preview

The Causes Of Income Inequality In The United States

Good Essays

Many economic researchers cannot agree if income inequality is increasing or decreasing, or what these changes ultimately mean for the United States. Over the course of this semester, we have heard arguments from both sides of this debate. Based on the information we have received in this class and the information I will present in this paper, I will argue that income inequality is an ongoing problem in the United States and that it damages the very idea of the American Dream. The meaning of the American Dream has evolved with every passing generation, but many still equate this idea with freedom and prosperity. The income inequality gap is stunting American’s access to better education and healthcare, which is ultimately harmful to our society and economy.

Income Inequality
Income inequality refers to the gap between annual incomes in America. Income can include any revenue from salaries, interest on a savings accounts, dividends from shares of stock, or rent. The United States has a relatively high level of income inequality because the very richest people take home a larger share of the economic pie and this gap has been widening noticeably for the last 30 years. The Gini coefficient has been well established as a way to measure income inequality. This measurement will vary from zero (complete equality) to one (complete inequality) (Steckel, 2010, 1913). The graph below was accessed from the Federal Reserve Economic Data and shows the Gini coefficient for the United

Get Access