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Income Inequality Argument Analysis

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Income inequality is rampant, and currently, it 's only getting worse. At this moment, the richest 1% of the population control nearly half of all global wealth. If current trends continue, the wealthiest 1% will have more than the other 99% within just a few years. The question is, however, how much income inequality is acceptable? Like many social issues, there is no easy answer, and people are remarkably divided on the answer. The ethical theory of utilitarianism provides little guidance on the topic, with arguments being readily made on both sides under this principle. Political philosopher, John Rawls, argues that income inequality is acceptable, but only under very stringent circumstances. In opposition to Rawls, Robert Nozick, …show more content…

Coming down on the other side of the inequality argument is American philosopher Robert Nozick, the author of Anarchy, State, and Utopia. Nozick, in contrast to Rawls, believes that any distribution of goods is fair if it is created by a free exchange between people in a fair starting position, even if it results in large inequalities. Nozick challenged both some of Rawls ' conclusions as well as average utilitarianism. He is known for creating his own thought experiment, the "utility monster", wherein the monster receives a much greater degree of pleasure from the consumption of a given resource, thus justifying his consumption of the entirety of that resource, much to the detriment of everyone else. Nozick 's entitlement theory states that people who own or create something, have the rights to it. He writes unequivocally, "Whoever makes something having bought or contracted for all other held resources used in the process (transferring some of his holdings for these cooperating factors), is entitled to it. The situation is not one of something’s getting made, and there being an open question of who is to get it. Things come into the world already attached to people having entitlements over them." He believed that taking away someone 's property (in the form of taxes, for instance) was unjust. While Nozick would not have approved of the subterfuge on the part of the financial institutions which contributed to the housing bubble crisis of 2007, as shown in the film The Big Short, he would not have had any issues with the huge profits accrued to those who made wise decisions in the ensuing

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Economic inequality is the uneven distribution of wealth and differences in economic security found in each individual in a specific country or region. Today, the topic is being discussed profusely by the American presidential candidates and by many writers around the world because of the beliefs of whether there should or should not be wealth redistribution policies put into action. Larry Schwartz, the author of “35 Soul-Crushing Facts about American Income Inequality”, makes a valid claim that economic inequality is the foundation of the problems that the entire American population face such as poverty and a hindrance of economic growth. To begin with, Schwartz has an exceptional argument that the high rate of economic inequality, like is

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Income inequality The article “Confronting Inequality,” written by Paul Krugman, a professor at Princeton University, emphasizes that the middle class suffers from social inequality and economic inequality. Krugman suggests building a stronger safety net so the gap between the poor and rich can be limited to by raising of the taxes. Krugman uses this claim to highlight the fact that the middle class needs to be stronger and the only way to achieve that is to have a strong safety net. Krugman says the rich use loopholes in the tax system to cheat their way out of high taxes, and the poor pay a relatively high tax compared to what they should be paying.

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The natural distribution is neither just nor unjust; nor is it unjust that persons are born in society at some particular position” (Sandel 165). Rawls points out that our society has chosen to ignore the issue of inequity most of the time, so long that the effects of this indifference do not hurt their positions. Moreover, what Rawls has described in this quote is very much evident in our society. The citizens on top–especially upper class white males–have the power to pretend the inequities in American society don’t exist, therefore making our society unjust. More

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Rawls’ idea of justice as fairness, which he presented in his book, “A Theory of Justice,” emphasizes the importance of equal opportunities and equal distribution of wealth and resources in society. This idea resonates with me because, as someone who values fairness and equality, I believe that everyone should have the same chance to succeed and live a fulfilling life. Rawls’ work has taught me to be more aware of societal inequalities and to work towards creating a fairer and more just

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Economic inequality is the difference found in various measures of economic well-being among individuals in a population, often referring to income and wealth. Income and wealth inequality is increasingly prevalent in Australia. The top 20% income group receives around five times as much income as the bottom 20% and the top 20% wealth group has 70 times as much wealth as the bottom 20%. Government policies are used to ensure fairness in the spread of wealth and economic opportunity throughout the economy. However policies can be amended and introduced to further reduce income and wealth inequality.

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In the event that the 1 percent had less, a greater amount of the 99 percent of Americans would not be getting kicked out of their homes or needing to battle to pay rent on account of the absence of cash. In light of the crevice between the wealthiest and the rest, individuals are stressed over the out of line economy dispossessing their future. As stated in the article " We are the 99 percent" they mention how the middle and poor class are getting noting while the 1 percent is getting everything. How unfair is

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The problem with the widened wealth gap is that the inequality may harm the quality. Meaning that those in the higher classes see it as you can use the money with no restrictions. However, economist believe that the “relationship between inequality and economic freedom, with the possibility that policies that are meant to reduce inequality will reduce economic freedom, which will then only make inequality worse.”

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Income inequality is economically wrong when you compare the richest man of the country, Bill Gates, who gains over $50 billion, to a homeless person, who doesn’t make anything. Many jobs have disappeared because of technology advances, it has made the rich richer;

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Evaluate to what extent rising income inequality was one of the triggers of the subprime mortgage crisis in the U.S in the 2008. The United States have suffered two major economic shocks in the last century, in 1929 and in 2008. In both cases, the pre-crisis stages had one common feature, a sharp increase in income inequality, followed by a sharp increase in households debt leverage. Between 1983-2008 there was a rapid increase in the United States’ debt-to-income ratio, this increased the probability of the economy facing a financial crash, such as the one experienced in 2008.

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Wealth and Inequality in America Inequality The inequality in America has increased over time; the gap between the rich and the poor has become a problem that many Americans don’t see. Inequality is the extent of income which is distributed unequally among the citizenry. The inequality of the United has a large gap between the poor and the rich making it unfair to the population, the rich are becoming wealthier and the poor remain poor. The article “Of the 1%, By the 1%, For the 1%”, authored by Joseph E. Stiglitz describes that there is a 1 percent amount of American’s who are consuming about a quarter of the United States income in a year.

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A trade off exists between equity and efficiency. Society choose different types of political and economic systems based on different perceptions of efficiency and equity. The causes of income inequality can vary by skills, gender, education and social status. “Income inequality has grown increasingly evident since the 1980s, when the distribution of income had 30 to 35% of

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John Rawls believed that if certain individuals had natural talents, they did not always deserve the benefits that came with having these abilities. Instead, Rawls proposed, these inherent advantages should be used to benefit others. Although Rawls makes an excellent argument on why this should be the case, not all philosophers agreed with his reasoning, especially Robert Nozick. Nozick believed in distributing benefits in a fair manner in accordance with the Entitlement Theory, which has three subsections: Just Acquisition, Just Transfer and Just Rectification.

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Introduction All over the world, there is an obvious contrast between the living standards and lifestyle of the rich and the poor. Moreover, there is a large gap between the populations of poor and wealthy. This is known as the Wealth Gap, and it is caused by Wealth Inequality. Wealth Income/Inequality is defined as “The unequal distribution of assets within a population.” Wealth is defined as more than just the amount of income a person has, but instead the value of a person’s assets.

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On the other hand, while philosopher Robert Nozick paid a generous tribute to the brilliance of Rawls’ philosophical construction, he provides a rejection to Rawls’ claims from a libertarian perspective. Libertarians have the desire to divide and limit power. That is, government will be limited generally through a written constitution limiting the powers that the people delegate to government (Boaz, 2015). Nozick stated that Rawls’ idea would have resulted in the restriction of free choice or forced distribution within the society.

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Equality, like fairness, is an important value in most societies. Irrespective of ideology, culture, and religion, people care about inequality. Widening inequality also has significant implications for growth and macroeconomic stability, it can concentrate political and decision making power in the hands of a few, lead to a suboptimal use of human resources, cause investment-reducing political and economic instability, and raise crisis risk. The economic and social fallout from the global financial crisis and the resultant headwinds to global growth and employment have heightened the attention to rising income inequality.

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