Wealth Inequality in America: Economic Leaders or Hoarders?
Added on 2022-10-31
8 Pages2113 Words340 Views
Running head: WEALTH INEQUALITY IN AMERICA
WEALTH INEQUALITY IN AMERICA
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:
WEALTH INEQUALITY IN AMERICA
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:
1WEALTH INEQUALITY IN AMERICA
Question: How do members of America’s mega-rich, or top 1%, justify their vastly
disproportionate earnings from the majority of Americans? Put another way, do the “richest of
the rich” see themselves as economic leaders and role-models for a New Gilded Age, or are they
just in a position to hoard as much wealth and power as possible?
As per Uchitelle1, around 1% of the entire population of the nation of USA hold more
than 90% of the wealth of the concerned nation and this in turn had given rise to a New Gilded
Age just like in the beginning of the 20th century wherein it was seen that the members of the
New Gilded Age didn’t have to depend on the society or the national government. Piketty, Saez
and Zucman2 are of the viewpoint that the individuals belonging to this elite class are largely
viewing themselves as economic leaders or for that matter as role models for the people related
to the society of the concerned nation because of the immense amount of wealth as well as
influence that they hold in the spectrum of the concerned nation. Furthermore, the major problem
arises because of the fact that this disproportionate amount of wealth and also influence held by
less than 1% of the entire population of the nation of USA is presently adversely affecting the
status quo of the concerned nation3. However, rather than focusing of the negative aspects of this
aspects, the wealthy or for that matter the elite class of the nation of USA needs to be seen as the
economic leaders or the role models who would help in ushering a new era of economic
prosperity and growth in the nation. This essay intends to analyze whether the elite wealthy class
1 Uchitelle, Louis. "The Richest Of The Rich, Proud Of A New Gilded Age". 2019
https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/15/business/15gilded.html.
2 Piketty, Thomas, Emmanuel Saez, and Gabriel Zucman. "Distributional national accounts: methods and estimates
for the United States." The Quarterly Journal of Economics 133, no. 2 (2017): 553-609.
3 Oxfam.org. "Wealth: Having It All And Wanting More | Oxfam International". 2019.
https://www.oxfam.org/en/research/wealth-having-it-all-and-wanting-more.
Question: How do members of America’s mega-rich, or top 1%, justify their vastly
disproportionate earnings from the majority of Americans? Put another way, do the “richest of
the rich” see themselves as economic leaders and role-models for a New Gilded Age, or are they
just in a position to hoard as much wealth and power as possible?
As per Uchitelle1, around 1% of the entire population of the nation of USA hold more
than 90% of the wealth of the concerned nation and this in turn had given rise to a New Gilded
Age just like in the beginning of the 20th century wherein it was seen that the members of the
New Gilded Age didn’t have to depend on the society or the national government. Piketty, Saez
and Zucman2 are of the viewpoint that the individuals belonging to this elite class are largely
viewing themselves as economic leaders or for that matter as role models for the people related
to the society of the concerned nation because of the immense amount of wealth as well as
influence that they hold in the spectrum of the concerned nation. Furthermore, the major problem
arises because of the fact that this disproportionate amount of wealth and also influence held by
less than 1% of the entire population of the nation of USA is presently adversely affecting the
status quo of the concerned nation3. However, rather than focusing of the negative aspects of this
aspects, the wealthy or for that matter the elite class of the nation of USA needs to be seen as the
economic leaders or the role models who would help in ushering a new era of economic
prosperity and growth in the nation. This essay intends to analyze whether the elite wealthy class
1 Uchitelle, Louis. "The Richest Of The Rich, Proud Of A New Gilded Age". 2019
https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/15/business/15gilded.html.
2 Piketty, Thomas, Emmanuel Saez, and Gabriel Zucman. "Distributional national accounts: methods and estimates
for the United States." The Quarterly Journal of Economics 133, no. 2 (2017): 553-609.
3 Oxfam.org. "Wealth: Having It All And Wanting More | Oxfam International". 2019.
https://www.oxfam.org/en/research/wealth-having-it-all-and-wanting-more.
2WEALTH INEQUALITY IN AMERICA
of USA are acting as the economic leaders or the role models who would usher in a New Gilded
Age or are they just trying to amass as much power and wealth as possible.
Saez and Zucman4 are of the viewpoint that the entities of wealth and power are directly
connected with each other and in the majority of the cases it had been seen that the wealthy
people are the ones who hold the maximum amount of power within the social framework of the
different nations of the world. Adding to this, Howell and Elliott5 have noted that the individuals
with a high amount of wealth have the opportunity to wield a substantial amount of influence
within the social sphere. However, as discussed by Saez6, over the years it had been seen that
various kinds of questions had been raised regarding the immense amount of wealth held by a
handful people of the society and many people had even gone on to the extent of calling it highly
unethical. For instance, it had been seen that the immense amount of wealth held by less than 1%
of the population of USA had adversely affected the economic prospects of the people related to
the other sections of the concerned nation7. This issue becomes even grimmer when the fact that
there are numerous people in the concerned nation who are struggling to meet the basic
requirements of their life is being taken into account8. More importantly, as discussed by Wolff9,
4 Saez, Emmanuel, and Gabriel Zucman. "Wealth inequality in the United States since 1913: Evidence from
capitalized income tax data." The Quarterly Journal of Economics 131, no. 2 (2016): 519-578.
5 Howell, Junia, and James R. Elliott. "Damages done: The longitudinal impacts of natural hazards on wealth
inequality in the United States." Social Problems 66, no. 3 (2019): 448-467.
6 Saez, Emmanuel. "Income and wealth inequality: Evidence and policy implications." Contemporary Economic
Policy 35, no. 1 (2017): 7-25.
7 Nytimes.com. "For Richer". 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/20/magazine/for-richer.html.
8 Fisher, Max. "Map: U.S. Ranks Near Bottom On Income Inequality". 2019.
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/09/map-us-ranks-near-bottom-on-income-inequality/
245315/.
9 Wolff, Edward N. "Household Wealth Trends in the United States, 1962 to 2013: What Happened over the Great
Recession?." RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences 2, no. 6 (2016): 24-43.
of USA are acting as the economic leaders or the role models who would usher in a New Gilded
Age or are they just trying to amass as much power and wealth as possible.
Saez and Zucman4 are of the viewpoint that the entities of wealth and power are directly
connected with each other and in the majority of the cases it had been seen that the wealthy
people are the ones who hold the maximum amount of power within the social framework of the
different nations of the world. Adding to this, Howell and Elliott5 have noted that the individuals
with a high amount of wealth have the opportunity to wield a substantial amount of influence
within the social sphere. However, as discussed by Saez6, over the years it had been seen that
various kinds of questions had been raised regarding the immense amount of wealth held by a
handful people of the society and many people had even gone on to the extent of calling it highly
unethical. For instance, it had been seen that the immense amount of wealth held by less than 1%
of the population of USA had adversely affected the economic prospects of the people related to
the other sections of the concerned nation7. This issue becomes even grimmer when the fact that
there are numerous people in the concerned nation who are struggling to meet the basic
requirements of their life is being taken into account8. More importantly, as discussed by Wolff9,
4 Saez, Emmanuel, and Gabriel Zucman. "Wealth inequality in the United States since 1913: Evidence from
capitalized income tax data." The Quarterly Journal of Economics 131, no. 2 (2016): 519-578.
5 Howell, Junia, and James R. Elliott. "Damages done: The longitudinal impacts of natural hazards on wealth
inequality in the United States." Social Problems 66, no. 3 (2019): 448-467.
6 Saez, Emmanuel. "Income and wealth inequality: Evidence and policy implications." Contemporary Economic
Policy 35, no. 1 (2017): 7-25.
7 Nytimes.com. "For Richer". 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/20/magazine/for-richer.html.
8 Fisher, Max. "Map: U.S. Ranks Near Bottom On Income Inequality". 2019.
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/09/map-us-ranks-near-bottom-on-income-inequality/
245315/.
9 Wolff, Edward N. "Household Wealth Trends in the United States, 1962 to 2013: What Happened over the Great
Recession?." RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences 2, no. 6 (2016): 24-43.
End of preview
Want to access all the pages? Upload your documents or become a member.