This week and next week we are reading The Iron Heel, which talks a lot about economic classes and class antogonism.
What are classes? Basically, economic classes break down like this:
Workers own little to nothing but their ability to do manual labor, which they sale for a wage--hence, workers are sometimes called "wage slaves." Workers then take that wage and spend it on consumer goods that they just made at the factory.
The capitalist class do not labor for a living -- they do not sale their labor for a wage. Rather, they may be working wealthy -- maybe they own the machines and factories ("the means of production") in which workers labor each day for a modest wage and they own the stores in which laborers purchase their goods. Or capitalists could be part of the idle rich -- meaning they don't work for their money. Usually, their money is held in the form of investments and they make income from the dividends paid to them by the various companies.
Middle class folks sit somewhere in between the workers and the capitalists. They probably own a nice home and they may own a small business, but they probably work there each day alongside their employees, or they may be middle managers who earn a good salary but are not wealthy.
In America, the number of poor people is increasing. The middle class is getting smaller as more people fall from middle to working class.
Workers and the shrinking middle class in America work more with fewer days of leave, less maternity leave, and fewer days of paid vacation compared to others around the world. Click on these images for a better picture of the emerging situation in the US:
At the same time, the wealthy are fewer and getting richer. CEO pay keeps going up while worker pay stays about the same.
The gap between the wealthy and the working class is getting bigger -- while many citizens keep imagining that it is not, as this video shows:
Some people, however, see an increasing conflict between the classes -- as these graphs from Pew Research show.
What do you think? Are there classes in America? Is the gap between the classes too large -- is there too much inequality? If you think that gap is too large, what should be done to close the gap between the wealthiest and the poorest? Or, is the gap between the wealthy and the poor just about right? Should our policies aim to keep the wealthy wealthy and the poor poor? Are there any potential political problems of high levels of inequality?
I do believe that there are several classes that can be seen in America today. I believe the gap between the lower and upper class is increasing, causing many members of the middle class to fall down into the lower class. I believe a main disadvantage which brings down the lower class is the fact that there is a very low percentage who completes college. Many of the upper level jobs, whose income are equivalent to those in the upper class, are filled by college graduates. Therefore, placing a higher level of importance on education will help shrink the gap between the upper and lower class. I believe no policies should be made in order to help either class. Everything that is done should be able to be beneficial to upper and lower classes. I believe that if tensions run high between the levels of inequality than there is a good possibility in it causing political problems.
ReplyDeleteTrevor Phadden PSCI 100:04
America does have classes. Honestly, I'm undecided on whether that's wrong or right.
ReplyDeleteI believe that "the land of opportunity" must include the opportunity to fail if it includes the opportunity to succeed.
But, should I live on the street just because someone else wants to have seven homes?
I don't know. Finding balance seems to be the answer to many questions in life, and balance would be a good answer here too. It's just defining balance that's difficult.
Cassandra Nipe
PSCI 100.05
I think that there is a huge gap between the upper and lower class. There used to be a bigger gap between middle and lower class but, since the rich are getting richer and the poor are staying poor the gap is getting smaller between the middle class and the lower class but is increasing between middle and upper. I feel like the inequalities between the classes is what causes some problems in America, Ex. crime. The more crimes are committed by lower class people. They want the things that are secured by the upper class so they try and get it by stealing and things like that. If the middle class keeps shinking and the lower class keeps growing, alot more problems are going to come about. Our policies should not aim to help keep the wealth wealthy and the poor poor, it should be aimed at keeping everyone equal, to be able to afford the same tv, the same line of cars, the same name brand clothing, if this happened problems like crime would drop because people wouldnt have to steal things from anyone else bc they would be able to afford it.
ReplyDeleteMorgan McDonald PSCI 100:04
There are deffinatly different classes in America.I think there is a huge gap between the upper and the lower class. The rich is getting richer and the poor is getting poorer which is making this gap even bigger. I dont think our policies should aim at keeping the rich rich and the poor poor. We are one nation and that is not very fair. I think to help this you should be taxed on how much money you make. The more money you make the more you should get taxed. It would help even some things out i think even though the rich wont be happy at all about it but its my opinion. I do believe there are potential political problems involving inequality.
ReplyDeleteTim Hoover
PSCI 100.04
Thank you for the information, the article is very well-written.
ReplyDeleteDifferent classes do exist in America and there is a large gap between the upper and lower class. We should not allow our policies to keep the rich wealthy and the poor poor. A way to close the gap is by adjusting the taxes according to pay.If the gap between the rich and poor continues to widen then problems will continue to grow in America.
ReplyDeleteBianca Redmond
There are absolutely classes in America. However, there is so much diversity in jobs/people/living situations and many other aspects that the lines between classes are blurry. There are far too many factors to consider, so classes really vary by context. I feel like our political issues in this country go far beyond class inequality, and I also feel like there are more important issues. It's too broad of a problem to create a simple solution, and if there WERE a simple solution, I don't think it would be such an issue. I'm not sure that this is really an appropriate answer, but it's not really something that HAS a black and white answer as to what the aim should be. Call me cynical, but I don't even think Obama's most talented speech writer could give me a convincing argument as to how to fix our economical situation. All I know is that I'm going to school to become a teacher and make an impact on children's' lives for a hell of a lot less than Paris Hilton is getting paid to do absolutely nothing.
ReplyDeleteBrittany Custer PSCI 100.04
I agree with the statement that people have the opportunity to "fail," but would you agree that in many cases economic classes are passed down inherently.
ReplyDeleteA lot of wealth is born into wealth and poverty into poverty and it takes a lot of hard work, and possibly generations of time to change that.
Upper class students have a better chance of succeeding because they are privileged, where as the lower class has to work harder to even attended.
Jeffrey Acosta PSCI 100.05
the social classes in America variety in degrees but are there. the rich stay rich and the poor stay poor because that's how the rich like it. America has a range of social classes and between the top and the bottom is a huge gap but there is also a large gap in the middle that i don't think gets enough recognition, between the least of the "wealthiest" classes and the richest of the "middle" classes is a gap that needs to be addressed as much as the wealthiest to poorest gap. the only way to have a society that can full function at its best is to close the gaps between the classes as much as possible so that the work that needs to get done does get done and the money that needs to flow into the economy to keep it functioning will be being spent, not be stored away in a bank to prove to other people with there money stored in a bank that they are better because they have more money while the poor die in debt because there is no money left to help them, its to busy lining the wealthiest pockets. implementing a progressive tax and progressive health care into the system could help the poor not be so poor and keep the wealthy from getting to wealthy as well as provide some not revenue for the government. by having such a separation from the wealthiest and the poorest the wealthy tend to control the elections, who gets nominated, who gets the most publicity, the people that they want in office get publicized and focused on and the people that want to change the government for the better get tossed to the side because some wealthy person didn't like what they had to say. the wealthy for sure control the running's of America just by suggesting to the lower classes that they should want to be like them and if a wealthy person supports one political person and you support that wealthy person then you are more likely to follow what they do in an effort to be like them. the wealthy use this kind of control on the lower classes all the time that's how most of them stay wealthy.
ReplyDeleteSarah Barry
PSCI 100.04
There are classes in America, but they aren't as defined as they used to be. I think right now more people consider themselves middle class over anything else even though it may not be true. There should be a defined line of classes, possibly according to what you get paid a year. I think the large gap between working class and wealthy class should close in a bit. I'm all for equality. You have to have money to make money. I don't think it's fair that the wealthy class is getting wealthier, while the working class is barely getting by. On how to fix this, I don't know. You can't really tell these nonworking businessmen that they can't invest their money into something. Perhaps an increase in the minimum wage for minimum wage jobs would help the working class raise up a little higher in the class.
ReplyDeleteHannah Piper PSCI 100:04
Yes, there are definitely classes in America. There are no set or official classes, but it is the nearly the same as a stereotype. They are unofficial, but still exist. After watching the youtube video from above, I most definitely think that there is too big of a gap between the rich and not just the poor; but with everyone below them. The fact that 84% of the wealth of America is distributed to the rich is ridiculous to me. I knew it was uneven, but not to that extent. However, I think that any drastic changes (for the rich to not be as rich and the poor to not be so poor) has potential to be just as damaging as doing nothing at all. Especially because the huge gap of inequality is not well-known by everyone; like said in the video, generally people look around their own neighborhoods and counties when they compare classes and there isn't much variation in such a small area. I'm not sure what needs to be done to close this gap, possibly something along the lines of what was proposed to as the "Buffet Budget Plan". I do believe the gap does need to be cut down and that policies should aim to do so.
ReplyDeleteMichelle Sentinella PSCI 100.05
Everyone in this world knows their are social classes in society that's how society's been working for ages. The gap between society is of course a little steep due to the type of taxes and power richer people have. The fact that everyone is trying to be rich and scramble to the top hurt gives a major problem to inequality in society. Although some people don't apply themselves when it comes to being rich or poor they are just used to what they grow up with. Now this may cause a potential problem if it hasn't already because of the type of recession and depression that we have just moved into the society of our world is changing and the rich or getting richer the poor are staying poor and its more stress on the middle class or the working class. We have had this structure since before America was invented its just not written on paper.
ReplyDeleteThere are definitive classes in America just like everywhere else. In America there is less of a gap between social classes than in most countries. I do not think it's possible to avoid social classes in any economy.
ReplyDeleteKimberly Clegg
PSCI 100.03
Yes I do believe that there are different class from the weathly to middle class and to the poor in the USA. i think in this day od age it just seems normal to have these 3 different sections in our economy because these are just the 3 basic people we see each and everyday. Well its not like everybody is going to be rich anytime soon so there are major gaps with the amount of money that is shared threwout this world with the different classes. In this time period more people are become poor then rich because so many people are jobless and unemployed and I just dont know why this happening because with all the new technology and resources in this century we all should have some sort of responsibility in a job title.
ReplyDelete(Brennan Fanning PSCI 100.03)
Yes the class gap between poor and rich is closing in. I grew up in a middle class family. Five years ago a rich company fired my father (illeagaly) and we slowly dropped from middle class to poor class until the same company (who did not even own our mortage)foreclosed on us without warning and took almost all our belongings. I was at the bottom of the chain for over a month and just now am a bit less poor than before. We are not the only one's many people I know have been through the same thing or relocation, or downsizing. The only people who want us to beileve the propoganda are the rich (they might loose their money by being taxed). There is so little left of the middle class and it will probably cease to exist if something does nto change.
ReplyDeleteSorry I'm Joan Conte Psci 100:05. I posted above this.
ReplyDeleteI would say that the gap is a bit too large, sure the rich work for what they have in most cases and do deserve the money because they worked hard to get there, but they can also be born into and the poor work just as hard in some cases. I do believe that people like executives and CEO's getting all these bonuses of thousands of dollars a year is just one sign of how imbalanced it is. As well as government bail outs just because they are large companies or wealthy people, it should be overall equality and it's not that way. Something needs to be done to balance out that gap to an extent because it's pretty large at this point
ReplyDeleteSkyler Bartles PSCI 100.03
I think they are class forms in our society. The poor and rich are distinguished and its not very hard to tell a rich person from a poor person. The gap between them is rather large. Take the NFL lockout for example. The athletes wouldnt play until they were payed more money. Meanwhile there are people in our society that cannot get a job. However there may be some political problems along with this but poor people have the same rights. They have speech, protest, and the right to vote. Of course people will always complain because that person has what they want but thats what makes a hard working person. If you work hard to get there then you can have that.
ReplyDeleteJenny Cavey PSCI 100.04
Yes I think that there are these types of classes in america and they fluctuate everyday. Some people are getting released from their jobs and lowering in status and others are gaining new jobs which allows them to move up in class over time as well. I think that the gap is going to keep getting larger because the successful people that are making these gaps bigger still are driven to accomplish more and more and earn more money. While the lower and middle classes are content on where they are and don't see themselves having the advantages to move up like the upperclass people do. The gap between wealthy and poor is where it should stand. The poor can find a minimum wage job flipping burgers or such but will refuse to take a job like that, therefore they should blame themselves for as poor as they are. Get a job instead of living off of welfare for years.
ReplyDeleteTyler Beard. 100.04
I believe the gap between classes are too large. You will never hear someone living from "pay day to pay day" say I am upperlower class or I am lowermiddle class. The gaps do not acknowledge the individuals who are in a little debt, but do pretty good in life. I think it is more of a specific. I believe that something should be done about poverty. Welfare, DHHR, WIC, etc. do not supply to the best of their ability to help the unfortunate, but yet we are sending money to disaster zones for their starving children and we cannot even afford to feed our own. From the smallest things, everyone is EFFECTED by simple gaps in economy!
ReplyDeleteLatavia Smith 100.05 STUMP.
Yes there has always been and always will be different classes in the United States. I feel that there is a huge gap between the wealthy and the poor. I feel that there is no middle class anymore. Either you are concerned rich or poor in this country. I feel we need to help our lower class by offering more jobs for them. I feel that we should make the lower class earn their money by working. I hate seeing our government give away money to the lower class when half of the people can work. I feel that us Americans need to do a better job with our money. We need to spend it more wisely and not throw money away.
ReplyDeleteBeth Haymond
PSCI 100.05
I would without a doubt say that their are large diverse social class system. This is not necessarily a bad thing but at the same time this can be a bad thing. I would say that it is a good thing because it helps American's to work hard and succeed. While having a social class status can also lower or inflate peoples sense of self worth. -Hayley Glover
ReplyDeletePSCI 100.03
We do have a class system in America, and the gaps are growing stronger now as we progress through difficult economic times. There are individuals who have so much money that they could hand out 10 grand and not miss it at all, while there are others who work 2 jobs and still cannot afford to feed their children. Being a college student looking forward to debt after school, I can see the lower end better than the higher, but coming from an upper middle class family, the sense of who you are does come from how much money you or your parents have, because money may not buy happiness, but it buys food and clothing and the necessities in life. The wages for those working the basic jobs should be slightly higher, as one hour of minimum wage pay only pays for two gallons of fuel for the person's car to get there. The rate of price inflation on certain things is ridiculous, leading those with little money into increasing amounts of debt. This is definitely a problem that needs to be worked out soon before even more people fall below the poverty line.
ReplyDeleteBrittney Mercer PSCI 100:05
Here is where you run headlong into a conflict between supporting the American concept of being able to work your way to the top and...itself, in a sense. Do you make laws the keep the wealth more evenly distributed? That would hurt the prospects of people - already wealthy, to be sure, but people nonetheless - who still would like to move up in the world. Then again, doing nothing allows the gap to grow wider and wider until the poor simply cannot work their way up. They are stuck. Either way, someone is unhappy and some ideal is stepped on. So a balance has to be struck (hence a "mixed market"). Personally, I think that means measures need to be taken to make sure employers take proper care of their employees - reasonable wages, good health benefits, retirement plans, etc. That keeps the workers from being "used and abused," but it also stays away from telling the wealthy they don't deserve money that is, at the end of the day, theirs to spend or simply have. Since this is already done to some degree, perhaps all we need is stricter laws and closer regulation? This is just my uneducated opinion though.
ReplyDeleteIan Karraker PSCI 100.05
Look at how power the government has and then look at how terrible our country is. If the government have more control pepole would not do the stupid stuff they do now like blow up buildings becasue the government would have never alowed it to happen.
ReplyDeletecody whetzel psci100.05
I believe that there are classes in America; however, the lower and upper classes are growing farther apart and that is making the middle class smaller and smaller. The only way i could think of too close the gap is to charge higher taxes on the upper class and smaller taxes on the lower class.
ReplyDeleteTyler Messersmith PSCI 100.03
I think there are classes in the United States, you can tell this by the numbers you read off to us today in class. I think this problem of the large gap needs to be fixed. We have so many people fighting hunger and losing their homes. I think we really need a graduated tax system for things to really be fair. In most instances like Scandinavian countries this system has worked so why wouldn't politicians want to improve people's way of living? Politicians are the big people all high and mighty sitting comfortably on top of their money, while the poor are sitting on subway floors cold and starving. It is true that some people abuse the system but most generally need help. If you were wealthy you wouldn't give up your money for others and neither would your neighbor. I think that politicians are not thinking about the majority of Americans rather thinking about themselves, and who wouldn't when the majority of America is not electing them for president only 500 and so people as wealthy as they are do that job. What is really to be done to change this? I think once those wealthy people start losing money because every countries economy is down in the dumps will they recognize the little man.
ReplyDeleteEllen Sassaman PSCI 100:04
I do agree and believe that America has different classes. I also believe there is becoming a great distance between the rich and the poor and that is not a good thing. I believe there is more people with out jobs and with out a place to live because of the economical situation the US is in. I also believe that many of the people who make more money has work hard to provide and education for them selves to make a living. I do understand people are born in families that are not wealthily but there are ways to get educated to improve there living environment. I also agree that the rich is getting even more river and the poor in increasing to more poorer people. The distance between the rich and the poor today is ay to out of control.
ReplyDeleteAron Shiley 100.03
There are definately different classes in America. The wealthy, middle and lower classes.The gap between the wealthy and middle class is increasing which is not going to benefit anyone.Although as someone mentioned we can experience social mobility through education, but that becomes difficult for someone who is on welfare. This issue is because of the people we elect into office.
ReplyDeleteMaryam Khan
Poli Sci 100.04
The are classes in the United States, but I think that there will always be classes. I do not think that much can be done about it. We have a welfare system that people are abusing, but they are still poor. Maybe if we educated children better on how to spend and make money we could decrease the amount of people who are poor. I do not think that there is inequality. They still abide by the same laws as everyone else does. However, I think that the people who have a lot of money should help those who are less fourtnate. There are classes and the gap is growing bigger, but there are a lot of people in the middle class and I think that people should be happy with what they have. We do live in a somewhat free nation. Our country could be in a lot worse condition.
ReplyDeleteShelby Knepper
PSCI 100.04
I think there are classes in the United States, it's clear to see this huge gap in everyday life. The way the system works makes it difficult to get out of being poor especially with the rich calling all the shot and making all the rules. The gap between the wealthy and the poor is too large but finding a way to close the gap and keep it closed would be difficult but hopefully not impossible.
ReplyDeleteStephanie Camacho
PSCI 100.03
There are definitely classes in America and a large gap at that. I agree with Shelby in that there is nothing much to be done. The only thing we could potentially do is start a "revolution" for equality. But, history tells us that no matter how many people try to go against the system and topple it is always ends up back in the hands of the capitalists with all the money and control/ power. The middle and lower class have always been at a disadvantage and will probably continue to be as such.
ReplyDeleteBlaine G Gibson
PSCI 100.04
There are classes in America and the gap between them is growing, but to suggest that we should tax the wealthy at a higher rate is unfair and unconstitutional. The founders intended the citizens to be taxed at a uniform rate, which we should get back to. As to the growing gap on the poor side, we should get back to teaching people to live within there means and to stop abusing the welfare system here in America.
ReplyDeleteIan Keller
psco 100.05
Of course there are classes in America but the gap between the upper and lower is very large. Looking at the economic system we are in today there will never be equality, which means the rich will continue to get richer and the poor we continually get poorer its just the society we live in. There is really nothing much we can do to stop this we tried with taxes but its still aimed to helping the rich at the end of the day. Our policies should eventually find a system that will make us all equal which i doubt will ever happen.
ReplyDeleteAndre' Makell
Psci 100.03
There are most definitely different classes in America. We have a span of upper class, middle class, working class, lower class, and individuals that fall in between these distinctive classes. Simply walking through a major city, one can see the extreme differences between the upper class individuals living in ritzy brownstones and lower class individuals living in subsidized housing.
ReplyDeleteI don’t think there should be any doubt that the gap between the wealthy and the poor is too large. It amazes me to see how oblivious people are about the state of inequality in this country. I constantly hear people complaining about the Occupy movements and saying how the protestors are just a bunch of whiny college students that don’t want to accept jobs that don’t pay super high salaries, and it makes me so angry because they have no idea what they are talking about. The movement is trying to make people aware and fight against this whole notion of economic inequality in the nation. People are striving to survive on the street while those with all the power and wealth are sleeping soundly in their million dollar mansions. People who were perfectly stable in the past are now struggling just to get by, yet the rich capitalists are just getting more and more wealthy.
I think it’s completely asinine that more people are not aware and upset about the economic situation. Why we do not tax the wealthy in the same way we tax the poor is beyond my understanding. I understand that our nation places an extreme value on individual success, but shouldn’t we be concerned about the society as a whole? I strongly believe there should be policies in place to try to stop this astronomical difference in wealth distribution; however, the wealthy pay for the politician’s campaigns, so I do not see the hope of much change. Perhaps one day the workers of the world will get angry enough and refuse to accept their situation, but it seems as if those in control are doing a great job keeping people in the dark about the issue. So for now, equality will remain far from here.
Heather Webb
PSCI 100.03
I definitely think that there are classes in America. While the lines between the classes may not be as defined as they are in other countries there are still barriers. The gaps between the gaps, in some cases, are larger than they should be and unjustified (such as with actors and politicians) who do little to work for their capital gain. I think that there should be a distribution of wealth policy and that if you make over a certain amount of money, a portion of your wealth should go to the needy. Since we are a nation built on the back of cooperation, this should not be a big deal. ;) ( though they would think otherwise) Overall, it will be hard to implement any policies against the rich, because the rich own the government, but making the people's discontentedness known would be a first step towards change and shaving back the grandness of the equality gap.
ReplyDeleteChelsea Lemley
PSCI 100.05
I do believe there are classes in America's society today. But I also think that from class to class there is a big gap of money I do feel as though there is a gap between the classes the question then becomes is the gap to large I think the gap isn't fair but you can't blame a wealthy person for putting hard work and having the resources to put themselves in the position to become successful although a poorer person doesn't have the resources money and other things. That cant be put on richer wealthier people. Many problems with erupt because of this matter welfare will go down the drain and people will become reckless and start to go haywire if things don't shape up in this economy.
ReplyDeleteWilliam Mckenzie
PSCI 100-03
There are several different classes in America. Classes are based on job, income, and other factors. The gap between the wealthy and working class is getting bigger because of the current economic conditions. Many people have lost jobs. It is a sad reality that the poor continue to get poor while the rich contiune to get rich. Im not sure what the right solution would be to close the gap. Creating more jobs and increasing the minimum wage are some ideas.
ReplyDeleteAmber Ugorji
PSCI 100.04
Absolutely there are definable classes in the this country. Absolutely something needs to be done to redistribute the wealth and make the classes more equal. Is there a way to make that happen in our current system? I don't know. I can't pretend to have any real understanding of how our country justifies its rules on taxation or even who gets to provide representation in our government. But I am sure that the vast differences between class need to be alleviated before the ramifications become too great for our current society can bare. I think that Warren Buffet is right though, his class group need to take more responsibility for the country that they have built and people that do in fact bare the labor weight so that they can enjoy the fruits of another's labor. Ultimately something has to change!
ReplyDeleteDiana Everhart
PSCI 100.05
The issues with the vast inequality are going to catch up with us if something isn’t done. Though to be perfectly honest, I’m not sure what the appropriate measures are. I really don’t know if the type of capitalist society that we’ve created is sustainable over long periods of time. In theory, it works out alright for a bit; but the bigger it gets, the more large scale problems arise. In cases before the Industrial Rev when the majority of the people were living in equality, it really wasn’t that great (not a lot to speak for for anyone). I don’t know if so called “robin hood taxes” are the way to go. I can see very strong points for both sides of the argument. It’s a serious issue to consider and it seems that all people can agree on is that we’ve dug ourselves into a whole that we can’t get out of.
ReplyDelete-Nikki Lynn Lloyd
PSCI 100.03
There are classes in America: the capitalist class, the middle class, those in poverty, and everything in between. The gap between those in poverty and those in the capitalist class are growing largest due to the recession which is causing the middle class to deteriorate. What should be done is that the rich be taxed a higher percentage rate than the poor. The more money one makes the higher tax one should pay. There also has to be a cut off rate for those in poverty so that those who cannot even afford the necessities do not have to worry about paying tax on top of that. I can definitely understand working hard to earn your living and deserving what you worked for, but in a community people are in it together. Society should not be trying to keep the rich rich and the poor poor. There needs to be a better balance. I would enjoy a more socialist United States. Taxes might be higher, but the economic and community benefits would be worth the extra coin.
ReplyDeleteSlade McDowell
PSCI 100.03
We just recently had a discussion on this in my Sociology class. About 1-3% of Americans are considered upper class, while about 20% of Americans are considered lower class. The rest are in the middle which are either upper or lower middle class. I believe that there is too big of a gap between upper and lower class so something needs to be done.
ReplyDeleteJordan Dixon
PSCI 100.04
I do believe that the gap between the rich and the poor is too big. I think that something should be done do help correct this, but while I'm not sure what should be done, I don't feel that the government should be directly involved in this process.
ReplyDeleteDaniel Huffine
PSCI 100.03
I think asking if there are classes is dangerously close to asking, "are there races?" Putting people into a box that labels them to the point where it is almost an identity is dangerous, possibly even wrong. That being said, I don't have a problem with categorizing income for research purposes, but I wonder if people who are so called "lower class" are being mistreated in deed or attitude because they're "riffraff."
ReplyDeleteBased on the information presented in this blog post, the gap is much too large. We have people in our suburban backyards who are living in multi-hundred thousand dollar homes while people sleep in the streets. We've got McDonald's stores and Starbucks on every corner but people who can't afford to eat. Do I think the gap is too large? You bet I do. "Whatever you do to the least of my brethren..." There shouldn't be a maximum you can make, but there should be a minimum to how much you can keep. The tax rate should be scaled accordingly. This policy should be enforced on the lowest level possible and "trickle up;" state to federal respectively. Our governing leaders should not be making the amount of money they do for starters, and if they're independently wealthy before office they should, (along with other millionaires etc.) be taxed proportionally.
I think it's disturbing that the government did not more aggressively slash their own paychecks in this financial crisis (at least from what I heard). And I think it's inexcusable to have a system in place that promotes the rich getting richer while the poor stay poor. I've no problem with people getting rich, I've no problem with people getting richer, but the poor people should be able to get richer too, and if the poorest of the poor don't even have basic necessities like food, drink clothing and shelter the policies are not good enough.
Nathaniel Warburton PSCI 100:05
DeleteThere is too much inequality between the upper and lower classes. To close the gap between the rich and the poor the government should reduce the number of policies that favor the wealthy. In our current economic situation, I do not know what needs to be done to help the poorest people. High levels of inequality will create tension between the classes and the economy will not improve.
ReplyDeleteJoseph Waters PSCI 100.03
There are definitely huge gaps between the rich, middle class, and the poor. There are many debates on the inequality and why the wealth is distributed the way it is. Are the lower class stuck where they are because of the social programs they are in? Maybe politicians keep these programs in place in order to keep the large gap between rich and poor. Are there not enough social programs to help the poor rise out of poverty? There are arguments that the middle class is taxed way too much and the rich are not taxed enough. There are so many tax breaks out there that only the rich are getting because the average middle class family cant afford, for example, solar panels on their homes. So the policies we have in place now could be keeping the rich rich and the poor poor. The high levels of inequality could pose a political problem, but it probably wont. We hear every day the changes politicians are going to make, more taxes for the rich, more help for the poor, but it never really seems to happen. The hope for "change" is what keeps the status quo.
ReplyDeleteDanielle Francesconi-Wolford psci 100.3
Competition is certainly good for our economy. Its really what keeps it going. Its very clear there is a gap and maybe it is too large. But once again like everything in this class, its on a scale. There is no yes or no answer whether its right or wrong. Our poorest are still the "richest" in the world. I do believe the richest have became to powerful.
ReplyDeleteCody Barrett
PSCI 100.04
Yes there are classes in the U.S. I think the social class does have to do with race. Not to be stereotypical, but politicians are rich white men. Most of them can't relate to what those in the lower classes go through so they are less concerned with closing that gap between the two and governing to their interest. They may scream change when it is time to be elected, but the rich is still getting richer and the poor is getting poorer. Education is also a big part of the inequality in America. The less education you have, the more likely you are to be at the lowest of the social classes.
ReplyDeleteDeandre Montgomery
PSCI 100.04
Yes in the world today there are different classes that we as people need to focus on because it is slowly tearing our country apart. Today's America make a big deal about money and make it seem like if you dont have money then you dont have anything. So thats when inequality comes to affect because certain people have more money then others so they consider themselves as rich and look down on the middle and poor class.
ReplyDeleteTrevon Butler psc 04
Yes I do think these are classes in America. I think there will always be classes no matter what the situation. The gap between poor and rich in this country is extremely large. I think The rich should be taxed at a higher rate than the poor to help balance this out a little. In my opinion there is no middle class either. I think the middle class in America is two separate classes, the upper-middle and lower-middle. I believe we have the upper class, upper-middle class, lower-middle class, and lower class. If the taxes were higher for people who were richer, I think it would be better.
ReplyDeleteRyan Miller
PSCI 04
Yes i do believe that there are classes in america. I think the gap between rich and poor is large because i think that the government is taking more money from the poor taxes than they do the rich people. So i think that there should be some type of balance between that so that taxes can be taking out equally. I hate the fact that it say the wealthiest are fewer and still getting richer. But what about the poor? But i do agree that they should keep the wealthy the wealthy and the poor the poor.
ReplyDeleteYes i do believe that there are classes in america. I think the gap between rich and poor is large because i think that the government is taking more money from the poor taxes than they do the rich people. So i think that there should be some type of balance between that so that taxes can be taking out equally. I hate the fact that it say the wealthiest are fewer and still getting richer. But what about the poor? But i do agree that they should keep the wealthy the wealthy and the poor the poor.
ReplyDeleteKevin Williams ^ forgot to put my name on the last one.
PSCI 100.04
Yes there are classes in America. The gap between rich and poor can be more equal by helping the lower class out a little. Help out some. Realize that some aren't doing as well as others work wise, and make there tax payments a little easier. This would really boost a lot of people's moral in the poorer parts of our country. Given, they wouldn't become rich due to this, but it would help them have a little extra to support their families, etc.
ReplyDeleteBrandon Coffey
PSCI 100.04
Irwin Shaw wrote a novel in 1969 called "Rich Man, Poor Man" that is the telling of two brothers that grew up in the same neighborhood and the same life style. However, as they got older, one decided to become wealthy and political while the other decided to remain a "regular Joe". This example shows how classes can be divided regardless of relativity.
ReplyDeleteI believe in there are classes in America. I believe there is a HUGE gap in all parts - from poor to middle - from middle to upper - from upper to wealthy. I have seen these first hand. I have been in the run down shacks of the miners. I have been in the average American home of the middle class (which is where I grew up). I have been in, what is now called, Mac-Mansions outside the D.C. beltway. I have roamed the halls of some elite homes in New York, Florida, and California, to name a few.
Each time, I was in awe of the living conditions when compared to my own. If there were no classes, if the wealthy were brought down to upper or middle, and the poor brought up to the middle or upper, then a lot would be different in this country. If a man is paid for what he can do versus having a piece of paper saying he is capable of doing it, then let him do it and pay his worth. If a person who has that piece of paper but isn't doing the job for which he is being paid, let him go elsewhere.
Congress gives themselves a pay raise every year it seems. CEO's and VP's of corporations are given huge bonuses every year for work that SOMEONE ELSE DID. If that money were funneled into the economy, then, I believe, there would be a decrease in the status quot, allowing more people to have a better way of life and a closing of the gap.
Dying is easy. Life is hard. Why should there be a rip in the classes because someone is not paid their worth? If America is to survive into the next millennium, our economic struggles and structure are going to have to be drastically over-hauled.
Gary Fry
PSCI 100.05
Of course there are classes in America. The wealthy have the ability to influence the decision-making powers of Congress and politicians, whereas the poorer classes have little power to do the same thing. Because we live in a capitalist society where money equals power, the wealthy will always have a larger advantage over what actually occurs in law-making and Congressional spending.
ReplyDeleteI do believe that the gap is way too large. The Constitution states that "all men are created equal" and that America is supposed to be a democracy. I do not believe that we even uphold the ideals of democracy, simply because the wealthy hold so much buying power over government and the poor do not. On the same note, the wealthy only make up 1% of the population - this means that the majority of the population has little power over what decisions Congress and politicans make.
I don't actually think that anything can be done to change or eliminate the current inequality gap. As I stated, we live in a capitalist society. Money will always have power - and the desire to have money and prevent others from gaining it will always win out. However, this does not mean that I believe the policies that keep the inequality gap in place should be kept in place. Just because I don't believe anything can be done does not mean that I think what's happening right now economically is right or fair.
The potential political problems of inequality are very clear right now in what is occurring with the Occupy Movement. While I do not believe that this particular movement will change the inequality gap, I do believe that once the largely apathetic stance most Americans have toward their own economic and political situation changes, then a larger scale rebellion will occur.
Alex Bentley
PSCI 100.03
I agree with most people that say there is an immense gap between the working and upper class but I believe that they're fair. Sure the upper class barely lifts a finger but they obviously know how to work the system. A working man may not reach the same levels of income but they can easily set things in motion for the later generations.
ReplyDeleteI definitely think that there are class systems in america and yes the difference between the rich and the poor and even between the rich and the middle class is quite significant. I don't think much can be done to solve the issue other then placing stricter regulations on the rich but these rich businessmen often have some say in politics so they will be fighting these regulations every step of the way. Yes the rich interference in politics has probably caused the large wealth disparity in America and until policies are put in place that can stop this interference they will continue to create profitable situations for themselves in my opinion
ReplyDeleteNick Mullican PSCI 100.04
I think that there are classes in this country, but people try to hide the fact. I also think that yes the rich cannot understand and the poor cannot understand the rich. The gap between the rich and the poor is growing very fast and I do like the way that the Norwegians tax people on how much they make, and it doesn't matter how little or how much you make.
ReplyDeleteGreg Woodward
100.04
There are classes in America but people don't want to talk about it or ty to hide it. There is a gap between the classes. There are more people that fall under middle and lower classes rather than higher classes. I think the gap is so big because they tax poor people more than the wealthier people. I think tax should be the same no matter who you are.
ReplyDeleteApril Cave
100.05
I believe that there are classes in America, and I believe that it is inevitable that we have classes. No matter where you live, there will always be the rich, the working, and the poor. It's how things work, it's always been like that. It comes back to survival of the fittest, only with wealth.
ReplyDeleteMegan Casteel
100.05