The Wealth and Income Gap between Rich and Poor Threatens Democracy in the US - Coursework Example

THE WEALTH AND INCOME GAP BETWEEN RICH AND POORTHREATENS DEMOCRACY IN THE US NAME INSTITUTIONAL DETAILS DATE Introduction Americans have never been too worried about the income gap. This is simply because the income gap between the rich and the poor has been wider in America than in any other developed country. Surprisingly, this gap keeps on growing each and every day with numbers of factors such as democracy been compromised each dawn. The fact that the ruling classes or rather the elite class controls a larger portion of decisions in America has a major impact on democracy. Democracy which is a system of governance has for a long period being compromised in America more than in any other developed nations. The big question is how does low income affect democracy? This question among others forms the baseline of my argument that democracy has been threatened by the income gap between the poor and the rich in America. Argumentative Analysis In this section, the researcher is going to highlight a few factors which contribute to the threatening of democracy and how low income earners, the poor, are limited to mind about their problems and burdens other than democracy which has become for the rich. They own it, the rich people make independent decisions are not easily influenced by small handouts as it the case with the poor people in the society. Poor people, not only in America but across the world and especially in the third world countries, democracy is a foreign language, it’s about a candidate who has money who carries the day because they are able to payout small amounts of money to the poor people to change their minds. If you are rich in America, then you are eligible to talk about democracy, and you talk freely, no one is willing to give out money on a rich person, because at the end of the day, they will end up being losers. Democracy in this developed country is too expensive for the poor to afford it, or even to think or changing the mindset of people and win competitively in any election. I. Inequality Inequality has been believed to be a key contributor to the undermining of democracy. Policy makers haven’t cared about it either. They make the laws which favor them, why should they mind about people who cannot afford the policies themselves. It’s a matter of survival for the fittest and it is only the rich, the strong, who survive in this kingdom by feeding on the poor. Inequality is blamed for the widening gap between the two groups of discussion because a certain group of people is exposed to more opportunities, power, money and they believe that they are more important than the rest. Precisely, the nation’s wealth is controlled by a few people and this tide of inequality threatens democracy. In a more recent study, it has been found that this gap in discussion between the highest- income earner and poor and the middle income families is significantly wider than it was 25 years ago. It also again brings to the reader’s attention the states with the largest gap between top and bottom fifths that include New York, Texas, Arizona and Florida. In a situation where a few number of people control the economic equality in a partisan mode of governance such is likely to happen and the inequality is so deep rooted such that the poor and sometimes the government can do nothing about it, they just sit and watch. In addition, the Republicans who are in the congress are guided by voices such as greed where they make permanent the President’s cuts that benefit the wealthiest Americans, instead of doing their work, they only think about themselves as is the case with politicians around the globe. Who will ever think of the poor, if the people elected to air their views turn their back against them in the cruelest way? The poor are not even represented, or should they be a law that stipulates that a poor person should be elected, or even lower the cost of being elected in the country, and should such a law come to existence, how will it be validated that someone is poor since after 2 years in office they will have bid poverty bye? Democracy will never at any time be everyone’s right in America, because there are no mitigation strategies to bridge the gap between the poor and the rich in the society. It will only remain to be a treasured right for the high and the mighty. Ironically, members of the congress have allocated to themselves, a cost-of-living pay rise for the past six years in a row, statistics confirm this. However, shocking economic reports indicate that it’s the poor who support and sustain the rich. The working poor spend most of their income unlike the rich who deposit lump sums to their Swiss savings accounts and much of the potential minimum-wage from the poor is plunged back to the economy. If at any time, the poor would be given average basic resources and to ensure that only a quarter of their income is ploughed back to the economy, then America would proudly say that they are limiting the growth of the gap between the poor and the rich. II. Injustice In a system where the rich can buy justice in the courts and other related areas of concern because the poor cannot afford it, then it’s imperative to note that the gap between the two groups of people will never at any single time reduce but will keep on growing. Americans, it has been noted that they have been less willing to take power from the rich and give it to the poor because of their belief that the rich have access to a lot greater opportunities as compared to the poor who are regarded as vulnerable. Under the above two conditions, maybe it is unsurprising that a growing share of Americans have lost faith in their ability to get ahead. The next question a reader would ask himself after reading this would be who are these rich people? A research paper in December 2005 by Ian Dewbecker and Ronald Gordon of Northwestern University reported that between 1972 and 2001, the income of people in the top 1% grew by 87 percent. For the people at the bottom by contrast, the bottom 20 percent grew by only 3 percent. From a close stance, these groups of people who are referred to as the one per centers are the problem to this ever growing gap between them and the poor. This one percent is among the 400 Americans whose combined wealth exceeds the combined wealth of one hundred and fifty million Americans. America being a capitalist country, income inequality is nothing off the hook. It has been there since time immemorial and in such a system, its only profit alone which is regarded as a measure of success. When it works well, everyone involved in the system benefits from the profit but when it reaches abnormal levels, it’s only the one percent that benefits from the profits at the expense of the one hundred and fifty million Americans. Probably those reading this maybe wondering how now does income has to do with democracy and how does it really affect democracy? Well, liberalism is a belief in liberal ideas and principles especially in political and social matters. Liberalism entails working for equal opportunity for all so that everyone has a chance to succeed. Liberalism as you might have realized differs from capitalism to a great extent as capitalism puts power in the hands of the business class and money is believed to be an overpowering weapon in the creation and establishment of rules, regulations and laws that monitor the performance of things by ensuring that they are in place. What is the relation between liberalism and democracy? Good question. Liberalism as discussed earlier defines political and social issues with which democracy is part of them. At the end of all this, the low income earner will be given the same right to vote as to those in the one percent category. Liberals view the Government as the only institution that can work to bring the equity that we want. But what is happening in America is that the Government has terribly failed to execute this functionary role of bringing equity to its citizens. As Mahatma Gandhi would say, extreme wealth and inequality pose a moral dilemma. However, inequality is unnecessary without Governments pressurizing companies to control the excessive reward. The tax system should for another time be progressive and not exempting a certain group of people from remunerating taxes. Even when asked to pay taxes, the wealthy are known of using tax havens and financial secrecy just to secure their money from taxation. Inequality of income and wealth are not good for anyone (Rowlingson, Karen, and Stephen McKay. 2012). The consolidation of wealth and capital in so few hands is economically insufficient simply because it depresses demand and is socially divisive. There is a common belief that if someone is born poor in a very unequal society, there is a high possibility that you may end up dying as a poor man. The difference in wealth and levels of income between the wealth and the rest of the society is what contributes to the threatening of democracy. Our tolerance for a growing income gap maybe ebbing but since the chasm between the rich and the mere hoi polloi has become a crucial talking point in our leader’s speeches, we may tend to forget on the elementary and assume that all is well. Inequality has been confirmed not to be among a voter’s list of priorities. In a recent study (Taibbi Malt, 2014), it has been noted that only 17% of Americans think of inequality as an extremely important factor to be regulated by the Government. A poor man’s view cannot be regarded as important because of his social class. CONCLUSION From the above, it’s paramount to note that the gap between the rich and the poor in America is still expected to hit anomalous growth rates if inequality and levels of income are not put into consideration. The exact wealth of the one percent group of people should be subjected to a lot of careful analysis to establish their sources of wealth and whether they are honest to the tax man. With all this in place, democracy is expected to receive minimal threats from the subliminal groups and the poor will for another time get to contribute in nation building having got a glimpse of what democracy entails. Democracy as a tool of governance lies within the wrong hands in the states of America. This is because the people at the top have failed to illuminate rays of hope to the poor in the society. What the citizens of America want is s good life free from discrimination and able to air out opinions without fear. BIBLIOGRAPHY Bronner, Stephen Eric. 2005. Blood in the sand imperial fantasies, right-wing ambitions, and the erosion of American democracy. Lexington, Ky: University Press of Kentucky. http://public.eblib.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=792207. Córdova, Abby, and Mitchell A. Seligson. 2010. "Economic shocks and democratic vulnerabilities in Latin America and the Caribbean". Latin American Politics and Society. 52 (2). Edelman, Peter B. 2012. So rich, so poor: why its so hard to end poverty in America. New York: New Press. Marshall, F. Ray. 2000. Back to shared prosperity: the growing inequality of wealth and income in America. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe. Richards, Marlee. 2010. America in the 1910s. Minneapolis, Minn: Twenty-First Century Books. Rowlingson, Karen, and Stephen McKay. 2012. Wealth and the wealthy: exploring and tackling inequalities between rich and poor. Bristol: Policy Press. Taibbi, Matt, and Ray Porter. 2014. The divide: American injustice in the age of the wealth gap. http://www.contentreserve.com/TitleInfo.asp?ID={0F11FC44-E07A-4A31-9254 82CD85BE88DF}&Format=25. Taibbi, Matt. 2014. The divide: American Injustice in the age of the wealth gap. Read More