Which statistic on wealth inequality in the US (discussed on p. 29) made the biggest impression on you? Explain why? The statistic on wealth inequality in the US that made the biggest impression on me is stated on page 29 when it says,” The top 1 percent own between 40 and 50 percent of the nation’s total wealth (stocks, bonds, investment funds, land, natural resources, business assets, and so on), more than the combined wealth of the bottom 90 percent. This really stood out to me because it’s very unfair how the rich people stay rich while they pay the middle class and the poor very little wages which is nothing compared to what they actually make. No amount of money can make something for you on its own only human labor can do it such as building a house or a machine. Capital cannot produce anything. This top 1 percent owes a huge percentage of the nation’s total wealth while they aren’t even the ones producing anything. The article states, “the real producers are those who apply their brawn, brains, and talents to the creation of goods and services”. I agree with this statement and believe they should receive more money.
What could be some of the implications of living in a society that has such huge wealth inequalities? Do you see this dynamic getting played out in everyday life in our society? How so? Example? In the article, it mentions that a common problem of modern capitalism is inflation and I can agree with this because we see this in society every day prices are going up and many people can’t afford this. The article states even a modest annual inflation rate of three or 4% substantially reduces the buying power of wage earners and persons on fixed incomes over a few year’s although inflation is going on there are many things that families need and must still buy such as food, fuel , housing and health care. These things add up to 70% of the average family income. Another example of wealth inequalities in society are homeless people who have no money and many people who stay in homeless shelters need to find a job since most cities do not provide sufficient affordable shelter or food for the homeless populations this is why many people are out in the streets since they can’t afford to stay in a shelter.
