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Median Real Wage Analysis

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Did you know, just 62 people combined have the same amount of wealth as the world’s poorest 3.5 billion people (Westcott 1)? An unequal distribution of income and wealth is becoming a more widespread issue in the United States. There are many facts that support this statement, as well as several possible reasons behind it. There are also several possible solutions to the problem. The median real wage rose 5 percent from 1979 to 2012, with the median real wage in the top 1 percent of wage earnings increasing 154 percent (Blinder 9). Yet the median real wage at the 95th percentile only rose 39 percent (Blinder 9). Meanwhile, the median real wage at the 20th percentile remained flat during that time frame and the median real wage at the 10th percentile fell 6 percent (Blinder 10). Median real wage is defined as the real wage earned exactly in …show more content…

In 1971 61 percent of adults lived in middle income households, while in 2014 that figure was 50 percent (Samuelson 3). Yet from 1971 to 2014 upper income households grew from 14 percent to 21 percent, and lower income households grew from 25 percent to 29 percent (Samuelson 3). In 2000 typical middle-income households had incomes 40 percent higher than in 1970, while in 2014 that figure was 34 percent (Samuelson 6). Middle-income household income increased 13 percent in the 1970s, 11 percent in the 1980s, and 12% in the 1990s (Samuelson 5). Those amounts were 13 percent, 8 percent, and 15 percent, respectively, for lower-income households (Samuelson 5). Upper-income household income increased 10 percent in the 1970s, 18 percent in the 1980s and 1990s (Samuelson 5). A middle-income household is defined as a 3-person household with income between $41,869 and $125,608 (Samuelson 3). The amount for an upper-income household would be above $135,608, while the amount for a lower-income household would be below $41,869 (Samuelson

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This left 32% of Americans living at the average income line of $2,000-$5,000 and the final 8% lived at the wealthy or above average line of over $5,000 (Doc 9). Although the United States had accumulated a substantial

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In the article “Confronting Inequality” by Paul Krugman it explains how and why large changes between wages of wealth and the problems between the social classes. America's middle class in today’s society are exceeding their limits in effort to give their children opportunities many middle class parents did not have themselves. Ways that many middle class parents are doing this is by buying homes that they can't afford; this is so their children will be able to attend a good school. Another reason why middle class parent are doing this so that their children can have more opportunities to one day slow the growing gap between the wealthy and the poor. Another reason that inequality between the classes is important Krugman believes is because

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The level of wealth inequality from the years 1967-1970 was higher than the level of income inequality from that same time. It would seem that a higher level of wealth inequality is a standard of the American economy since it was higher than the level of income inequality in all three eras. As for the specific amount of the yearly average wealth controlled by each fractile, using the information from Fig 6, we can see that the top one-hundredth percent fractile was in possession of 72.37% of the yearly average wealth from the years 1967-1970. The next nine-hundredth percent fractile controlled 16.06% of the yearly average wealth from the years 1967-1970. The four-tenth percent fractile after them had 5.95% of the yearly average wealth from

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More Americans can finally enjoy solid income gains. The median household income increases around 5% last year to an inflation-adjusted level of $56,516, said the Census Bureau on Tuesday. This was a summary of the

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Atlantic Media Company, 18 May 2012. Web. 27 Apr. 2016. "The American Middle Class Is Losing Ground. "

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Reading through RIP, the Middle Class: 1946-2013, it became fairly obvious that the author, Edward McClelland, was presenting a thesis idea that consisted of promoting the middle class through examples of its prime time when middle class thrived. McClelland made the point clearly as he repeatedly provided examples ranging from the glory days of the assembly line industry that had provided high paying jobs for many people, to presidents who attempted to keep business within the United States to promote home grown jobs. He was especially focused on the point that the middle class was shrinking due to a large discrepancy between the wealthy and the rest of society as capitalism achieves its goal of padding the wealthiest and keeping the middle

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In Huxley’s Brave New World and Orwell’s 1984 both tell tales of a society where the middle class ceases to exist. Neither of these books portrays a middle social class and thus the boundaries between the rich and the poor is evident. Huxley and Orwell warn of the middle class in the social hierarchy and how a buffer is needed in a social hierarchy in order to maintain a satisfied nation by envisioning a disastrous future where the buffer is not present. By applying the same idea today, one is able to witness the economical effect that ensues upon the middle class in first world countries such as the United States. Huxley and Orwell’s warning came true to a certain extent where the middle class today suffers from the economical repercussions

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The middle class want to become rich and the low class only wants equality.” Orwell’s predictions of the party, the government in modern society, rises to power and the poor stay poor. In LA Times “Income Inequality makes the rich more scrooge-like, study finds”, “Since the 1980’s -- the end of a 30-year period… wealth has grown increasingly concentrated at the top of the economic ladder, while low-income Americans have commanded a smaller and smaller share of the nation’s wealth.” *add where quote is from* ”... top 5 percent of American families saw their real income increase 74.9 percent… the lowest-income fifth saw a decrease in real income of 12.1 percent… Sharply contrasting with the 1947-79 period… with the lowest income group actually seeing the largest gains.”

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There are people who work 40 hours a week and are still in poverty; this is a highly prominent issue. The uneven distribution of wealth, known as wealth inequality, is a problem that plagues not only America but also the world. With wealth inequality, there are two main issues and one solution to those issues. The problems are that the wealth in America is unevenly distributed and there people in America who work 40 hours a week and still have very little money. Wealth inequality is the root of all problems faced in America.

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The publisher of this article is very well know in reference to the affairs of the middle class, and would be considered creditable source. Contributor, G. (2013, October 24). The Rise And Fall Of The Middle Class In America. (SB, Ed.) Retrieved June 21, 2015, from Liberal America.org:

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While minimum wage does vary by state, women make up a large portion of the low-wage workers while also working to be the “breadwinner” or co-breadwinner in almost two-thirds of US households (American Progress, 2014). With all of the factors that play into the gender gap, there is no guarantee that it will close any time soon. While there has been progress, if the rate of change in this gap follows the rate 1960 to 2001, women would reach pay equity with their male counterparts by the year 2059 (The Simple Truth, 2017). However, if the rate of change

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Normally it’s during the economic expansion that follows a recession that workers make wage gains which hopefully leave them better off than before the recession started. But examining trends throughout economic recoveries in the postwar era demonstrates a startling pattern in which the top 1 percent is capturing a larger and larger fraction of the income growth. Between 1949 and 2012 there have been 10 economic expansions, with four occurring since 1979. From 1979 to 2007, real inflation-adjusted, average household income, measured after government transfers and federal taxes, grew by 62 percent. During that period, the evolution of the nation’s economy and the tax and spending policies of the federal government and state and local governments had varying effects on households at different points in the income distribution: Income after transfers and federal taxes

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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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The United States economy is constantly changing; however, since as early as 1956 the bulge of the middle class has seemed to be steadily disappearing. Supporting the idea that the United States society has taken on the shape of a distorted hourglass. In Stewart Lansley’s article, “The Hourglass Society,” he writes about how the United States society has a growing gap between the rich and the poor; furthermore, causing an increase in inequality among the different social classes. Lansley makes the statement, “One of the most significant effects of America’s hourglass society has been the capping of opportunities and the emergence of downward mobility amongst the middle classes”. This statement shows the unfairness that the middle classes

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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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