Bryce Ward

10/28/14

Edmodo Seminar Reflection

Although America was founded on an idea of individual prosperity, it was also founded
on equality and an idea of shared resources. Both are important values and a balance should be
forged between the two to create an efficient system where everyone has equal opportunity to
thrive.
To believe there is no solution to our economic state is to allow yourself to stay trapped
in the beliefs of a drowning and depressed economy. I value the freedom we have as Americans
to sink or swim economically and to go as far as your abilities take you, but I also think that
when a few individuals thrive it can push others below them so that no one else can climb the
wealth ladder. Ellen posted a political cartoon depicting government officials riding in the back
pocket of the wealthy 1%, and theyre telling the 99% that the ladder to climb to the top is
broken. This really illustrates the concept that when a small percentage of people become
drastically wealthier than the rest of the population it makes it very difficult for anyone else to
rise to their level. This is where I draw the line and decree the economic system unjust. When
this happens I believe its appropriate for the government to interfere.
A possible solution Ive considered is based off ideas from this resource on money
bringing happiness posted to Edmodo. Ive heard of studies that measure peoples happiness
compared to the amount of money they possess, and Ive heard that to a small degree money
does improve happiness a little, but that at a certain point it peaks and flatlines. I think if further
studies were conducted it would be possible to determine an average amount of money where
people have the highest levels of happiness based solely on income. Then once individuals reach
around that amount of money the government can interfere and disperse additional wealth, by
either taxing the individual more, or dispersing the money amongst the public. If we could make
a system like this work than the wealthy can still be wealthy, but the middle and lower class can
have a little extra money. In the movie we watched in class, he talked about how the cost of
living has increased, while wages have not, so this system could help tip the scales, boosting the
economy for the middle class and keeping the economic system from collapsing.
A just economic system is possible for humans, and for our nation. It may not be
possible at the moment, but I believe that we can progress towards a more just economic system.
The solution I suggested may not be reasonable considering where we are economically
currently, but eventually a system like that might be possible. Other nations in the world have
economic systems that are more just than ours, so it is possible. The US is somewhere around
like 30+ percent of people born into low-income families cannot get out of that class, but other
nations, including England, have much lower rates of poverty bound people. That is evidence of
nations with more just economies than we have in the US.

Sources:
"The 3 Reasons Money Brings Satisfaction But Not Happiness." PsyBlog RSS. N.p., n.d. Web.
28 Oct. 2014. <http://www.spring.org.uk/2008/04/3-reasons-money-brings-satisfaction-but.php>.