President Barack Obama
plans to make income inequality a focus of his January 28 State of the Union
address. While Democrats agree that the White House is focused on the right
objective, many are talking about the same issue in different ways. They want
the conversation to focus on opportunity and the middle class when addressing income inequality.
A survey by Pew
Research Center/USA Today shows that more than 60% respondents say the gap between the rich and everyone
else has grown in the past 10 years. However, twice as many Democrats as Republicans
said "a lot" or "some” when answering the question how much the
government should reduce the gap.
Even though market
distribution of income can be modified by the tax system and by the provision
of social services, the possible solutions are to increasing the minimum wage
and to improve economic viability. The question is the government would increase federal minimum wage to how much.
Why don’t they just let the economy work??
3 comments:
I found this article very interesting. I would suggest that full time jobs provide a wage to meet the workers basic necessities, shelter, clothing and basic health care. No government handouts would be needed. These individuals will pay taxes based on what they earn. They won't get rich, but they won't need help from government handouts anymore. The money they spend will go back into the economy and create a demand for more goods and services.
Inequality is caused by many problems but a big one is education, if we can provide better education in inner city schools it will help decrease spending in the future done by the government. For example it will decrease hospital funds, prison funds and other welfare programs if we give people the same opportunities as others whether they are rich, poor, black or white. The government should also make college more affordable for students! If students did not have to worry about loans then maybe they would be able to spend more money and help boost the economy. Also in the long run ideas that come from human capital will help our country. Why are we focused on human capital but not allowing it to be easier to afford? People are making money by putting their face on a magazine instead of teachers who are educating our next generation. Shouldn't they be getting paid more if they are helping our future leaders?
I have a great idea how about we tax the 1% more and then we can put that money into welfare programs. We could also decrease the wages of the senators, congressmen and other high ranked politicians or decrease the military budget but apparently only France is allowed to do that (as well as provide practically free education).
Interesting article. From the economics standpoint the raise in minimum wage will increase unemployment, which is concerning. Therefore when increasing minimum wage it is important to account for the tradeoffs.
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