This Youtube video explains the rising levels of poverty and wealth inequality in the United States through various graphs, data, and statistics. Child hunger, homelessness, and extreme poverty are reaching unprecedented levels as the country witnesses the greatest wealth transfer in its history (Epic Economist, 2022). The three richest Americans now own 250 billion USD, approximately the same amount of combined wealth as the bottom 50 percent of the country (Epic Economist, 2022). While the exact data is still disconcerting, most Americans would be completely unsurprised by the rising levels of income inequality in the United States.
These figures illustrate the failures of neoliberalism and trickle-down economics. Politicians such as Thatcher and Reagan cut tax rates for corporations and high-income earners in the belief that their wealth would “trickle down” to everyone else in the 1980s (Kenton, 2021). However, this video shows that it has only led to the wages of the top 1% increasing by 160% since 1979, compared to the wages for the bottom shrinking relative to the rate of inflation (Epic Economist). Most jobs pay today pay unlivable wages, and with the increase in the cost of living and housing prices, people simply have no incentive to work. The root of the current labor shortage is economics, not “millennial laziness.”
The only way to combat these issues is to impose a minimum wage and higher taxes on the ultra-rich. Firstly, even the salary for a minimum-wage job should be enough to provide a person with adequate housing and food. Millions of people would be lifted out of poverty if the federal minimum wage was set to at least 30 dollars per hour. Secondly, the richest Americans should be taxed more so the government can provide social safety nets for the working poor. The additional tax revenue should be invested in childcare, high-quality public education, and universal medical insurance. Wealth inequality is a disturbing issue that needs to be at the forefront of policy reform.
References
Epic Economist. (2022).25 facts about the explosive growth of poverty in America that will blow your mind[Video]. Youtube.
Kenton, W. (2021). Trickle-down theory. Investopedia.