabilities.
The Second Feminist Wave: “The Personal is Political”
According to Walby (2013), the second wave was so much involved in radical feminism that took place between 1960s and 1970s where performances were widely used to shed light on women oppression. Women’s look is still emphasized to date particularly in the fashion shows and beauty contests carried out. When I was a teen, I could pay much attention to some TV programs involving beautiful women bodies. Even at my adult age, I have experienced numerous incidences in both learning institutions and the media advertisements where several things happening in the society exposing the human body (Herman, 2012). Most women concentrate on artefacts such as lipsticks and other forms of makeups instead of focusing on their mind and intelligence. This is very evident in various retail shops available across the world selling women’s makeups just to ensure they appeal to men and the public. Although second wave feminism attempted to address this, it is still evident that portrayal of women body in the eye of the public is maintained.
Women in most organizations are still occupying inferior positions at work places and even learning institutions. In adulthood, I have heard of several organizations such as Wal-Mart that still discriminate against women. Looking at sports, the women sports events are never of great concern and the media pays less concentration to it compared to the male counterparts. For instance, the women’s soccer world cup is not regarded as important as the men’s are. During my life as a teen, I came across few female lecturers and female student leaders who could stand and voice their concern with authority because of their negative perception (Herman, 2012).
Generally, women liberation does not seem to have been achieved per se and most women still depend on men who are mostly economically stable. Social and political power of women is still embedded in the conventional thought and practice that emphasizes on sexism. Still, even in my childhood, I came across various housewives in the neighbourhoods whose reasons behind their status I did not know much about. Motherhood and caretaking are still associated with most women who taker a huge percentage of their time and resources looking after their families.
Poverty level amongst women of colour is still very common and I did not come across as many female students of colour as I was the white counterparts in high school (Walby, 2013). They were still segregated due to their race and associating with blacks was not that normal in the face of the whites who felt superior. I read about save trade and the issues of reproduction in the school library where women of colour felt so much discriminated to an extent of President Roosevelt introducing the pure race concept. Women of colour were told to control their birth and carry out abortion so that their population would go down. On the other hand, the women from white race were encouraged by President Roosevelt to give birth in plenty so as not to risk their race being overpowered by the black race (Herman, 2012).
Third Wave Feminism
According to Herman (2012), third wave feminism thought themselves as the most superior, strong and assertive of all the other wave feminism because it had more opportunities and less sexism. This movement introduced universal womanhood. I have come across various women campaigns from various media including social media, websites, TV and other forms of media. There is a lot of information revolution taking place in the current Hillary Clinton and Michel Obama are amongst the women who have assumed powerful positions in the world showing the achievements so far of the third wave feminism.
In my adulthood, I have come across numerous women in leadership and very powerful positions in governments and companies globally. Many victims of gender violence and discrimination have received massive support from the third wave foundation. Issues of gender, racial and social injustices are currently addressed globally. Various human rights institutions have condemned the recent female employment discrimination in various companies such as Wal-Mart. There are various disciplines and subjects addressing women role and equality issues. While still young and when I was a teen, I read several materials in class and outside the class touching on gender equality.
It is undeniable that feminism is a very sophisticated topic and is understood differently. Commencement of feminism movement indicated the seriousness of the gender issues and the impact it ad on their victims. The movement has contributed to a number of failure and success though much success has been experienced throughout. Issues regarding feminism are evident everywhere across the world. One can experience either the success or failure of the movements in the daily life practices. The waves have grown and developed in a very positive way despite many challenges and the media has really exposed the activities linked with the third wave.
References
Herman, D. (2012). Hopeless Cases: Race, Racism and the ‘Vexatious Litigant’. International Journal of Law in Context, 8(1), 27-46.
Ritzer, G., & Ryan, J. M. (2011). The Concise Encyclopedia of Sociology. Chichester, West Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell.
Walby, S. (2013). The Future of Feminism. Oxford: Wiley.