Income Inequality (Term Paper Sample)

Income Inequality
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There is no doubt that one of the major social issues the US needs to address is income inequality. Income inequality is the disparity in wage earnings or how income is distributed among people, groups, communities and social classes. In the US, the income inequality is particularly prominent when comparing the median incomes of whites versus median incomes of blacks. What is worrying is that the income gap between high earners and low earners keeps widening despite tremendous economic growth achieved over the years. Studies have shown that in the past three decades alone income inequality in the US has grown significantly, with the collective level of inequality approaching the extreme level that was witnessed before the Great Depression. It is worth noting that among the seven wealthiest nations of the world, the US has the highest level of income inequality. It is estimated that over 52% of total annual earnings in the US are brought in by just 20% of the American households. The other 48% is shared amongst the rest of the population (Kuznets, 2019).
Income inequality should be addressed sooner rather than later because prolonged inequality will drag economic growth and lead to political dysfunction. When income is concentrated in the hands of a few people, the level of demand will plummet since rich households tend to spend less of their income than poor households. In addition, reduced opportunities for low-earners impacts the economy negatively because of slowed growth in the present and future (Bivens, 2017). In therefore follows that for the country to achieve sustainable growth the issue of income inequality must be addressed.
There are a number of social science principles that are associated with the issue of income inequality. One such principle is social justice, which stipulates that every member of society deserves equal social, economic and political rights and opportunities. At the heart of the principle of social justice is the concept of equity. Equity in this case refers to making the playing field equal for everyone. To achieve this equity takes into account the impact of discrimination and seeks to achieve an equal outcome. The other major social principle that applies to the issue of income inequality is human rights. Every human being has certain fundamental rights including the right to life, right to access basic necessities and the right to a dignified life. In fact the principles of social justice and human rights are intertwined because when a society is just it protects and upholds the human rights of every person.
As far as social justice is concerned, the continued income inequality in the US only serves to undermine it