1. The statistic that shocked me the most was ‘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.’ The fact that the top 1% own more than the whole lower 90% combined suggests that economic power is held in the hands of few that were born into it. Wealth equals influence, and that is seen in modern society with people such as Elon Musk who grows closer to the President.
  2. Living in a society with economic disparities can have an impact on both the individual, and society as a whole. A part of this could be the exploitation of workers. Companies keep wages low while keeping the workload tough, all the while shareholders are getting paid. Another reason could be the living conditions for the poor. High cases of inequality lead to underfunded housing, schools, and neighborhoods, and poor healthcare access. A key factor in this is the political influence of the wealthy. Oftentimes, rich people use their influence to build relationships with people in power in order to influence policies and laws in their favor (tax cuts for the rich, weaker labor laws.) We see all of these in modern day life, with an example being how Jeff Bezos treats his amazon employees. Employees are often talking about their low wage that doesn’t add up to the amount of work being done at warehouses, not to mention the mandatory overtime. Another example of this is the current housing crisis. In major cities, the price of rent and homes are rising while the wages are not, making it harder for the working-class to afford a decent place to live.

Leave a Reply