Understanding the American Wealth Disparity End of the...

A Fragmented Pie Money is what makes the world go around. From day one, people are assimilated with the idea: to consume, one must spend a medium sufficient enough to receive an object that is desired. Every country has that medium. The Europeans have the Euro, the Japanese have the Yen, Chile has the Peso, and the United States has the Dollar. However, this idea of â€Å"getting and spending† has done more harm than good in specific countries. Particularly, in the United States there has been a growing issue of income inequality. The textbook definition of income inequality states: the difference between individuals or populations in the distribution of their assets, wealth, or income. The political problem itself, nevertheless, is deeper and†¦show more content†¦According to Robert Reich from his article, â€Å"Why Inequality is the Real Cause of Our Terrible Economy†, in the era between 1947 and 1977 median wages soared because big name corporations and the top one percent took home less. This national prosperity soon ended with President Nixon cutting the dollar to gold convertibility on August 15th, 1971 (Delmastro). The dollar became a currency that is ultimately backed by nothing. The tangible object of gold became insignificant. This created issues of corruption, inflation, and crony capitalism. Beginning in the 1980s, the income gap in the U.S. significantly started to widen because of this. Reich in his documentary, Income Inequality for All, further states that during Ronald Reagan’s presidency, Reagan lowered the tax rate on the rich from seventy percent to an outstanding percentage of a low thirty five. Regrettably this is not the worst issue, as most of the one percent invests in stock which in turn makes their capital gains subjected only to a fifteen percent tax rate (Reich, Income Inequality for All). These are not coincidences but the unfortunate fact that the American government is influenced by and catered for the top one per cent. The truth of the matter is the history of the dollar is only one factor behind the ever increasing income gap between the wealthy and the poor. Shady legal tactics will keep the situation stagnated until a solution is made clear. Most people dread taxes and some,