Sklar and the Economist Inequality in America - 1687 Words

America was once known as the land of opportunity. However, that is no longer the case. Americans are still suffering from a depression that began three years ago in 2008. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2007, the United States unemployment rates were 4.6 percent. In 2009, one year after the depression began, the unemployment rate rose to 7.6 percent. Millions of Americans are living in poverty, unable to afford the basic necessities. On the other hand, there is a minuscule percent of the population that are billionaires. Written in 2005, Holly Sklar’s essay â€Å"The Growing Gulf Between the Rich and the Rest of Us† argues that if something isn’t done about the growing inequality between the rich and the poor, the American†¦show more content†¦In doing so Sklar puts the total number of poor into terms with which the reader can identify. These Americans cannot afford shelter, food, health care, transportation and other basic necessities . Sklar also compares the unprecedented rise in wealth to the decrease in income for the middle and lower classes in America. â€Å"Median household income fell for the fifth year in a row to $44,389 in 2004 – down from $46,129 in 1999, adjusting for inflation† (Sklar 310). With the rising costs of living expenses, many Americans live paycheck to paycheck and struggle to meet their financial responsibilities. To make the situation worse, government programs to alleviate the worst problems for the poor are disappearing. Sklar says, â€Å"More budget cuts are in the pipeline for Medicaid, Food Stamps, and other safety nets for Americans whose wages don’t even cover the cost of the necessities† (310). Although the Economist argues that economic inequality is acceptable under certain conditions, one of these conditions is a safety net for the poor, and this net is disappearing.. Millions more will go hungry and go without medical care due to these budge t cuts. The information about the poor in the Economist’s piece is firmly grounded by facts within Sklar’s article. For instance, Sklar’s use of the Census Bureau finding of the largeShow MoreRelatedEssay on Culture of Poverty5571 Words   |  23 PagesHowever, what is a necessity to one person is not uniformly a necessity to others. Needs may be relative to what is possible and are based on social definition and past experience (Sen, 1999). Valentine (1968) says that â€Å"the essence of poverty is inequality. In slightly different words, the basic meaning of poverty is relative deprivation.† A social (relative) definition of poverty allows community flexibility in addressing pressing local concerns, while objective definitions allow tracking progressRead MoreOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 Page sTiffany Ruby Patterson, Zora Neale Hurston and a History of Southern Life Lisa M. Fine, The Story of Reo Joe: Work, Kin, and Community in Autotown, U.S.A. Van Gosse and Richard Moser, eds., The World the Sixties Made: Politics and Culture in Recent America Joanne Meyerowitz, ed., History and September 11th John McMillian and Paul Buhle, eds., The New Left Revisited David M. Scobey, Empire City: The Making and Meaning of the New York City Landscape Gerda Lerner, Fireweed: A Political Autobiography