#distributionofwealth

The way wealth is distributed within the United States is a big issue because it is distributed in an unjustly matter. The wealthy have money but do not enjoy paying high taxes and lower income households struggle to make ends meet. Therefore, the conclusion is that in order for all people living in the U.S. to live a simple and comfortable lifestyle, there needs to be a change in the way wealth is distributed. 

The reason this is such an issue is because there is no solution where everyone is happy. I’m not sure what the “just” distribution of money is because I feel that in order to understand the issue of the distribution of wealth and to take the steps necessary to get closer to a solution, one has to look at each circumstance individually and all the details that factor into its situation. This then makes everything much more complicated because those who are deciding how our wealth should be distributed do not care to look at those details, nor do they understand them. Also, not many people are not aware of the huge gap between the rich and the poor, and because of that, carry the notion that wealth is distributed pretty evenly in the U.S. This only adds to the problem.

With every decision affecting another in a different way, negatively or positively, the struggle is finding a way where everyone is happy. We all want people to have the basic resources, but with the issue of scarcity, it makes it much more difficult. The question is who gets the utilities created to help families who are struggling- people who cheat the system or those who work hard. Those who sit on their couch all day and cheat the system, do not deserve to get the utilities to help them. But, those who work multiple jobs, try to create a better life for themselves and their family, and are determined, deserve the utilities to help them. 

The article “Imagine a country” from Race, Class, and Gender in the United States, puts a few important issues into light. For example, “a country where one out of four children is born into poverty, and wealth is being redistributed upward”, “a country where worker productivity went up, but workers’ wages went down”, and “a country where some are paid so little their children go without necessities- while others are paid so much their grandchildren could live in luxury without having to work at all.” How is this fair? 

It’s not. 

That’s why as citizens of the United States, we need to inform ourselves of what is actually going on within our society. We need to STOP making assumptions and generalizations, and actually look at the facts to understand how severe this problem is. 

According to Race, Gender, Sexuality, and Social Class: Dimensions of Inequality and Identity by Susan J. Ferguson, “In the United States in 2004, the ratio of CEO pay to the average worker’s pay was 431 to 1.” That’s insane. The fact that there are people who are making so much money that it’s impossible to spend it all in their lifetime, all at the same time that there are people who work for the same company, in the same building, and can’t even afford to put food on table for their families. While the way wealth is distributed is clearly an issue, people argue that those CEO’s work hard and deserve that money. I agree, that CEO’s work hard for their money, but when you hear that a couple who are each working two jobs each, and still can’t afford the basic necessities, it makes you think.

“Race and Extreme Inequality” states that “Since 1968 the income gap between blacks and whites has only narrowed by 3 cents” and that “Income will only be equal between the two groups in the next 537 years.” Why should it take that long? I understand that nothing happens overnight and that finding a solution takes time and consideration, but is it fair that for the next 537 years, African American and white’s income will be drastically different. Is is fair that an “Army officer who worked as a security guard would have to work more than 20 years to earn what his employer earned in 1 hour” (“Meet the Wealth Gap”). This is someone who has served in the U.S. army, who has given up his life to serve and protect the citizens of the United States, and he’s struggling to support himself. 

In “Shh Don’t Say Poverty”, it expresses the idea that poverty is “killing the American dream” because people cannot afford to support themselves and their families. We need to try and fix the way that wealth is distributed, which  will be no easy task, but informing and educating people about this continuous issue is the first step. In addition, we need to make changes, especially to the degree where everyone living in the U.S. should be able to have the basic necessities. 

The American dream shouldn’t be a dream, but a reality.

Watch this very interesting video to learn more about how wealth is distributed within the United States: