Wage and wealth inequality haven’t gotten better since the book was first published in 2000. Inflation has been flat, unemployment is low and getting lower, the economy is rewarding—depending on who you are— but the economy isn’t working for everyone, or even the majority of people. Spending and borrowing have risen, while savings have fallen. A large percent, which is going up, of people —especially those in their twenties and thirties— are working two jobs with little to no benefits. This means an increasing amount of people are living without insurance, postponing necessary medical treatments or ignoring symptoms as long as possible. The people at the bottom are used as scapegoats for this “polarized” economy— women on welfare and new immigrants— …show more content…
Despite this, compensation for the top managers of companies have skyrocketed, making half the population lose motivation at work. While the borrowing spree has boosted the economy with increased demand, savings rates have plummeted while the costs of health care, mortgages, and education have increased, increasing bankruptcies. We are taught to see these problems, which are numerous and linked to economic forces, as personal. There are alternatives, there were times when the US has been fairer, briefly, and rules of the economy have changed, such as the 1930s and 60s. The economy should be harmonious with the environment and foster greater democracy. The problem lies with how decisions are made. The vast majority of people are now excluded, the power is concentrated in the hands of those with wealth and influence, they decide the rules of …show more content…
While many might be aware of the wage gap between genders, there is also a wage gap between races —as seen in 1968 when every dollar of white income, black people earned 55 cents, which has not increased by much to around 58 cents in recent times. Beginning in the mid 1960s, there started to be larger inequality between classes of people of color where prosperous black people started to move ahead while lower-income black people started to go