The most surprising statistic regarding wealth disparity in the United States (displayed on p. 29) is likely the reality that the richest 1% of. Americans possess more assets than the bottom 90% combined. This is particularly unsettling because it indicates the extent to which economic power rests in the hands of a privileged few, and the vast majority have far less of a stake in the resources. This degree of disparity may make it essentially impossible for the poor to earn wealth, become debt-free, or receive advantages that the rich simply assume as their due, such as access to good schooling, good medicine, and owning a home.

The impact of such hyper-wealth disparity is staggering. Such a society often has diminished social mobility, heightened poverty, and undermined democratic institutions, since the wealthy disproportionately hold sway over politics and policymaking. In addition, wage stagnation and rising cost of living force the majority of people into debt, unemployment insecurity, and economic worry, while the rich continue to accumulate more wealth and capital. Ultimately, this gap can lead to greater social unrest, economic unrest, and disillusionment with the system.

This process is evident in everyday life in many ways. For example, housing affordability has been a severe crisis in cities across the country, where working-class families are priced out of their communities by increasing costs as wealthy investors buy homes for speculative reasons. Another such example is the increasing educational inequality where wealthier families are able to enroll their children at private school and elite universities while poorer children carry student loan debt and under-funded public education. These daily realities reinforce the ways in which wealth inequality touches nearly every facet of society, from access to jobs to health care and political power.

1-Wealth inequality has become more rampant in modern capitalist society. The US statistic displaying 90 percent of American families having little to no assets and a combination of debt and mortgages is mortifying. Reason behind this inequality is because there is no circulation of wealth. Most of those with wealth continue to increase it and keep it to their own investments. Sharing it only with other high wealthy capitalists.

2-Society has had its clear changes in wealth for the better and worse. In modern times, this has become more than out of hand. A big example is neighborhoods and how safer places tend to have more expensive living. Such as housing, groceries and other businesses. In everyday life, I see it when I travel to BMCC and Manhattan for in-person class. Seeing prices of lunch in comparison to where I live is scary. Most times I opt to bring from home and pack a lunch or early dinner. Whenever I look around, too often I see wealthy people pass those who are begging on the streets near the subway. It has become worse since Covid and the rise of inflation.

When I travel back to the area I live, there is a huge shift. More normal and working class people are seen. Prices of food are not as mortifying but still warry to lookout for. There is also more homeless people in my area that surround the small business. Lots of liquidation places where thrift stores are too, not any well known big chains or fancy small places to shop.

1. Which statistic on wealth inequality in the US (discussed on p. 29) made the biggest impression on you? Explain why?
2. 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?

1. The fact that the income of the bottom 90% of Americans fell by 7% while the of 1% of Americans wealth increased by nearly 600% made the biggest impression on me. This is because majority of Americans are struggling financially while the small percentage of Americans are accumulating more wealth.
2. The implications of living in a society that has such wealth inequalities are classification. The economic power of a few individuals makes it difficult for everyday people to afford the things they need like good healthcare, education, and housing. This also brings a increase in debt and homelessness.

1. Which statistic on wealth inequality in the US (discussed on p. 29) made the biggest impression on you? Explain why?
   
   “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 is the statistic thar made the most impression on me because of the unbelievably large gap between those who have and those who do not have, and the comfort gap for these two groups of people. It is really hard to fathom the amount of wealth and money that the top 1% of this nation have. 
   
2. 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?

It is heartbreaking to see people trying their hardest just to survive and get by, living from paycheck to paycheck while others don’t have to worry about a thing and would never have to work another day in their life; their grandchildren might as well not need to work a day in their life. It is sad to know that many people are having to deal with health issues just because they cannot afford seeing a doctor or buying a medicine, while others take medical care for granted. It is sad to know that some people never left their county/state because it is too expensive for them, while others can hop on their private jet and fly just about anywhere they want, whenever they want to.

It is also not so hard to imagine the influence and power that these amounts of money can get you. Politics have always been influenced by the wealthy, and many wealthy people trying to shape policies and have it their way so that they can benefit from them, making the wealthy wealthier and the poor poorer. Money and politics were always seen entangled with each other ever since the greatest civilizations arose. 

1. Which statistic on wealth inequality in the US (discussed on p. 29) made the biggest impression on you? Explain why?

Only 90 percent of American families have little or no net assets which made the biggest impression on me and that is because most people live from paycheck to paycheck and can’t afford to put aside an asset. Most Americans struggle financially and that is struggling from poverty which cannot meet basic needs to provide for their families. 

2. 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?

Reducing economic and social mobility could have negative implications of living in a society that has huge wealth equalities. However, the wealthy may have luxurious housing, better education/private schooling, private hospitals, better job opportunities whereas, the non wealthy people would have the opposite and little to no benefits compared to the luxurity. Yes, definitely see this dynamic playing out in everyday life in our society. Some people in the community are wealthy off and get better/more opportunities and benefits. 

Which statistic on wealth inequality in the US (discussed on p. 29) made the biggest impression on you? Explain why?

The fact that 90% of American families have little or no assets left the stronger impression on me. This is especially striking because many people in todays society are obsessed with material possessions, frequently mistaking expensive items or a particular lifestyle for prosperity. The truth is that most Americans are still unable to achieve true financial stability and prosperity, and this inability to accumulate assets feeds that poverty cycle. It demonstrates that a large number of people lack the financial means to better their lives over the long run, something that may not always be apparent to outsiders who only perceive outward riches.

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?

Social divisions, where the affluent and poor are kept apart, are one issue brought on by wealth disparity. This makes it more difficult for those with lesser incomes to obtain necessities like decent housing, healthcare, and education. Additionally wealth also gives the wealthy more sway over political decisions, which frequently results in laws and policies that benefit them, widening the divide. For others who are less privileged, this can lead to resentment, irritation, and sense of powerlessness.

These problems are present In daily life. Healthcare is a major issue, for instance: while wealthy individuals can access private hospitals that offer the greatest care, thoes in impoverished neighborhoods frequently cannot afford routine checkups or must cope with overcrowded, understaffed hospitals. Another example is education: wealthy families may afford elite schools and use connections to get their children into top institutions, but poorer pupils lack access to the same resources and chances. As a result, it appears that although the wealthy can readily advance, the poor must work considerably harder for fewer opportunities.

1. Which statistic on wealth inequality in the US (discussed on p. 29) made the biggest impression on you? Explain why? The statistic that stood out to me is that 1% of people own the majority of the country’s wealth, being 40%-50%. This shows how un fair money and wealth is distributed across the United States. A lot of people think that the majority of Americans live in the middle class but this just shows that a select few really have the wealth. Also showing that these individuals were born into wealth, so they don’t need to work hard maybe not work at all while others would struggle their whole life no matter how much hard work they put into it.
2. 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? Some implications could be that since only a select few of people in the United States have wealth, people who struggle with making money can struggle with paying for the essentials like food, a home, medicine/doctors, education and more, while the wealthy have immediate access to all of those things. For example New York City and the suburbs outside of the city, there are nice tall skyscraper penthouses that cost millions of dollars while homeless people just casually walk past it every day. Another example is schools, wealthy people can put themselves in private school or boarding school then pay for the most expensive college to get the best education possible while others are stuck with public school and having to go to community college even though they would’ve wanted to go to a nice university. It’s something that makes it hard for lower class people to achieve because the wealthy don’t have to work for it, it’s handed to them.

Answer 1: What is startling about the statistic is that the wealthiest 1% of Americans hold such an enormous share of the wealth of this country. It is unexpected indeed for such concentration of wealth and power in the hands of so few people to go on being put in front of us. One is left to wonder about other challenges for the working population and how this range of inequality might affect the workings of our democracy. 

Answer 2: Living in a society characterized by big gaps in wealth can lead to many problems. 

The Poor Have Little Access To Resources: Being poor often means being unable to get a good education, health care, and housing, thereby keeping the poor in conditions of poverty. 

Disparity In Political Power: With a few wealthy people influencing politics, the laws and policies may favor the rich, leaving the less privileged. 

Social Conflict: A huge disparity creates resentment and anger which may boil over into riots. 

The effect of this can be seen very clearly within the social fabric every day. Wealthy neighborhoods boast well-resourced schools and parks limited. Schools within low-income neighborhoods are often poorly funded with few resources that further limit their opportunities to excel and make life better.

1. Which statistic on wealth inequality in the US (discussed on p. 29) made the biggest impression on you? Explain why?

90% of American families have little or no assets. Most people die in the. Class to which they are born. This made the biggest impression on me because in the social media age we live in, where everything is done for likes or views, people don’t believe they’re really poor if they have materialistic items that cost too much in their possession. Or they lack the knowledge or education to understand where they fall on the food chain.

• 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?

Some implications of living in a society that has huge wealth inequalities are social stratification, huge wealth gaps mean the wealthy get better access to health care, education, and housing, while working and poor people struggle to stay alive. Also, when a small number of people or corporations own the majority of the wealth, they can use that power to sway political decisions. One last thing is that wealth can cause social conflicts between men, women, race, gender, etc.

I do see these dynamics playing out in everyday life, one of the main ones being health care. It’s hard for people to get regular dental check-ups, physicals, and emergency rooms are overcrowded, understaffed, but if you’re part of the wealthy, then you’re able to go to a private hospital with top doctors with top education. Education is another big example private school and public school educations are two completely different things when you’re wealthy there’s such thing as legacy admissions, or if your parents know someone that knows someone, they can get you into an Ivy League college for free or way less than what someone who was working class or poor would have to pay. It’s almost like when you’re poor, you work twice as hard and pay twice as much and get less than what you’re worth or nothing at all.