Preview

Too Much Money Is a Bad Thing?

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
796 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Too Much Money Is a Bad Thing?
Money is the economic fuel upon which our world runs, but human nature inevitably exploits it for personal gain at the expense of others. Without a standardized monetary system, society today as we know it could not exist. A catch-22 of any social or financial system is that inevitably a handful of individuals will gain too much control. Conversely, a system in which the individual is not free to gain wealth/control as he pleases also leads to the same end result. In our 21st century North American society, the power balance is such that the money lenders have dominated the power market. The gap between the rich and poor is growing, and fast. The richest members of society have become so powerful that they can simply buy the legislations they want, in most cases. Capitalism is sold to the public as the system in which you are free to achieve your own goals, on your own terms, but because capitalism requires a central bank to print the currency, a nucleus of control is created. The power/money distributors then use their influence to rig the game in their favor. Eventually, massive cartels form, such as the Houses of Rothschild, Rockefeller, and Morgan.

One of the most obvious sign of this escalating disparity is the lowering of non-upper-class standards of living. In the United States, the top 20% of income earners control 93% of the wealth (2010). The next 20% of income earners, the middle class controls just 6%, with the remaining 60% of income earners, the lower class, controlling just 1%. What happens when the economy takes another turn for the worse, and the upper class moves to protect its investments with layoffs, or send manufacturing jobs overseas? People are willing to work for less pay because there is less work, and the lower classes are forced to acquiesce to the upper classes' economic strategies. Economists are predicting an eventual "phasing out" of the middle class, creating a modern feudal system in which the majority of the populace is in

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    I Love Being Poor

    • 1017 Words
    • 5 Pages

    So let’s begin with the simplest question first. What is the difference between the rich, the middle class, and the poor? The vague answer would simply be the amount of money they own or make. In all honesty the obvious explanation is the work ethic and the experience. For example poor people most likely won’t have the opportunity to do things that people with more money will be able to do. Therefore they won’t have enough/the same experience. In result they won’t qualify for high paying jobs. As far as their work ethic some poor people have very good work ethic and others don’t. For the simple fact that some poor people don’t like how they live and are determined to “get out of the hood.” While other poor people just accept that being poor is their life.…

    • 1017 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    It is an undeniable and essential fact of life that our society is controlled by money. Those who…

    • 1488 Words
    • 1 Page
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ever since an early human decided to give intrinsic value to a bushel of wheat for trade, money has been a quintessential part of human culture. As time has gone on, a flaw in this system has become apparent: some people have lots of money while others have very little. Today, this very flaw is the basis of a large portion of today’s issues, like corruption or poverty.…

    • 1142 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The exponentially growing gap that separates the affluent from the rest of society in America has become a truly daunting statistic. According to data collected by the IRS, the World Top Economics Database asserted that in 2010, the top .01%, which calculates into one in 10,000 people, held a 4.6% share of that year’s income. The average income of $24 million per individual in the top .01% is $23,970,000 more than the average income of the bottom 90%, which is $30,000. In the subsequent parts of this paper I aim to analyze the grounds of extreme income inequality as well as the severity of the consequences that it has on the economy and the American people.…

    • 508 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    In today’s capitalist economy, where economic transactions and business in general is centered on self-interest, there is a natural tendency for some people to make more than others. That is the basis for the “American Dream,” where people, if they worked hard, could make money proportional to their effort. However, what happens when this natural occurrence grows disproportional in its allocation of wealth within a society? The resulting issue becomes income inequality. Where a small portion of the population, own the majority of the wealth and the majority of the population own only a fraction of what the rich own. This prominent issue has always been the subject of social tension from even before the French Revolution and spawns numerous other social issues in a society. In the more recent Occupy Movement, beginning in 2011, protesters used income inequality as a motive. Moreover, they were justified in doing so. In a 2010 statistic, it was revealed that the top 1% of America, own 35% of the wealth while the lower 80%, over the majority of the population, only have 11% of the nation’s wealth distributed between them. Financially the situation is even worse where the bottom 80% own only 5% of the financial wealth and the top 1% own 42% of the Nation’s financial wealth. Not to say the top 1% didn’t work hard to get to where they are, but according to the ideals of the “American Dream,” the top 1% should have worked 243 times harder than the average, not the poorest, worker in America. This extreme of disproportional wealth distribution is not only a source of social conflict, but a catalyst for various other problems that exist.…

    • 1528 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the article “The Rich Are Different from You and Me,” author Chrystia Freeland explains the rising phenomenon of income inequality that is occurring between the richest top 10% and bottom 90% of the population. Chrystia Freeland states “In every society, some people are richer than others, but across time and geography, the gap between the rich and the rest has widely varied. The reality today is that the rich-especially the very, very rich- are vaulting ahead of everyone else” (51). Between the years of 2002 and 2007, income statistics show that the gap between the richest 10% and the bottom 90% of the population had significantly increased. Statistics also show that by 2007, approximately 35% of the wealth was maintained by the top 10%, leaving about 27% of wealth to the bottom 90% of the population. This is about an 8% gap in between. The last time income inequality was this high was in the 1920’s, but back then only 20% of wealth was gained from work. Today the top 10% gains at least 60% of their wealth from work, rather than inheritance. As economies throughout the world mature, income inequality will continue to rise. The gap between the rich and all others is primarily found in United States. Other countries such as Canada, China, and the United Kingdom are beginning to see income inequality as well. Freeland also states that “These global super- rich work and play together” (52). They share common interests such as business traveling, and vacationing around the world. Due to the common interests shared by others most like themselves, they have become separated from all others within the population, and have formed their own world governed by plutocracy. Author Chrystia Freeland is concerned that because the rich are so caught up in their world of wealth that they will not recognize that other…

    • 385 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The middle class is kind of staying where they are but are still going down economically. This is because of machinery, which is replacing workers, lower salaries because of the increased social security the government is taking out for the retired, and competition from immigrants who are looking for a job. The upper class is doing well and rising above everyone else because they are the ones who are thinking about selling their ideas to foreign countries who couldn’t think of them on their own. The upper class consists of engineers and architects who are in charge of designing and building the major structures for transportation and living. It is because of this that they are earning greater salaries and are getting richer than the middle and lower classes. Reich talks about how these things are…

    • 499 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Class in America

    • 570 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Reality 2: The middle class in the United States hold a very small share of the nation's wealth and that share is declining steadily. The gap between rich and poor and between rich and the middle class is larger than it has even been.…

    • 570 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    inequality for all

    • 879 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In the Documentary Inequality for All, scholar Robert Reich dissects the staggering facts on an unequal distribution of wealth between classes and its shattering effects on the American economy. He focuses on the fact that our middle class, which makes up 70% of our economy, is being kept on a tight leash from the wealthy that only make up the miniscule 1% of society, making the same amount of income as half of the country. He begins explaining how In the late 1970s inequality became a prominent issue, not necessarily on a declining economy, in contrast he clarifies that the GDP (gross domestic product) kept on increasing. The problem arises from the unparalleled income of the American workforce compared to the increasing prices of health care, housing, college and everyday costs of living. As expenditures increased for American households so should of workers wages, but instead many dropped or remained the same throughout the economic boom and even until now in our current date. This “huge gap” as Reich describes, between wages and rising economy became a problematic concern to all Americans constituting the middle class.…

    • 879 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    A recent study done by Marco Cagetti of the Chicago Fed, illustrates that among members of the Organization For Economic Co-operation and Development, otherwise known as the OECD, the United States holds the most uneven distribution of income and wealth. A disproportionate spread of wealth is an issue citizens of the United States understand very well as this issue has made headlines and gained notoriety recently with the Occupy Wall Street movement. A certain economist, Joseph Reich, discusses the causes and effects of this uneven distribution of wealth in America as early as 1991 in his essay “Why the Rich are Getting Richer and the Poor, Poorer.” Reich’s essay was not only relevant when written over a decade ago, but also remains pertinent to the current economic status of America today. To portray the relationship between the rich as they continued to gain wealth and the poor as they continue to decline economically, Reich utilizes a metaphor of three different boats rising and sinking with the tide.…

    • 1475 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hard Working Stereotypes

    • 1969 Words
    • 8 Pages

    In the book ‘America’s Poor and the Great Recession’ by Kristin S. Seefeldt and John D. Graham, the reasoning that in a post-recession world, having two sections of an extreme poor and an extreme rich are becoming commonplace. The book talked about how the recession was just a reaction to how much power the 1% are getting, and how their recklessness caused an economic crisis America hadn’t seen since the 1930’s. In conclusion, the authors came to the answer that not only is becoming easier to fall into the hole of poverty, it’s becoming harder to climb out, and all because of the higher-ups. It may be because the middle class are afraid to fall into the hole of poverty themselves, and the myth makes them more comfortable, knowing that they are not “lazy”, or “undereducated”. The upper class, on the other hand, might be trying to deflect the blame. “It’s not OUR fault!”, they…

    • 1969 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Economically, the middle and lower class are treated inequal to the upper class. This will lead to the middle and lower class, which is 80% of the United States population, revolting against the United States government. Several studies clearly illustrate that the upper class receives 29% or higher of the wealth in America and the lower and middle…

    • 680 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Quintile Income Inequality

    • 1654 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Income inequality is often associated with negative things such as decreased quality of life and a lack of social mobility. Yet, the lower classes are receiving less and less of the United States’ overall income while the top earners' share is increasing. Why? This paper will explore causes of the growing income inequality as well as possible solutions to slowing it down.…

    • 1654 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer at a staggering rate. Once upon a time, the United States had the largest and most prosperous middle class in the history of the world, but now that is changing at a…

    • 1127 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There can be different views on what people think about the subject of economic inequality. Some people think it definitely exists in this country and it is unfair. There are also people who think that there are inequalities and that is not something to be alarmed about. They think that it’s an exaggerated notion. What is economic inequality? It is when different people have different levels of income or wealth in a society. Now you may not think there is a problem with this by definition because that is technically saying that if I make a dollar more that you do in a year then there is inequality. The problem that some people argue with economic inequality is when the differences between the wealthy and the working class are so large that economic and political power becomes somewhat concentrated in the hands of a minority who then extend the unequal income distribution by…

    • 1043 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays