In my opinion, the economic differences in the United States are way too big. I feel this way because there is a significant amount of people below the poverty line. There are also people struggling to make ends meet due to trying to live a lifestyle that they simply cannot afford because of the social class that they are a part of. I feel like the United States government does not really assist with the people living under the poverty line. The government is providing an excuse for people not to get a job and provide for themselves the way they’re supposed to. I’m not saying that the government is completely responsible for the abundance of people living in poverty, I’m saying that they’re not helping the situation either.
Social Class is defined as a status of hierarchy where groups or individuals are categorized based on economic success and their buildup of wealth. Wealth is defined as an abundance of valuable possessions or money. People in the same social class usually have the same lifestyle of living an accumulation of wealth. According to an article posted by the University of Delaware, there are 5 different social classes in the United States. The poor, the working class, lower middle class, upper middle class, and the upper class. The poor is described as people who work full-time job and are still below the poverty line. The working class are basically people that are laborers. They may work in a car garage or as an orderly in a nursing home. The lower middle class basically do clerical work, are paralegals or bank tellers. The upper middle class usually excel in scientific and technical knowledge. Upper middle class can range from being lawyers to directors of organizations. People apart upper middle are usually well educated and are the largest class group in the United States. The upper middle class are people the acquire wealth from what they own such as; land and stocks.
According to an article by the University of New Mexico, social stratification is defined as the ranking of people in a vertical arrangement that differentiates them as superior or inferior. Societies can be categorized by social class, racial and ethnic background and gender. Social class is the most common way society is grouped. Racial and ethnic background stratification is when some groups such as racial or religious is a basis for arranging social positions. Gender stratification is the difference in domination between men and women.
Economic inequality is harmful to community life in this country because the upper-class people, are usually the ones that are running the country. Most of them in government only make or vote for laws that will benefit them and make them more money at the end of the day. For example, they may vote on a bill that raises taxes for the poor and lowers it for the rich all so that they can keep a few extra dollars in their pocket. At the same time, Government assistance is crippling people from providing for themselves, it is making them lazy. A lot of people are fine with sitting at home all day doing nothing because they know that they’re still going to be able to collect their unemployment checks and their food stamps.
On faireconomy.org, it states that people in more unequal societies have a lower life expectancy and children are more likely to do worse in school. People in an unequal society are also more likely to be imprisoned. The United States has the highest incarceration rates and the most people in prison in the world. People living below the poverty line most likely do not have a steady source of income therefore they are susceptible to turn to a life of crime in order to make ends meet. Income is defined as money received on a regular basis, for work or through investments. A person can have a full time job at a restaurant yet they do not have a steady source of income since they basically live off tips and tips are never consistent.
