OBrien1

HunterOBrien
RyanneReddick
Mr.Gross
English12B(3)
6May2016
TheNegativeImpactsofEconomicInequality
Nohardworkingparentdeservestoliveinaworldknowinghisorherchildrenwill
alwaysbeboundtopoverty.Economicinequalitycreatesanimbalancedsociety,soitmustbe
eliminated.Familieslivinginpovertyreceivealackofeducationalopportunitiesasaresultof
classdiscrepancy.Economicinequalityresultsindeviance,whichinturnresultsingreater
economicdisparity.SupportersofEmileDurkheimssocialtheoryofstructuralfunctionalism
claimeconomicinequalityservesapurposeandmustnotberemovedfromsociety.However,
KarlMarxssocialconflicttheoryproveseconomicinequalityistheresultoftheexploitationof
theworkingclassandisthusanegativeaspectoftheUnitedStatesmoderncapitalistsociety.
Furthermore,sexismandracismprevailintheAmericansocietybecauseofthegenderandracial
wagegaps.Thesolutionistoeradicateincomeinequalitybycreatingequalwagesforall,
regardlessofsex,race,orclass.EconomicinequalitymustbeeliminatedbeforetheUnitedStates
ofAmericacanbecometrulyequal.
Duetoeconomicinequality,thereisalackofeducationalopportunitiesforfamilieswho
liveinpoverty.TheAmericaneconomyisobviouslyandindisputablyunequal,asprovenbythe
FederalReservesSurveyofConsumerFinances.The2013surveyexplainedhouseholdwealth
distributionwassounequalthatthetopthreepercentofAmericansheld54.4percentofthe


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countryshouseholdwealth.Thisismorethandoublethewealthofthepoorestninetypercentof
familieslivinginAmerica("WealthInequality"1).Theindicatednumberhasconsistentlygrown
overdecadesofthesesurveys,provingthelackofsocialmobilityintheUnitedStates.Social
mobilityisthestatusmovementofindividualsorgroups,eitherupwardordownward,overtime.
Acollegedegreeisoneofthemaindeterminantsofsocialmobility,asitallowsforhighersalary
careersandabroaderrangeofjobopportunities(Chambliss159).Asaresultoftheabsenceof
socialmobility,childrenwhoareraisedin
lowerincomehouseholdsarenotableto
receivethesameeducationalopportunitiesas
theirwealthierstudentcounterparts.The
poorerchildrenarelesslikelytomoveoutof
theirloweconomicclass,ormore
specifically,incomequartile,asfortypercent
ofAmericansbornintothebottomeconomicquartilewillremainthereasadults("UpperBound"
1).Asthewealthdisparitycontinuestoincreasebetweentheupperandlowerclasses,agrowing
numberofstudentsareencounteringthedifficultyofbeingabletoaffordapropereducation
(Chambliss308).In2010,wealthystudentsoutpopulatedpoorerstudentsbyaratiooffourteen
tooneinthemostcompetitivepostsecondaryeducationinstitutionsintheUnitedStates.Figure
Aillustratestheincreasinggapinenrichmentexpendituresbetweenthebottomandtopquartile,
asthebarsrepresentingdollarsspentoneducationaredramaticallyhigherforricherfamilies
thanpoorerfamilies(Greenstone1).Theunequaleducationdistributionbetweeneconomic
classesisadirectresultofeconomicdisparity,anditcausesaneverincreasingpaucityofsocial


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mobility,whichfurtherincreasesthedisparity.Untileverypersonisabletoreceivethesame
educationalopportunities,thesignificantclassvariationwillremain.Economicinequalitymust
beeliminatedforeverystudenttobegivenequalopportunitiesineducation.
EconomicinequalitymustberemovedfromtheAmericansocietytolowerthe
occurrenceofdeviance.Devianceandeconomicinequalityshareadirectlyconverse
relationship,aseconomicdisparityresultsindevianceand,astheconverseisalsotrue,deviance
resultsineconomicdisparity.Thisrelationshipisexplainedwithboththeclassdominanttheory
andthelabelingtheoryofdeviance.Theformerexplainsthatactsandpunishmentsofdeviance
aredefinedbythedominantclass,whichoftenresultsinharshlabelingofdevianceinlower
classes,andthelatterfurtherdescribeshowdeviantlabelsarealsotheresultofhowsocieties
viewtheseacts(Chambliss137140).Thefactitiousnessofthesetwotheorieswereprovenwhen
sociologistWilliamJ.Chamblissconductedastudyin2001ontwogangsofteenageboys.He
namedonegangtheSaintsandtheothergangtheRoughnecksandobservedtheimpactsof
theiractionsonsocietyaswellassocietysimpactsontheiractions.TheSaintsconsistedof
eightmembers,allofwhomwerefromstable,uppermiddleclasswhitefamilies,whilethesix
Roughnecksgrewupinworkingclasswhitehouseholds.Thoughbothgroupscommitted
multiplecrimesthatwereharmfultotheircommunity,suchasvandalism,underageddrinking,or
fighting,theSaintswereabletousevehiclestoeasilyengageindevianceoutsideofthegeneral
populationofthecommunity.TheRoughnecks,ontheotherhand,lackedtheluxuryof
automobiles,whichresultedintheircrimesbeingcommittedinoftencrowdedoropenareaswith
numerouswitnesses.Furthermore,whenevertheSaintswerecaught,theyactedremorsefuland
respectful,sothecommunityignoredtheirbehaviorsandcategorizedthemundersimpleteenage


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angst.Meanwhile,theRoughnecksweretypicallyscornfuloftheauthoritieswhocaughtthem,
andthecommunitytreatedtheseteenagersasiftheywereyoungcriminalsdestinedtobecome
felons.Asaresultofthelabelsgiventothetwodifferentgroupsbysociety,theSaintsgrewinto
wealthycollegegraduateswhileanumberoftheRoughnecksbecamethefelonstheywere
expectedtobecome(Chambliss141142).Chamblisssstudyprovestheclassdominanttheory
ofdeviancebecauseitobservedhowdeviancecauseseconomicinequality,astheyoungmen
grewuponlytoremaininthesameclassesthatresultedinhowtheirdeviancewastreated,
meaningtheirwealthwouldremainthefactorsoftheirpunishments.Thestudyalsoprovesthe
labelingtheoryofdeviancebecauseitanalyzedhoweconomicinequalitycausesdeviance,asthe
labelsthatledtofuturecrimesweretheresultofthewealthdisparitybetweenthetwogangs
(Chambliss140142).Todecreasebothdevianceandclassdisparity,economicinequalitymust
beeliminated.
Functionalistsupportersbelieveeconomicinequalityservesapurposeandtherefore,
mustnotbeeliminated.SociologistEmileDurkheimformedthesocialtheoryofstructural
functionalism,whichseekstodescribehoweveryseparateaspectofsocietyservesafunctional
purposetomakethesocietyrunasonecohesivebody(
Best
4).Asaresult,thefunctionalist
perspectiveviewseconomicinequalityinthecapitalistclasshierarchyasservingthepurposeof
ensuringthemosttalentedpeopleundergothepropereducationandtrainingtoperformthemost
functionaljobs.Thisissummarizedbytheconceptofmeritocracy,orasocietywheretalentsand
individualeffortsarethefoundationsofpersonalsuccess(Chambliss172).Functionalist
supportersalsoviewthepurposeofpovertyasproducingthepeoplewhoaredestinedtofulfill
theundesirable,lowerclass,unskilledlaborwork,claimingthisisthemostfunctionalstructure


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forthetypicalAmericansociety(Chambliss173).However,theirbeliefthatpovertyisagood,
purposefulfunctiontosocietyiswrong.KarlMarxssocialconflicttheoryproveseconomic
inequalityistheresultoftheexploitationoftheworkingclass,and,therefore,isanegative
aspectofAmericasmoderncapitalistsociety.Marxssocialtheoryisbasedontheideathat
classdivisionsdirectlyresultinconflictbecauseeconomicsshapepeopleandsociety.Thisclass
conflictistermedthelabourtheoryofvalue,whichmorespecificallyisdefinedasthetheory
wheretheupperclassbourgeoisiewillexploittheworkinglowerclassproletariattofurtherthe
economicstatusofthebourgeoisie(
Best
12).Asadirecteffectofthisexploitation,the
upperclasswilladvancetheirownlives,theirchildrensfutures,andtheireconomicstanding
withnoconsiderationofhowitisonlypossibletodosobyabusingtheirpowerovertheirpoor,
workingclasscounterparts(Chambliss175).Economicinequalityisinnowayfunctionalto
society,becauseitonlybenefitsthebourgeoisie,thoselivinginwealth,whileharmingthe
proletariat,thoselivinginpoverty,aswellasharmingsocietyasawhole.Economicinequality
mustbeeliminatedtodestroythisexploitation.
Thegenderandracialwagegapscontributetothesexistandracistdiscriminationsin
society.Thereremainsaconstantdisparity
betweenthepayofwhitemenandthepay
ofwomenandminorities.InAmerica,as
of2014,therewasatwentyonepercent
genderwagegap,whereforeverydollara
whitemaleearned,awhitefemaleearned
seventyninecentsforthesamework


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("PayEquity&Discrimination"1).FigureBprovesthatfurtherinequalityremainswiththe
racialwagegap,because,asof2013,foreveryonehundredpercentoftheearningsofwhite
men,blackmenearnedseventyfivepercent,Hispanicmenearnedsixtysevenpercent,black
womenearnedsixtyfourpercent,andHispanicwomenearnedfiftyfourpercent("TheWage
Gap,byGenderandRace"1).Furthermore,4.9millionNativeAmericansliveintheUnited
States,yetsixtypercentofthemareamongstthemostimpoverishedcitizensinAmerica,with
morethanhalfoftheirchildrenbeingbornintopoverty(Chambliss217).ThoughAsian
AmericansandArabAmericansmaintainhighersuccessesineducationandincomecomparedto
thegeneralAmericanpopulation,theyareoftendiscriminatedagainstfortheirrace,asareevery
otherminorityracialgroupandthefemalepopulation.Approximately110,000Japanese
Americanswereforcedintointernmentcampsbecauseofthegovernmentsracistparanoia
duringWorldWarII,andArabAmericanshavebeenconsistentlystereotypedasbeingterrorists
followingtheterroristattackinNewYorkonSeptember11,2001(Chambliss222223).The
genderwagegapbetweenmenandwomenandtheracialwagegapbetweenthewhitepopulation
andminoritiesprovesexismandracismexistasadirectandnegativeresultofeconomic
inequality.
Economicinequalitywillbeeliminatedwheneverypersoninagivenbusinessearnsthe
sameincome.EntrepreneurandCEOofGravityPaymentsDanPriceprovedthepositiveimpacts
ofthistheorywhenhepromisedeverysingleemployeeofhiscompanyaminimumannualsalary
of$70,000.Hisannouncementreceivedastandingovationfromhisemployees,andPricelater
explainedthathemadethedecisionafterreviewingaPrincetonstudydescribinghowemotional
wellbeingincreaseswithincome.DanPricesunprecedenteddecisionrequiredhimtolowerhis


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ownsalarytothesame$70,000aswell,tobothhelpcoverthecostdifferencesofthehigher
employeewagesandencouragegreaterincomeequality.NotonlydidPriceschoicetoincrease
hisworkerssalaryassistinalleviatingeconomicinequalitybyreducinghiscompanysincome
inequalityandraisinghisemployeeseconomicstatus,butitalsoresultedingreaterworkforce
interest.InasingledayfollowingPricesannouncement,GravityPaymentsreceived535new
resumesforjobapplications("SeattleBossExplains$70,000MinimumWage"1).Pricesbasis
thathigherwagesincreaseemployeeperformanceisdirectlysupportedbyastudyconductedby
theprofessorofeconomicsatMonmouthUniversityinWestLongBranch,NewJersey,Steven
Pressman.Theultimatumgame,oneofProfessorPressmansnotableexperiments,examinedtwo
subjects,oneofwhomhadtoproposeanydivisionofasumofmoneytotheotherwhohadto
eitheracceptthedivisionasisorrejectitandcausebothsubjectstoleavewithnomoney.The
peopleintheexperimentoftenrejectedthemoneyiftheproposedamountwasunfair,which
provedhowproductivityandefficiencyintheworkplacedecreasesaseconomicdisparity
increases.Employeesarelesslikelytoacceptandworkforwagesiftheirsalariesare
significantlyunequalfromtheirbossesoremployeecounterparts(Bernasek1).Thereductionof
incomeinequalityatGravityPaymentsallowsforgreaterjobincentive,higheremployee
standardsofliving,andincreasedclassequalitywithoutdiscriminationofsexorrace.Though
decreasingincomeinequalityisalargeandtimelyprocess,givenachiefexecutivein2014made
anestimated257timesmoremoneythantheaverageworkerssalaryandthoseexecutivesare
notkeenonloweringtheirownsalaries,itisanecessaryprocessthatbeganwithDanPrices
decisiontoraiseeveryemployeesminimumsalaryto$70,000(Chambliss160).Economic
inequalitycanonlybeeliminatedwhenincomeinequalitybecomesobsolete.


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Intodayssociety,thegapbetweentherichandpoorcontinuestogrowatadrasticrate.
Economicinequalitymustbeeliminatedbecauseitcreatesanimbalancedsociety.Duetothis
disparity,thereisalackofeducationalopportunitiesforfamilieslivinginpoverty.Additionally,
economicinequalityincreasesduetothedeviancethatescalatesfromeconomicdisparity.
Functionalistsupportersmaybelieveeconomicinequalitymustnotbeeliminatedbecausethey
claimitservesapurpose.Thesocialconflicttheorydisprovestheirclaimsbyprovingthe
exploitationoftheworkingclassisthecauseofeconomicinequality,sothedisparityisnot
beneficialtotheAmericansociety.Furthermore,sexualandracialdiscriminationintheUnited
Statesremainseverprominentbecauseofthegenderandracialwagegaps.Thesolutionto
diminisheconomicinequalityistoprovideequalwagesforeveryperson,withnobiasonclass,
race,orsex.EconomicinequalitymustbeeliminatedtoensureAmericacanbecometrulyequal.


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