Compare And Contrast The Economy And The Gilded Age

The Gilded Age, a forty-eight year period at the end of the nineteenth century, was described as a time that has a rotten core covered with gold paint by Mark Twain. During that era, after the Civil War, the nation had been filled with unscrupulous businessmen and massive corruptions. Similar to the situation in the Gilded Age, the wealth gap in today is enormous and hence causing people to call it the second Gilded Age. Although society in the U.S. is different nowadays, the economic and political situation from these two time periods share many similarities. Gilded Age is an era where economy grew astonishingly. Conspicuous consumerism, meaning that people want and buy more products besides the daily necessities. Products have lower prices

Four hundred American billionaires own two trillion dollars, as much as the one hundred and fifty million Americans on the very bottom. The top one percent of the richest American own one fifth of the nation’s total income. Similar to the Gilded Age, people who do business and live in urban centers earn much more money than who do not. The unprecedented technological innovation cause the production easier and faster, which renders the employers benefits. Also, the economy gives huge advantage to those who control lots of money, causing the economic disparity even deeper and promoting the appearance of the “Robber Barons,” unscrupulous businessmen who achieve monopolies in their

Wealthy people today bribe politicians in order to reduce their taxes and this is referenced in a quote by Warren Buffett, “These and other blessings are showered upon us by legislators in Washington who feel compelled to protect us.” Buffett claims that an investor that earn billions per day can get a bargain of fifteen percent of tax interest, which is much less than the thirty three to forty one percent interest for the middle class. Similarly, some of the Gilded Age’s policies benefit the wealthy. For instance, because of the exploitation,workers united and striked against the cruelty. However, employers appealed for court orders against unions because the federal government denied unions recognition as legally protected organization. Labors had to continues suffering in the unjust and cruel environment and hardly survive. Therefore, they long political