Ever since I came to America I struggled with English as it is not my first language. These are examples of some of, if not, the best pieces of writing I have created for four different high school classes. One of those examples is from Chemistry in which I struggled throughout the entire sophomore year. Though that example is very short it took a long time to finish because it took many calculations to complete.
Timofey Pulko
English 3 / 4
Period 2
Molly Fenn
12 October 2017
Faults of Government and Society
America’s government and society are both fundamental aspects of our daily life in the modern world whether we like it or not. In order to change it for the better we must recognize government and society as they are, it is vital to first understand the idea that the definition of something does not exactly mean that it is implemented in the best way possible and to ask the question, what are the faults or issues of our culture, society, and government? The second step to improving America is to acknowledge the actual problems that exist.
Taking feminism as an example―based on the Merriam-Webster dictionary, it means: “the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes”―it sounds like a great idea that has the potential to help the world become more just, but in 2017 it stands for something completely different. Third wave feminism is not in fact a movement for equality. If feminism is a movement for equality why do we not see equal representation of both genders issues and why do we not see feminists complaining over benefits that women have over men in certain situations?
Around 100,000 to 140,000 are raped annually in U.S. prisons (hrw.org). This is more males raped than females in the U.S. annually, yet feminists remain silent on the issue. Almost half the domestic abuse victims in the U.S. and Canada are men, yet there are no safe houses for them, no court advocacy programs, no subsidised counselling or legal care like women. Despite being half the victims, they are essentially ignored. Men make up 80 percent of suicide victims (cdc.gov), 92 percent of workplace deaths (bls.gov), and 97 percent of combat deaths (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov). Men are objectified, raped, mistreated, men are held to ridiculously high societal standards just like women. Yet feminists continue to place this blanket judgment over all men that they are privileged and over all women that they are all oppressed. Women will almost always win custody of children in a divorce, women receive less than half a sentence a man does for the exact same crime, women actually have their rape and assault accusations taken seriously, and are not laughed at for not being manly enough. With one Google search a woman can find a safe house in their area if she has been in an abusive relationship. A woman is more likely to get a government or military despite qualifications just to fill a quota due to affirmative action and is also is more likely to get into a university because of her gender.
So if feminism really were a movement for equality one would see feminists rioting about the 140,000 men raped, one would see them questioning the fact that women get less than half a sentence a man does for the exact same crime. Yet we do not see equal representation of men’s and women’s issues. Despite popular belief feminism is not in fact a synonym for equality. I’m not trying to claim that men have more issues than women, my point is that both genders have issues and to argue that feminism is a movement for equality and doesn’t just represent one gender’s issues is quite frankly, ridiculous.
Currently there are two main political parties in the United States, the Democrats and the Republicans. Those are not the only parties in the U.S., but they are significantly larger than the others. Though third parties like the Peace & Freedom, Socialist, Libertarian, and Green Party exist, they are not allowed to participate in debates and the election process due to some government politicians claiming that they would pull votes from the two main parties.
Today’s citizens of America have mixed political views and are forced to take a side - red or blue, this or that, an extreme versus an extreme. The country is torn, divided, and it’s occupants are fighting amongst themselves, something which George Washington warned would happen. Conservatives generally believe that “the government should be as small as possible... [and that it] is best handled by states and localities” (Political Ideology FIT Lesson), while liberals mostly believe “that government can help solve problems, and a bigger government can solve bigger problems and more of them” (Political Ideology FIT Lesson). In essence there is no ‘purple’, no ‘green’, no ‘yellow’, basically, there are simply not a sufficient amount of political parties for the people to pick from, which leaves most of the influence up to only the true followers of either side. In Civil Disobedience, Henry David Thoreau wondered if there “can… be a government in which majorities do not virtually decide right and wrong, but conscience?―in which majorities decide only those questions to which rule of expediency is applicable? (2)” Seeing as the minds of the majority of people in the U.S. are generally swayed more by emotion rather than actual facts, one can argue that it is not currently possible for a government to be ruled by conscience rather than majorities. However, in the future, if more people will realize that the way we affect the government is not beneficial to our society, then a government influenced by conscience will be significantly more plausible.
These days, people scramble to social media like their lives depend on it, without realizing that the news and media affects them much more than they think. Fake/biased news are generally constructed to convince people into believing certain false things (Collins Dictionary), often it is to draw followers into either of the two main political ideologies. Other people who aren’t as easily swayed by media might not really know to accurately represent themselves as a result of their lack of awareness. An issue with a two party dominated system is that misinformation and confusion about third parties is commonplace. And seeing as third parties significantly lack power and influence it is much more difficult to find legitimate information about them.
Two parties is all America has had for a long time. Even though other parties attempted formation, they dissolved fairly quickly. This has caused the support for the two main parties to grow over the years, and aided the spread of corruption into many places. Warning the citizens of America, Thoreau stated that “the government itself, which is only the mode which people have chosen to execute their will, is equally liable to be abused and perverted before the people can act through it” (Civil Disobedience 1). Today, third parties are never really able to accurately represent themselves and the beliefs for which they stand for, simply because of their lack of power. Things such as the internet have kept third parties alive up to this point but it is still unclear whether or not they will ever gain enough influence to compete with the main parties.
By just taking three things as examples of the many faults there are in our society and government we can begin to realize what the exact issues are before taking steps to fixing them. While transcendentalism may have been a great idea in the 19th century it is currently not possible to implement into society; however, there might be a chance when people develop more integrity, value of nature, willingness to not use social media, and understanding of fake news and how to find unbiased information.
Works Cited
“Definition of fake news.” Collins English Dictionary. https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/fake-news. Accessed 12 Oct. 2017.
“Definition of feminism.” Merriam-Webster Dictionary. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/feminism. Accessed 11 Oct. 2017.
“Fatal Occupational Injuries in 2015.” Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2015, https://www.bls.gov/iif/oshwc/cfoi/cfch0014.pdf. Accessed 11 Oct. 2017.
“Mortality in female war veterans of operations enduring freedom and Iraqi freedom.” National Institutes of Health. Jul. 2011, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21390560. Accessed 11 Oct. 2017.
Pulko, Timofey “Political Ideology FIT Lesson (based on true information).” Unit 1 Essay Exam. Sept. 2017.
“Suicide.” National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. 2015, https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/suicide-datasheet-a.pdf. Accessed 10 Oct. 2017.
Thoreau, Henry David. “Civil Disobedience.” 1849. Civil Disobedience and Other Essays. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1993, 1-18.
“U.S. Federal Statistics Show Widespread Prison Rape.” Human Rights Watch. Sept. 2008, https://www.hrw.org/news/2007/12/15/us-federal-statistics-show-widespread-prison-rape. Accessed 10 Oct. 2017.
English 3 / 4
Period 2
Molly Fenn
12 October 2017
Faults of Government and Society
America’s government and society are both fundamental aspects of our daily life in the modern world whether we like it or not. In order to change it for the better we must recognize government and society as they are, it is vital to first understand the idea that the definition of something does not exactly mean that it is implemented in the best way possible and to ask the question, what are the faults or issues of our culture, society, and government? The second step to improving America is to acknowledge the actual problems that exist.
Taking feminism as an example―based on the Merriam-Webster dictionary, it means: “the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes”―it sounds like a great idea that has the potential to help the world become more just, but in 2017 it stands for something completely different. Third wave feminism is not in fact a movement for equality. If feminism is a movement for equality why do we not see equal representation of both genders issues and why do we not see feminists complaining over benefits that women have over men in certain situations?
Around 100,000 to 140,000 are raped annually in U.S. prisons (hrw.org). This is more males raped than females in the U.S. annually, yet feminists remain silent on the issue. Almost half the domestic abuse victims in the U.S. and Canada are men, yet there are no safe houses for them, no court advocacy programs, no subsidised counselling or legal care like women. Despite being half the victims, they are essentially ignored. Men make up 80 percent of suicide victims (cdc.gov), 92 percent of workplace deaths (bls.gov), and 97 percent of combat deaths (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov). Men are objectified, raped, mistreated, men are held to ridiculously high societal standards just like women. Yet feminists continue to place this blanket judgment over all men that they are privileged and over all women that they are all oppressed. Women will almost always win custody of children in a divorce, women receive less than half a sentence a man does for the exact same crime, women actually have their rape and assault accusations taken seriously, and are not laughed at for not being manly enough. With one Google search a woman can find a safe house in their area if she has been in an abusive relationship. A woman is more likely to get a government or military despite qualifications just to fill a quota due to affirmative action and is also is more likely to get into a university because of her gender.
So if feminism really were a movement for equality one would see feminists rioting about the 140,000 men raped, one would see them questioning the fact that women get less than half a sentence a man does for the exact same crime. Yet we do not see equal representation of men’s and women’s issues. Despite popular belief feminism is not in fact a synonym for equality. I’m not trying to claim that men have more issues than women, my point is that both genders have issues and to argue that feminism is a movement for equality and doesn’t just represent one gender’s issues is quite frankly, ridiculous.
Currently there are two main political parties in the United States, the Democrats and the Republicans. Those are not the only parties in the U.S., but they are significantly larger than the others. Though third parties like the Peace & Freedom, Socialist, Libertarian, and Green Party exist, they are not allowed to participate in debates and the election process due to some government politicians claiming that they would pull votes from the two main parties.
Today’s citizens of America have mixed political views and are forced to take a side - red or blue, this or that, an extreme versus an extreme. The country is torn, divided, and it’s occupants are fighting amongst themselves, something which George Washington warned would happen. Conservatives generally believe that “the government should be as small as possible... [and that it] is best handled by states and localities” (Political Ideology FIT Lesson), while liberals mostly believe “that government can help solve problems, and a bigger government can solve bigger problems and more of them” (Political Ideology FIT Lesson). In essence there is no ‘purple’, no ‘green’, no ‘yellow’, basically, there are simply not a sufficient amount of political parties for the people to pick from, which leaves most of the influence up to only the true followers of either side. In Civil Disobedience, Henry David Thoreau wondered if there “can… be a government in which majorities do not virtually decide right and wrong, but conscience?―in which majorities decide only those questions to which rule of expediency is applicable? (2)” Seeing as the minds of the majority of people in the U.S. are generally swayed more by emotion rather than actual facts, one can argue that it is not currently possible for a government to be ruled by conscience rather than majorities. However, in the future, if more people will realize that the way we affect the government is not beneficial to our society, then a government influenced by conscience will be significantly more plausible.
These days, people scramble to social media like their lives depend on it, without realizing that the news and media affects them much more than they think. Fake/biased news are generally constructed to convince people into believing certain false things (Collins Dictionary), often it is to draw followers into either of the two main political ideologies. Other people who aren’t as easily swayed by media might not really know to accurately represent themselves as a result of their lack of awareness. An issue with a two party dominated system is that misinformation and confusion about third parties is commonplace. And seeing as third parties significantly lack power and influence it is much more difficult to find legitimate information about them.
Two parties is all America has had for a long time. Even though other parties attempted formation, they dissolved fairly quickly. This has caused the support for the two main parties to grow over the years, and aided the spread of corruption into many places. Warning the citizens of America, Thoreau stated that “the government itself, which is only the mode which people have chosen to execute their will, is equally liable to be abused and perverted before the people can act through it” (Civil Disobedience 1). Today, third parties are never really able to accurately represent themselves and the beliefs for which they stand for, simply because of their lack of power. Things such as the internet have kept third parties alive up to this point but it is still unclear whether or not they will ever gain enough influence to compete with the main parties.
By just taking three things as examples of the many faults there are in our society and government we can begin to realize what the exact issues are before taking steps to fixing them. While transcendentalism may have been a great idea in the 19th century it is currently not possible to implement into society; however, there might be a chance when people develop more integrity, value of nature, willingness to not use social media, and understanding of fake news and how to find unbiased information.
Works Cited
“Definition of fake news.” Collins English Dictionary. https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/fake-news. Accessed 12 Oct. 2017.
“Definition of feminism.” Merriam-Webster Dictionary. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/feminism. Accessed 11 Oct. 2017.
“Fatal Occupational Injuries in 2015.” Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2015, https://www.bls.gov/iif/oshwc/cfoi/cfch0014.pdf. Accessed 11 Oct. 2017.
“Mortality in female war veterans of operations enduring freedom and Iraqi freedom.” National Institutes of Health. Jul. 2011, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21390560. Accessed 11 Oct. 2017.
Pulko, Timofey “Political Ideology FIT Lesson (based on true information).” Unit 1 Essay Exam. Sept. 2017.
“Suicide.” National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. 2015, https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/suicide-datasheet-a.pdf. Accessed 10 Oct. 2017.
Thoreau, Henry David. “Civil Disobedience.” 1849. Civil Disobedience and Other Essays. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1993, 1-18.
“U.S. Federal Statistics Show Widespread Prison Rape.” Human Rights Watch. Sept. 2008, https://www.hrw.org/news/2007/12/15/us-federal-statistics-show-widespread-prison-rape. Accessed 10 Oct. 2017.
Explanation: The first unit taught in English class of my last year of high school was on Transcendentalism, the practice of living as simply as possible away from most of society. At the end of the unit our class was assigned to write an essay related to any ideas learned during the unit. I took advantage of this opportunity to vent my feelings about the current state of our country. And though I am proud of this work as this essay took longer to write than any other, I realize that I went on a bit of a tangent.
Wealth Inequality in America
Timofey Pulko
Modern World History
Period 6
May 21, 2017
Abstract
This essay will be exploring the causes of wealth inequality in America to spread awareness of how it originated. This will, in turn, potentially help people be better prepared for the future. Statistics from the past will be used to study trends related to wealth inequality. This paper will also focus on how wealth inequality has impacted social and economic structures and less fortunate people.
Wealth Inequality in America
Thesis Statement: The market’s determination of wages, individuals’ access to education, and technology replacing manpower has lead to increased wealth inequality which hinders economic growth and increases crime rates, poor health, and skews political power in favor of the wealthy.
Cause
Generally, sources point out that there are multiple causes for wealth inequality in the United States. A few causes of wealth inequality include but are not limited to: the determination of wages by the market, individuals’ access to education, and computerization and the accelerating growth of technology replacing manpower. There are many more causes for wealth inequality in America and the majority of them, if not all, are tightly interrelated.
Wages are a function of the market, and are the price of skills required for a job. (Hazlitt, 1988) In America’s free market, the “market price of a skill” is decided by supply and demand of the market. For example, if many workers (high supply) are able and willing to offer a skill but only few employers need it (low demand), the market price of a skill is low. And vice versa, if there is a low supply but high demand for a skill, the wage for a job requiring the skill goes up. (Leung, 2015)
Going hand in hand with the first reason, level of skill often corresponds to the level of education. Individuals with different levels of education often earn different wages. (Becker, 2007) Therefore, a better education can develop a more skilled employee and since very few are able to offer these skills, a higher wage is justified by the market. Regardless of how good social welfare systems are at offering educational opportunities to all, the levels and quality of education continue to vary, which heavily affect economic inequality.
Effect
The effects of all the previously mentioned causes is wealth inequality. Over the past hundred years, the amount of America’s wealth possessed by the nation’s wealthiest has changed significantly. In the late 1920’s, right before the Great Depression, that number peaked and then fell more more than half over the next thirty years. However, now, the movements towards equality of the mid 20th century have almost been fully undone and the richest of the nation now hold as much of the wealth as they did in the 1920’s. (Collins, & Pizzigati, 2016)
Now, the United States shows greater discrepancies of wealth between the rich and poor than any other large developed nation. The gap between rich and poor is as wide now as it was just prior to the Great Depression, as today’s top 1 percent own half of all stocks and mutual funds. (Saez, & Zucman, 2015) The majority of the wealth of Americans in the bottom 90 percent comes from real estate, the category that depreciated the most in the Great Recession.
Based on a large amount of statistics, in almost every country, the wealth gap has widened since 1980. (Domhoff, 2017) Inequality will continue to remain as long as the wealth concentration process remains. Statistics indicate that economic inequality is 1 percent versus the remaining 99 percent, i.e. the top 1 percent of the people has the majority of wealth and control over financial markets. (Piketty, 2013)
In 2013 America’s family wealth totalled $67 trillion. Families who had at least $940,000 were among the top 10% and held 76% of America’s total wealth. The average amount of wealth of the top 10% of families was $4 million. (Sahadi, 2016) The remaining 40% of the top half of the nation held 23% of the total wealth having $315,000 per family on average. For families that were in the 26th to 50th percentiles the average held was $36,000. And if they were in the bottom quarter, they had zero wealth, and in fact were $13,000 in debt on average. (Karamcheva, 2016)
Impact
Wealth inequality has and is impacting America in numerous ways. Most of these impacts are negative, but some are positive. An example that demonstrates a positive interrelation between economic growth and wealth inequality is the economic expansion America had in the years before 2008. According to the U.S. Joint Economic Congress Committee (2001), during this time there were increasing rates of income inequality. After inequality fell during the economic recession, between 2007 and 2008, America’s economy recovered along with the rates of income inequality.
Some economists claim that wealth inequality motivates more innovation and entrepreneurship. (Berg, Ostry, & Tsangarides, 2014) Executive positions with large salaries give an incentive for lower paid workers to win sought after labor positions. (Lazear, & Rosen, 1981) When low income groups have motivation to work harder, more productively, they create new businesses, or invent new products to become part of the wealthiest income group. But when there is less wealth inequality, the low income groups have a smaller incentive to become more productive.
Other economists, however, claim that while wealth inequality can bring positive impacts to economic expansion in the short term, there is evidence of how inequality can hinder growth in the long-term. Increases in wealth inequality cause higher levels of poverty, which is related to increased crime rates and poor public health.
Researchers found some potential connections between inequality and crime. (Pinsker, 2014) People who are at a disadvantage are more likely to be resentful and hostile as a cause of their economic position, which results in higher criminal tendencies. (D’Alessio, & Eitle, & Stolzenberg, 2006) When the majority of the wealth is aggregated in a few hands, political power becomes in favor of the wealthiest group of people. Research shows that nations with a higher level of wealth equality and a smaller low-income population have a significantly higher level of education. (Charumilind, & Thorbecke, 2002)
Analysis
America is one of, if not, the most powerful country in the world. As a country the democratic system has had lasting success even through difficult times. America has been trying to set an example of effective democracy to the rest of the world, and from an outsider's perspective they would seem to be doing a good job. However, democracy requires many smaller systems to run effectively.
The income inequality gap is a hot topic with Americans these days, and is being discussed constantly. What is not being discussed is how income inequality in America is undermining the systems democracy has in place. Political opinions of citizens are extremely divided which creates a society at odds. The representatives in the government are fighting for the desires of the citizens that voted for them but since there is such a large political divide nothing seems to be getting accomplished. With nothing able to get accomplished the citizens eventually lose faith in the government and stop participating, this causes significantly less voters being heard. On top of this, corporations that own the majority of the wealth in America are able to get state legislators to pass bill they intentionally designed to increase profits. These bills allow the cycle of the rich getting richer to continue. The idea of the rich getting richer may not have been so unequal back in the war era, where any citizen could work their way from mail boy to a CEO. Now within this society, social mobility is low and citizens are getting economically stuck. The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer.
Reflection
I was not born into a rich family. I was not born into a successful family. I was not born into a privileged family. I chose to write about wealth inequality in America is because I believe that me and my family have been and still are experiencing the effects of the rich getting richer and the poor becoming poorer. Living near poverty is not a good feeling. Having enough food sometimes even becomes a struggle. With my father basically out of the picture my mother is having to rely on welfare and help from her friend to provide housing, internet, and some money for other necessities. Not only am I physically exhausted most of the time, but also mentally. Stress becomes almost a consistent factor in everyday life as my mom keeps yammering on about how important it is to go to good colleges, get the best grades I can, and work hard. I’ve come to realize that my dreams of having money and not having to worry about it have a very small chance of happening due to wealth inequality.
References
Becker, Gary S., and Murphy, Kevin M. (2007) The Upside of Income Inequality. Retrieved from
http://www.aei.org/publication/the-upside-of-income-inequality/
Berg, A. & Ostry, J. & and Tsangarides, C. (2014) Redistribution, inequality, and growth, 17-21. Retrieved from http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/sdn/2014/sdn1402.pdf
Collins, C. & Pizzigati, S. (2016). Wealth inequality. Retrieved from http://inequality.org/wealth-inequality/
Charunilind, C. & Thorbecke, E. (2002). Economic Inequality and Its Socioeconomic Impact, Vol. 30, No. 9, 1481-1491. Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/9867/dd1e1bf135300ff7cae8c7350b75e47886e6.pdf
D'Alessio, S. & Eitle, D. & Stolzenberg, L. (2007). Race, economic inequality, and violent crime, 311-313. http://egov.ufsc.br/portal/sites/default/files/anexos/33027-41458-1-PB.pdf
Domhoff, G. (2017). Wealth, income, and power. Retrieved from http://www2.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/wealth.html
Hazlitt, H. (1946). Economics in One Lesson. Chapter 19-20
Karamcheva, N. (2016). Trends in family wealth, 1989 to 2013, 1-2. Retrieved from https://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/114th-congress-2015-2016/reports/51846-familywealth.pdf
Lazear, E. & Rosen, S. (1981). Journal of political economy, Vol. 89, No.5, 841-864. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1830810?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
Leung, M. (2015). The causes of economic inequality Retrieved from http://sevenpillarsinstitute.org/case-studies/causes-economic-inequality
Maloney, C. (2010). Income inequality and the Great Recession, 2-10. Retrieved from https://www.jec.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/91975589-257c-403b-8093-8f3b584a088c/income-inequality-brief-fall-2010-cmb-and-ces.pdf
Piketty, T. (2013). Capital in the twenty-first century. 134-181
Pinsker, J. (2014). Does inequality cause crime? Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/10/does-inequality-cause-crime/381748/
Saez, E. & Zucman, G. (2015). Wealth inequality in the United States since 1913: Evidence from capitalized income tax data. Retrieved from http://gabriel-zucman.eu/files/SaezZucman2015.pdf
Sahadi, J. (2016). The richest 10% hold 76% of the wealth. Retrieved from http://money.cnn.com/2016/08/18/pf/wealth-inequality/
Timofey Pulko
Modern World History
Period 6
May 21, 2017
Abstract
This essay will be exploring the causes of wealth inequality in America to spread awareness of how it originated. This will, in turn, potentially help people be better prepared for the future. Statistics from the past will be used to study trends related to wealth inequality. This paper will also focus on how wealth inequality has impacted social and economic structures and less fortunate people.
Wealth Inequality in America
Thesis Statement: The market’s determination of wages, individuals’ access to education, and technology replacing manpower has lead to increased wealth inequality which hinders economic growth and increases crime rates, poor health, and skews political power in favor of the wealthy.
Cause
Generally, sources point out that there are multiple causes for wealth inequality in the United States. A few causes of wealth inequality include but are not limited to: the determination of wages by the market, individuals’ access to education, and computerization and the accelerating growth of technology replacing manpower. There are many more causes for wealth inequality in America and the majority of them, if not all, are tightly interrelated.
Wages are a function of the market, and are the price of skills required for a job. (Hazlitt, 1988) In America’s free market, the “market price of a skill” is decided by supply and demand of the market. For example, if many workers (high supply) are able and willing to offer a skill but only few employers need it (low demand), the market price of a skill is low. And vice versa, if there is a low supply but high demand for a skill, the wage for a job requiring the skill goes up. (Leung, 2015)
Going hand in hand with the first reason, level of skill often corresponds to the level of education. Individuals with different levels of education often earn different wages. (Becker, 2007) Therefore, a better education can develop a more skilled employee and since very few are able to offer these skills, a higher wage is justified by the market. Regardless of how good social welfare systems are at offering educational opportunities to all, the levels and quality of education continue to vary, which heavily affect economic inequality.
Effect
The effects of all the previously mentioned causes is wealth inequality. Over the past hundred years, the amount of America’s wealth possessed by the nation’s wealthiest has changed significantly. In the late 1920’s, right before the Great Depression, that number peaked and then fell more more than half over the next thirty years. However, now, the movements towards equality of the mid 20th century have almost been fully undone and the richest of the nation now hold as much of the wealth as they did in the 1920’s. (Collins, & Pizzigati, 2016)
Now, the United States shows greater discrepancies of wealth between the rich and poor than any other large developed nation. The gap between rich and poor is as wide now as it was just prior to the Great Depression, as today’s top 1 percent own half of all stocks and mutual funds. (Saez, & Zucman, 2015) The majority of the wealth of Americans in the bottom 90 percent comes from real estate, the category that depreciated the most in the Great Recession.
Based on a large amount of statistics, in almost every country, the wealth gap has widened since 1980. (Domhoff, 2017) Inequality will continue to remain as long as the wealth concentration process remains. Statistics indicate that economic inequality is 1 percent versus the remaining 99 percent, i.e. the top 1 percent of the people has the majority of wealth and control over financial markets. (Piketty, 2013)
In 2013 America’s family wealth totalled $67 trillion. Families who had at least $940,000 were among the top 10% and held 76% of America’s total wealth. The average amount of wealth of the top 10% of families was $4 million. (Sahadi, 2016) The remaining 40% of the top half of the nation held 23% of the total wealth having $315,000 per family on average. For families that were in the 26th to 50th percentiles the average held was $36,000. And if they were in the bottom quarter, they had zero wealth, and in fact were $13,000 in debt on average. (Karamcheva, 2016)
Impact
Wealth inequality has and is impacting America in numerous ways. Most of these impacts are negative, but some are positive. An example that demonstrates a positive interrelation between economic growth and wealth inequality is the economic expansion America had in the years before 2008. According to the U.S. Joint Economic Congress Committee (2001), during this time there were increasing rates of income inequality. After inequality fell during the economic recession, between 2007 and 2008, America’s economy recovered along with the rates of income inequality.
Some economists claim that wealth inequality motivates more innovation and entrepreneurship. (Berg, Ostry, & Tsangarides, 2014) Executive positions with large salaries give an incentive for lower paid workers to win sought after labor positions. (Lazear, & Rosen, 1981) When low income groups have motivation to work harder, more productively, they create new businesses, or invent new products to become part of the wealthiest income group. But when there is less wealth inequality, the low income groups have a smaller incentive to become more productive.
Other economists, however, claim that while wealth inequality can bring positive impacts to economic expansion in the short term, there is evidence of how inequality can hinder growth in the long-term. Increases in wealth inequality cause higher levels of poverty, which is related to increased crime rates and poor public health.
Researchers found some potential connections between inequality and crime. (Pinsker, 2014) People who are at a disadvantage are more likely to be resentful and hostile as a cause of their economic position, which results in higher criminal tendencies. (D’Alessio, & Eitle, & Stolzenberg, 2006) When the majority of the wealth is aggregated in a few hands, political power becomes in favor of the wealthiest group of people. Research shows that nations with a higher level of wealth equality and a smaller low-income population have a significantly higher level of education. (Charumilind, & Thorbecke, 2002)
Analysis
America is one of, if not, the most powerful country in the world. As a country the democratic system has had lasting success even through difficult times. America has been trying to set an example of effective democracy to the rest of the world, and from an outsider's perspective they would seem to be doing a good job. However, democracy requires many smaller systems to run effectively.
The income inequality gap is a hot topic with Americans these days, and is being discussed constantly. What is not being discussed is how income inequality in America is undermining the systems democracy has in place. Political opinions of citizens are extremely divided which creates a society at odds. The representatives in the government are fighting for the desires of the citizens that voted for them but since there is such a large political divide nothing seems to be getting accomplished. With nothing able to get accomplished the citizens eventually lose faith in the government and stop participating, this causes significantly less voters being heard. On top of this, corporations that own the majority of the wealth in America are able to get state legislators to pass bill they intentionally designed to increase profits. These bills allow the cycle of the rich getting richer to continue. The idea of the rich getting richer may not have been so unequal back in the war era, where any citizen could work their way from mail boy to a CEO. Now within this society, social mobility is low and citizens are getting economically stuck. The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer.
Reflection
I was not born into a rich family. I was not born into a successful family. I was not born into a privileged family. I chose to write about wealth inequality in America is because I believe that me and my family have been and still are experiencing the effects of the rich getting richer and the poor becoming poorer. Living near poverty is not a good feeling. Having enough food sometimes even becomes a struggle. With my father basically out of the picture my mother is having to rely on welfare and help from her friend to provide housing, internet, and some money for other necessities. Not only am I physically exhausted most of the time, but also mentally. Stress becomes almost a consistent factor in everyday life as my mom keeps yammering on about how important it is to go to good colleges, get the best grades I can, and work hard. I’ve come to realize that my dreams of having money and not having to worry about it have a very small chance of happening due to wealth inequality.
References
Becker, Gary S., and Murphy, Kevin M. (2007) The Upside of Income Inequality. Retrieved from
http://www.aei.org/publication/the-upside-of-income-inequality/
Berg, A. & Ostry, J. & and Tsangarides, C. (2014) Redistribution, inequality, and growth, 17-21. Retrieved from http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/sdn/2014/sdn1402.pdf
Collins, C. & Pizzigati, S. (2016). Wealth inequality. Retrieved from http://inequality.org/wealth-inequality/
Charunilind, C. & Thorbecke, E. (2002). Economic Inequality and Its Socioeconomic Impact, Vol. 30, No. 9, 1481-1491. Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/9867/dd1e1bf135300ff7cae8c7350b75e47886e6.pdf
D'Alessio, S. & Eitle, D. & Stolzenberg, L. (2007). Race, economic inequality, and violent crime, 311-313. http://egov.ufsc.br/portal/sites/default/files/anexos/33027-41458-1-PB.pdf
Domhoff, G. (2017). Wealth, income, and power. Retrieved from http://www2.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/wealth.html
Hazlitt, H. (1946). Economics in One Lesson. Chapter 19-20
Karamcheva, N. (2016). Trends in family wealth, 1989 to 2013, 1-2. Retrieved from https://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/114th-congress-2015-2016/reports/51846-familywealth.pdf
Lazear, E. & Rosen, S. (1981). Journal of political economy, Vol. 89, No.5, 841-864. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1830810?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
Leung, M. (2015). The causes of economic inequality Retrieved from http://sevenpillarsinstitute.org/case-studies/causes-economic-inequality
Maloney, C. (2010). Income inequality and the Great Recession, 2-10. Retrieved from https://www.jec.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/91975589-257c-403b-8093-8f3b584a088c/income-inequality-brief-fall-2010-cmb-and-ces.pdf
Piketty, T. (2013). Capital in the twenty-first century. 134-181
Pinsker, J. (2014). Does inequality cause crime? Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/10/does-inequality-cause-crime/381748/
Saez, E. & Zucman, G. (2015). Wealth inequality in the United States since 1913: Evidence from capitalized income tax data. Retrieved from http://gabriel-zucman.eu/files/SaezZucman2015.pdf
Sahadi, J. (2016). The richest 10% hold 76% of the wealth. Retrieved from http://money.cnn.com/2016/08/18/pf/wealth-inequality/
Explanation: This essay was designed to test all of the knowledge I accumulated about writing in my junior class of Modern World History. It was introduced to my class around the start of the second semester and was a work in progress for over three months. I am proud to have written such and elaborate and long piece of writing over such a long time. This piece shows that with the right amount of motivation there is a part of me that can be determined enough to write about a single topic for nine pages.
Timofey Pulko
9/18/2015
Chemistry B
Density Lab Report
In Part one of my density lab me and my team decided to pick out the sphere since it was the last object in the bin. Now, the width or depth obviously don’t apply to the sphere. We measured the length or, radius, as 28 millimeters and not being exactly sure of the formula for the volume of a sphere we looked it up on Google. V=4/3πr^3. The mass was 21 g after subtracting the weight of the empty plastic sphere. Density = 0.23 g/mm^3
Part two. The mass of the first rock our team borrowed from the group next to us was 18 g. The volume of water and irregularly shaped object: 59 g. Volume of water: 52 g. Volume of object: 7 g Density: 2.57 g/mL
The second object was another rock as well with a mass of 11 g. Volume of water and irregularly shaped object: 55.5 g. Volume of water: 52 g. Volume of object: 3.5 g. Density: 3.14 g/mL
Part three. The three liquids my team used were dish soap, maple syrup, and some sort of cooking oil. Mass of liquid and graduated cylinder: 387 g. Mass of graduated cylinder: 190 g. Volume of liquid: 197 g. Density: 1.16 g/mL
Mass of liquid and graduated cylinder: 263 g. Mass of graduated cylinder: 190 g. Volume of liquid: 100 g. Density: 0.73 g/mL
Mass of liquid and graduated cylinder: 292 g. Mass of graduated cylinder: 190 g. Volume of liquid: 100 g. Density: 1.02 g/mL
I felt like my team was determined to get the lab done and we finished relatively early as a result. Nothing during or after the lab went wrong, everything went quite smoothly actually. During this lab I learned how to calculate the density of liquids and solids.
9/18/2015
Chemistry B
Density Lab Report
In Part one of my density lab me and my team decided to pick out the sphere since it was the last object in the bin. Now, the width or depth obviously don’t apply to the sphere. We measured the length or, radius, as 28 millimeters and not being exactly sure of the formula for the volume of a sphere we looked it up on Google. V=4/3πr^3. The mass was 21 g after subtracting the weight of the empty plastic sphere. Density = 0.23 g/mm^3
Part two. The mass of the first rock our team borrowed from the group next to us was 18 g. The volume of water and irregularly shaped object: 59 g. Volume of water: 52 g. Volume of object: 7 g Density: 2.57 g/mL
The second object was another rock as well with a mass of 11 g. Volume of water and irregularly shaped object: 55.5 g. Volume of water: 52 g. Volume of object: 3.5 g. Density: 3.14 g/mL
Part three. The three liquids my team used were dish soap, maple syrup, and some sort of cooking oil. Mass of liquid and graduated cylinder: 387 g. Mass of graduated cylinder: 190 g. Volume of liquid: 197 g. Density: 1.16 g/mL
Mass of liquid and graduated cylinder: 263 g. Mass of graduated cylinder: 190 g. Volume of liquid: 100 g. Density: 0.73 g/mL
Mass of liquid and graduated cylinder: 292 g. Mass of graduated cylinder: 190 g. Volume of liquid: 100 g. Density: 1.02 g/mL
I felt like my team was determined to get the lab done and we finished relatively early as a result. Nothing during or after the lab went wrong, everything went quite smoothly actually. During this lab I learned how to calculate the density of liquids and solids.
Explanation: I do not remember much about my sophomore year but working on this assignment is a memory that stands out. Learners were required to write up Lab Reports after every hands-on lab (experiment). For this lab I believe I had two other partners I worked with; we all supported each other while working on each of our parts. After concluding our work on calculations, which took two or three periods to develop, we shared our results with each other for later use in this Lab Report. I am proud of this piece of writing as it took team work, trust, and time to complete all the calculations.
Timofey Pulko
Creative Writing
6/2/2016
Free Write
She dreaded it more than anything, another episode of this cringy and moronic show which fully exhibited high levels of education and set a great example to all the young people watching. But her family were already so far gone that mindlessly ogling at just one more became an additive necessity. And so, with the volume turned all the way up (to hear the complaints at the highest possible quality) her parents neglected her wishes and made her sit with the rest of the devolving baboons. The following is an interpretation of this show by a once advanced daughter of a normal family in 2030.
On a fine Sunday evening a girl caked with make-up was laying on her in a dreamlike state quietly whispering something along the lines of, “Oh, why can’t my family just buy me another car. Oh, please let it be that light blue Ferrari California. I want it more than anything!” The camera dramatically turned and focused on the outside overcast sky with a slightly pink sunset to end the scene. After a few horribly made advertisement we found ourselves outside a mansion next to a fabulously designed fountain in the middle of a circular driveway. Palm trees slowly swayed their leaves in a friendly fashion. A black BMW sedan rolled up and a middle-aged man with salt and pepper hair and a briefcase stepped out. We followed him up the stairs to this girls room. Smiling, he gently said, “Come Liz, I have a surprise for you downstairs.” She followed with some excitement. The lock opened, click, clock. What seemed like to be her father opened the door of their three story mansion. In the circular driveway was parked a red Ferrari California. Her father said, “What do you think? Do you like it? The keys are in the ignition if you’d like to take it out for a spin.” Her face contorted with anger, sadness, and disgust and yelled out, “IT’S RED!!!” And stomped back upstairs into her room with tears streaming down her face in a waterfall, with both her mother and brother trying to console her lovingly as if this was a normal and common occurrence.
And this, this is how another person replaced the people watching this show and transformed them into baboons as well. No one is ever the same after watching an episode of the Cardashians.
Creative Writing
6/2/2016
Free Write
She dreaded it more than anything, another episode of this cringy and moronic show which fully exhibited high levels of education and set a great example to all the young people watching. But her family were already so far gone that mindlessly ogling at just one more became an additive necessity. And so, with the volume turned all the way up (to hear the complaints at the highest possible quality) her parents neglected her wishes and made her sit with the rest of the devolving baboons. The following is an interpretation of this show by a once advanced daughter of a normal family in 2030.
On a fine Sunday evening a girl caked with make-up was laying on her in a dreamlike state quietly whispering something along the lines of, “Oh, why can’t my family just buy me another car. Oh, please let it be that light blue Ferrari California. I want it more than anything!” The camera dramatically turned and focused on the outside overcast sky with a slightly pink sunset to end the scene. After a few horribly made advertisement we found ourselves outside a mansion next to a fabulously designed fountain in the middle of a circular driveway. Palm trees slowly swayed their leaves in a friendly fashion. A black BMW sedan rolled up and a middle-aged man with salt and pepper hair and a briefcase stepped out. We followed him up the stairs to this girls room. Smiling, he gently said, “Come Liz, I have a surprise for you downstairs.” She followed with some excitement. The lock opened, click, clock. What seemed like to be her father opened the door of their three story mansion. In the circular driveway was parked a red Ferrari California. Her father said, “What do you think? Do you like it? The keys are in the ignition if you’d like to take it out for a spin.” Her face contorted with anger, sadness, and disgust and yelled out, “IT’S RED!!!” And stomped back upstairs into her room with tears streaming down her face in a waterfall, with both her mother and brother trying to console her lovingly as if this was a normal and common occurrence.
And this, this is how another person replaced the people watching this show and transformed them into baboons as well. No one is ever the same after watching an episode of the Cardashians.
Explanation: Creative Writing is a class that I have taken every year since, 8th grade, my second year at this school (5 years), that is something to be proud of already. This piece was written at the very end of my sophomore year and I was definitely ready for it to finally be summer. I'm not sure what inspired me to write this but I am very happy with how it turned out. I'm proud of this piece because of how it combines satire with humor, and because when I read it aloud to my class everyone laughed.