“In recent years the richest 5 percent claimed 63.5 percent of the nation’s wealth while the bottom 80 percent collectively held just 12.8 percent”
Wealth inequality is a serious issue in America today; a problem that some admit, but many condone. And while it’s shaping our country in several ways, the indisputable facts show a gross amount of income injustice. In short, the rich are becoming ever richer, and the rest of America is lost in the clutches of corporations and the grossly wealthy. As the season of taxes is upon us, it only seems fair to address who’s paying the most, and who isn’t paying, at all.
There is an abundance of wealth in America; it just happens to be controlled by few people. A small percentage of all people in America hold the most wealth in this country. Maldistribution of wealth in the United States is nothing short of criminal. In 2009 alone, “the richest 5 percent claimed 63.5 percent of the nation’s wealth” while “the bottom 80 percent, collectively held just 12.8 percent.”
To make things even worse, the tax system is designed to uphold this maldistribution. The rich upper class can ‘cheat’ the system because of their “fierce lobbying for tax breaks and innovative accounting that enables it to concentrate its profits offshore.” This imbalance means the burden falls on the middle class (making them poor), and the poor (making them poorer), while corporations and very wealthy get away with not paying their share. It’s greed at it’s finest; those who have the money to pay don’t, and so the same cycle of exploitation continues. Worst of all; “The United States exhibits wider disparities of wealth between rich and poor than any other major developed nation.”
The devil’s advocate argument stands – ‘if they’ve worked for it, haven’t they earned the right to keep it?’ According to opinion writer Julie Borowski, “Tax hikes on the rich are unjustified from a moral and pragmatic perspective.” To Borowski, people who have excess wealth in money can always donate to the government, but they shouldn’t be forced to pay more. And while plenty of money goes to charity donations, she claims the reason why the rich don’t donate to the government is because “[The] government doesn’t do anything particularly well.” If that’s the case, what are the rest of us paying taxes for? Are our education systems, police and fire departments, streets, traffic systems, and medical aid not important enough to the rich? And what does Borowski mean by the ‘moral perspective’? Is it morally wrong to ask those who have the money to help pay for those who don’t?
A recent study from 2015 shows that the top 1% of the nation’s rich now hold the largest wealth share since the 1920’s. When the American population gets hit by recessions, the middle and lower class suffer the most. This is because the top 1 percent holds wealth, “invested in stocks and mutual funds,” while the majority of American’s wealth comes from “their principal residences, the asset category that took the biggest hit during the Great Recession.” This is no coincidence, the facts are plain and simple. The cartoon titled “Brilliant Economics Can’t Figure it Out” shows it best, with piles of money for corporate earnings, and broke workers by their side.
Today’s corporate power is unrestricted and unrestrained. It may sound pessimistic, but it’s true. In today’s age, there’s limitless greed, and priorities are usually focused primarily on money. Too often, social matters are ignored, unemployment is ignored, and taxes aren’t paid.
There are hardworking Americans suffering the effects of political greed. How can we not bring attention to this economic injustice? The cycle of abuse today is no better than in the age of tyrant kings and queens holding all the power and doing the least work. We should take a look at the poorest of America before we claim tax hikes on the rich are unjustifiable. They say money can’t buy happiness; someone tell that to the single mother, to the homeless man, to the foster children and the countless suffering Americans. If money can’t buy happiness, what’s the harm in giving some away?
Comments are closed.