Rising Wealth Inequality: Should We Care? NYTimes 3/22/10
Why do Americans seem unperturbed about the growing gap between the rich and the poor?We Feel Rich Enough
Scott Winship is the research manager of the Pew Economic Mobility Project, where he designs the project's research agenda and evaluates commissioned work. Outside Pew, he writes about economic issues at his blog.
Just one percent of Americans mention inequality when asked what is the most important problem facing the country. Why? Partly because the concentration of wealth is strikingly low by historical standards and the gap between rich and poor has not increased as much as many pundits believe. Another factor may be the relative affluence that the typical American enjoys today. The nation is looking for the same thing it has for decades – not a leveling of income differences, but a fair chance for everyone to achieve the American Dream.
A prominent public opinion analyst has observed that voters' economic concerns "have shifted from those of getting to those of keeping." Those words were written by Samuel Lubell in 1952. Between that year and 1979, the income of the median family doubled, and while progress has slowed, it has still grown respectably since then. Despite the sluggish recovery, a Pew Research Center survey conducted last year found that three in four Americans who had reached midlife either said they were rich enough to lead the kind of life they wanted or believed they would be in the future. Pew's Economic Mobility Project, using a national survey that tracks multiple generations, has shown that four in five Americans have exceeded the income their parents had at the same age.
The median American is richer than about 95 percent of people worldwide, a fact that may explain why the gap separating them from the richest Americans is so low on the list of most peoples' concerns. Instead, Americans want to expand opportunities for upward mobility for the nation's poorest.
The Economic Mobility Project recently asked people what was more important, reducing inequality or ensuring that everyone has a fair chance at improving their economic standing. More than 60 percent "strongly" felt opportunity was more important, while just 16 percent felt strongly about reducing inequality.
In the same survey, 17 percent said it was a "major problem" that people born to rich parents tend to remain at the top as adults (we gave them the actual figure). In contrast, more than half said it was a major problem that 42 percent of those starting at the bottom will remain there. The nation is looking for the same thing it has for decades – not a leveling of income differences, but a fair chance for everyone to achieve the American Dream.
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/03/21/rising-wealth-inequality-should-we-care/most-americans-by-midlife-feel-rich-enough
"The nation is looking for the same thing it has for decades – not a leveling of income differences, but a fair chance for everyone to achieve the American Dream" (Winship). This chance is known as equality of opportunity. This equalness is something that Americans have fought for; everyone wants the opportunities that their neighbors have. Unfortunately, the equality of condition does not exist. The ascribed status of a person usually dictates where and how they start in life. For example, a wealthy person's daughter may go to a top notch private school and be offered the opportunity to go to an Ivy league college. At college, she will have the opportunity to intern with a judge. When she graduates, she will get a job at a very prestigioius law firm. A girl whose parents have average wealth may go to a private school, have the opportunity to go to a private college. She will intern with a law firm and eventually get a job with a local law firm. However, the daughter whose parents are poor and live in a poor neighborhood, will go to the local public school. She will have the opportunity to go to community college. She will get an entry level job at a law firm. She will do the lowest grade work. She will finish getting her degree at night school. It might take her five or more years. A person's status will play a part in the equality or inequality of wealth.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Lexie's summary, which is why I believe we need to put programs into place that will level the playing field for individuals at the lowest income level. I also agree with the article, which states that Americans are more concerned with people having opportunity than they are with redistributing wealth. I still don't agree with the prinicple of taking someones wealth. An individual that has worked hard for their success should not have it taken from them simply because they have more than others. If we did that we would be destroying the American Dream, a concept that this country was founded on.
ReplyDelete"Just one percent of Americans mention inequality when asked what is the most important problem facing the country." The reason for this extreme low statistic is because of the typical affluence many Americans live in each day and because of the large increase of the rich and poor in society presently is not acknowledged by most or believed by many. As stated earlier the article states that Americans act like they want a more equal society, but it is one thing to just want something, but another thing to take the steps in the right direction to decrease inequality.
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting that people were not viewing inequality as the main problem. That was originally what I thought people would think of as the main problem, but this article clearly demonstrated that it's not. In fact, more people voted that they think the major problem is that people do not have the same opportunities in life. For example, the rich tend to stay rich and the poor tend to remain poor. This poll demonstrates that people believe that if they were given the opportunity, they could make their own situations better then they would be in this difficult economy.
ReplyDeleteEveryone wants to live the American Dream. They want those who are starting in the lower classes of society to be able to suceed, climb the economic social ladder, and make it to the top. I found it interesting that people are not as concerned about the inequality of the economic classes but they all want an equal chance at moving into the upper class. The reason for this is that people want stratification to remain. This means that people can have some type of power in the upper class. This is why everyone wants an equal opportunity, they want an equal shot at power. People are not concerned about those who are already on top staying on top citizens are concerned about those who are stuck at the bottom and do not have a chance to make it to the top. If the economy could be geared toward the potential that everyone can live the American Dream people would seize this opportunity.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Corinne that people are more concerned with economic motility than economic inequality. The overwhelming sentiment is that it's alright for there to be stratification because people want to be able to be on the top stratum. People don't mind the idea of inequality when they are on the richer end of it. The idea of the American dream is that there is inequality and if you can work hard enough, you can become the top tier of an unfair pyramid.
ReplyDeleteAn important ideal for the American people as a whole is to achieve the American Dream. The nation is looking, not to level income differences, but to offer everyone an equal opportunity to achieve this dream. When asked whether reducing inequality or ensuring that everyone has a fair chance, overwhelmingly people responded that being afforded equal opportunity was more important. By offereing everyone the same opportunity it only makes sense that wealth and income would level out. It’s more important for people to have opportunity to achieve their dreams rather than have it handed to them.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Corinne and the point that she made about people being concerned with economic mobility. Everyone wants that chance to move up, but they want the position that they are moving up into to hold some sort of significance. People still want the stratification so that when they are able to move up, they are the ones at the top with the power. No one is concerned with the people who have already "made it", but rather are concerned with themselves, or the people who haven't "made it" yet.
ReplyDeletePeople are more concerned with economic motility than economic inequality. I experienced this when I played Monopoly in class. In my group it was "very man for their own" nobody wanted to help each other out or create a level playing field and create economic equality, we just wanted to climb up the social and economic ladder. I agree with Claire, people still want economic stratification to exist so they have a feeling of accomplishment when they move up.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Holly, Americans ignore the fact that the rich are getting richer and the poor poorer. Those who do acknowledge this fact say they want change, but do nothing to provoke this change. I agree with Holly when she says that it's one thing for people to want change and another to actually do something about it. And I also think it's crazy that only one percent of all Americans think that the inequality of wealth is problem. It's clearly a larger problem then that and should be addressed and heard of as such.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Morgan, America is very, "everyman for them own, no body wants to help someone else get ahead. We can only help people if we know that there is something in it for us. I also agree with Claire, we feel great accomplishment when we move up through hard work and dedication.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that stood out the most to me when reading this article was that "just one percent of Americans mention inequality when asked what is the most important problem facing the country." Although the country has bigger fish to fry for the most part, such as health care and the overall economy of today, this unequal distribution of wealth is the aftershock of all of those problems. Obviously Americans have not taken a Sociology class. Once people understand that the immediate issues such as the recession we are getting out of, have effects that can be harmful in the long run, like this unequal distribution of wealth, then people can start solving these problems effectively.
ReplyDeleteEmma,
ReplyDeleteInequality is not as easily dealt with as it may seem. Those who are wealthy and successful generally don't take well to the idea, because why should another individual, who did not work as hard as they did get some of their money, or just be allowed to have the same wealth and benefits as those who have worked their entire lives? A society with complete financial equality would be quite unique, and it is difficult to predict how individuals in it would react. I cannot think of a society, in all of history, in which all people were on the exact same financial, economic, and social level. It seems perfect, but perhaps too perfect. After all, who would be the role model, or the person that people aspire to be like and work hard to achieve successes like if everyone was equal?