Essay 4 Income Inequality Extension

Alana Brady

Professor Werry

RWS200

26, April 2014

Essay 4

            Income inequality is the difference between individuals or populations in the distribution of their assets, wealth, or income. It has been a constant struggle for the American people, especially the lower class. Many of us wonder, what caused most of the growth to go towards the middle class and top earners, with the disparity becoming more extreme the further one goes up in the income distribution? Well, with decentralization, self-ownership, hard work, and education, these people earn their way towards success. The rest of society holds the top earners responsible for consuming all the money because they are unable to build their own success themselves. The problem is that too many people are put into poverty and have no drive for getting out. We need the empowerment of the people to mobilize the self-help efforts of the poor, rather than providing them with social welfare. I believe that in order to lower income inequality for the American people, we need to get the people stuck in poverty out because we control how the economy works, not the government. In this essay I will describe what two authors have said about the aspect of this issue and present my personal opinion along with one source to quality my argument.

        In Michael D. Tanner’s text “More Welfare, More Poverty”, Tanner wants government spending on social welfare programs to end. In order for poverty to stop growing, tanner believes that the work needs to come from the American people and not go to the government for money. Taking money from the hard working people to give to the people put into poverty isn’t helping them grow, it is making them hopeless. Tanner states that the more welfare there, the more poverty there will be. He says,

“Throwing money at the problem has neither reduced poverty nor made the poor self-sufficient. But government welfare programs have torn at the social fabric of the country and been a significant factor in increasing out-of-wedlock births with all of their attendant problems”(Tanner, p.1).

Tanner believes that people are just giving money to the poor not realizing that there is an increase in birth. It is almost like people in poverty are cheating the system and taking advantage of what they are being given. If people in poverty are complaining about income inequality, then why are they sitting in poverty still? Tanner believes that there are no jobs being given to these people. Tanner says, “The surest ways to stay out of poverty are to finish school; not get pregnant outside marriage; and get a job, any job, and stick with it”(Tanner, p.1). In order to get a job and to grow as a person, one in poverty shouldn’t be failing to get an education; they need to work hard to get a real job. Tanner wants to fight poverty and end government policies because clearly they are not helping the people in poverty. If they are taken away then the people will inhibit growth and jobs on their own. The main goal is to not just throw money at poverty because it is only weakening out of poverty and start a new life.

            In the second text “To fix Income Inequality, The Have-Nots Must Become the Do-Somethings”, by Maura Pennington, Pennington believes that we need to establish stable institutions to empower people to be free and productive and they will prosper. Pennington states that wealth is not the culprit and people need to stop calling it wealth inequality instead of income inequality. Many people blame the top earners for having the most money. Well, with no empowerment of the people, no problem will be solved. Pennington says, “ Redistribution of a static supply of resources accomplishes nothing and makes no one richer” (Pennington p.1). She is saying that by handing the poor more money, income inequality won’t lower. By encouraging people to get jobs, get an education, and work hard will only lead the people stuck in poverty towards success. Many of the top earners are growing while the people put in poverty are distressing. Pennington says, “ It should not depress us, it should inspire us”(Pennington, p.2). Pennington wants people who are stuck in poverty to have the inspiration to succeed rather than sitting around complaining about being poor. The only way to have success is to work hard to get to the top. In order to solve inequality we need the empowerment of the people to drive people out of poverty.

            Motivation is key for success. One who is not motivated will never get to the place they want to be. Being inspired by celebrities, entrepreneurs, or even classmates can give you hope for success. As for me, every time I see a doctor or a CEO of a company, I tell myself I will be as good as them one day. Sometimes life can be about opportunities and who you know. I know people who became successful because of old money from their families. Yes, they are very lucky to get “ahead” because money lies right in front of them but that doesn’t mean they don’t have self-help, determination, and education. My father came from absolutely nothing. His parents were dirt poor and never gave him any opportunities to go to college. My father worked very hard in high school, worked long hours every day to save up for college, just so he can pay for his own education and graduate from a university. Now, he runs a chemical company living a very privileged life. Because of his decentralization, self-ownership, hard work, and education he built his way towards success. He was one of those people stuck in poverty who never thought wealth was an option. Yes, life is not fair sometimes and people have more advantages than others but instead of dwelling on that, letting income inequality rise, why don’t we all get up and be inspired? My biggest concern is that people will sit on welfare and stay there. There are so many taxes towards welfare. But, is throwing money at them really solving any problems? No, I believe that it’s a way for the government to give them a little satisfaction and free money so that people in poverty stop complaining. It is not working. The people in poverty are asking for more. In the text “New Study Shows Average American Pays $8,577 for Welfare” by Money Morning Staff Reports, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, “Today there are 108.5 million Americans receiving some form of welfare, but only 101.7 full-time workers paying for these benefits”. People in poverty are not getting jobs. This is where income inequality comes into play. People in poverty receive money that comes from the upper class Americans. The middle and upper class people are working hard, taking money out of their paychecks to go towards about 7 million people who don’t work. I believe that those 108.5 million people who are stuck in poverty are staying there due to lack of motivation and mobilization from other people. Don’t get me wrong, I hate to see people living off the streets begging for food and hope to find jobs but they wont get anywhere with out empowerment of others. Every single American has the chance to become successful. It is required for every child to go to school until the age of sixteen. And, if you work hard enough, you also are eligible to get a scholarship for college. College is so expensive these days and most parents don’t have the money to get their children through college. The people in poverty believe that they have no chance of getting into a university because of that. This goes back to jobs. No companies want to higher non-college graduates unless you are being paid minimum wage. So, if someone wants to make money whether you are rich or not, you have to get an education. These Americans are getting nowhere because they are not getting up and being inspired. They need to work hard in high school so they can get into a good college. In order to get into a college, one has to pass the college requirements. Just because you are rich doesn’t mean you are any smarter than anyone else. Just from my personal experience in a public high school, half of the students in my class had money and half of them didn’t. We all got the same education. So, when people complain about not getting jobs because they are poor, they cannot blame lack of education because they have every opportunity to become educated during high school. The real issue here is that people are lazy and don’t have the motivation to try hard in school. They rely on the middle and upper class to save them. Money Morning Staff Reports states, “While President Obama campaigned against the rich and for a stronger middle class, the truth is his actions are part of a government conspiracy keeping poor Americans out of work and on welfare”. With all these government policies, Obama is letting poverty sit. He believes that if he takes money away from privileged people, the poor can have more money. Well, if we continue to do this, no problem will be solved. When you keep handing over money to someone, they will only take advantage of that. What these people need to do is take advantage of free education not free money. This all goes back to the drive of the American people to become successful. I understand that people don’t have hope because of the environment they grew up in. But, shouldn’t that inspire you to realize that this isn’t the life you want to live? I want the poor to get out of living a miserable life and I want them to get jobs but I don’t want them the rely on welfare which I believe is the biggest issue. By going in depth about the problem for income inequality, my position qualifies Tanner and Pennington’s argument about poverty and mobilization. I explained why people are stuck in poverty and provided personal experiences along with evidence to back up my statements. Like I said, we need the empowerment of the people to mobilize the self-help efforts of the poor, rather than providing them with social welfare. I want income inequality to change for the better and I believe that we need to inspire people in poverty to get up and change their future.

            Income inequality is a sensitive topic because I feel that every single American is not fully pleased with how the economy works. Everyone has different opinions, which is why sometimes problems can never be solved. But, life is definitely not perfect. Although we are in a constant battle with income inequality, us Americans need to realize that our country as whole is extremely fortunate. If we all want income inequality to stop rising we need to change it ourselves. The government doesn’t choose our future, we do. So, we need to realize that the American people control how the market works. Many of us wonder, what caused most of the growth to go towards the middle class and top earners, with the disparity becoming more extreme the further one goes up in the income distribution? Well, with decentralization, self-ownership, hard work, and education, these people earn their way towards success. My favorite saying is actions speak louder than words. If we stop complaining and start being inspired, I believe that the American people can change income inequality.