intersections/connections

Two of the three texts that I thought connected were Arthur Brooks, “Inequality and (Un)Happiness in America” and Maura Pennington, “To Fix Income Inequality, the Have-Nots Must Become The Do-Something. Both texts main focus was on the inequality of the American people. It is known that many people tend to blame the rich for consuming most of the money. Well, Brooks and Pennington point out that the reason why they are so successful is because of their hard work. The main issue today is that people are fighting over money. The poor are struggling because their income wages are going down. What Brooks and Pennington want the American people to do is make a difference and make a change. Both texts state how some people admire the top 1% for all of their achievements, which should be aspiring to all people .The overall message that they are trying to send is that people need to put in the hard work and do something about the economy instead of sitting around complaining about it.

In Reich’s documentary, “Inequality for all” he talks about how the American people control the economy. This connects with Arthur Brooks, “Inequality and (Un)Happiness in America” which talks about what the American people need to do to change the economy. Both Reich and Murray want the audience to understand is that us Americans are the core or the economic system and in order to change that, we have to get up and do something about it. People are unhappy, people are depressed, and people want a change in the income inequality. In order to do so, Reich states that we need to mobilize and energize other people to make a change and Brooks states that mobility is possible. So, the American people need to be influenced to get up and work hard to get the income they deserve.