Fire paper project
We are in a time where we are about to reach 7 billion people on earth which is an outstandingly large amount of people. In this world the top 1% or the elite is built up out of a group of 497 individuals (Ken Boettcher “capitalism must be overthrown”). The distribution of wealth is clearly lob sided if such a small group of people compared to the world’s population can hold so much wealth. The inequality of distribution of wealth leads to many affect which are a major injustice in the world.
The unequal distribution of wealth has allowed for the top 1% percent to exist. The top 1% consists of only the wealthiest people on earth. It has been recorded that the top 497 of the wealthiest people on earth hold more than the combined incomes of the poorest half of the world (Ken Boettcher “capitalism must be overthrown”). This is an injustice because how is it possible for such a small group of individuals to own so much wealth. Compared to the population on earth it is ridiculous that these people can own the combined incomes of 3.5 billion people.
The way that this group continues to be so dominant is because the wealth always flows through them. It is if they are in a cycle of wealth compared to the cycle of poverty. The first way that these individuals keep the wealth on their side is by exploiting workers. Company owners can have thousands of people working for them for low income wages but be selling the product the workers make for up to ten times the amount of their wage. This means more profit for them and they keep their dominant status in the world, but there is also the other side of this and the effects of exploitation. Many of these workers are exploited in many different ways it can be in sweatshops, by child labor, by no insurance and just plainly non-working conditions. It is cheaper for a company owner to provide the bare minimum for their workers and often this is what is done, to increase their profits. It is hard to stand up to these top 1% because they hold so much power with all this money on their hands do to the inequality distribution of wealth.
Having this power of holding so much wealth also affects countries. The top 1% of the elite who hold their power because they can threaten people, cities, states and even countries by removing their business from them. For these reasons countries has given big companies tax cuts, so that big companies will stay interested in keeping their business there. Countries feel obligated to keep these companies here because even though they exploit workers they still provide some type of job which people need. The Chicago Tribune writes after the states corporate tax increase, about 10 companies threaten to leave Illinois or complain about the tax increase. This is unreasonable because they already make so much profit them being able to threaten to leave just makes them even more stringer and dangerous because the workers feel like they cannot stand up for themselves or they will lose their jobs.
Also these big companies give big contributions to campaigns so that once the officials win they will help the companies out. It’s kind of like scratch my back ill scratch your type of deal and this is happening all the time. One way that this is able to happen is through super PACs. These are newly established as of 2010 which allow for individuals and corporations to give an unlimited amount of money to political candidates (http://www.opensecrets. -org/pacs/superpacs.php). This is another way for big corporations to stay in the cycle of wealth because they are able to influence the decision of political candidates to curve things so that they can keep getting profits. An example of this can me like tax cuts or loopholes which continues to keep the inequality of distribution of wealth.
This is when competition to exploitation begins which can also be called the race to the bottom begins. Nothing is better for the top 1% or company owners when workers are willing to work for less to get a job. This is also an injustice because workers are going against their morals and putting their dignity a side to compete to have a job and support for their families. For example if I am working for 8 dollars an hour but someone else is willing to work for 7 dollars an hour it is more likely that the person willing to work for 7 dollars will get the job. This race to the bottom continues to go on until the wage is so low that it cannot even be considered a living wage. While big companies continue to get tax cuts and loopholes to earn more profit. It is almost as if we are in some sort of class war and it is the rich against everyone else (Real World Micro).
This leads to the increase in the gap between the rich and the poor. It seems as if the rich keep getting richer while the poor get even poorer. This happens because the poor are stuck in the cycle of poverty. The cycle of poverty will not allow individuals to succeed because they work to survive. Workers often do not have a living wage and for this reason have to manage their priorities (http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc1/WagesandWorkingConditions.html). This is an injustice because people with poor living wages have to think about what they can afford a specific week, while the wealthy have enough money to take month long vacations. The workers have to live on the bare minimum to be able to survive. They do not have the luxury of going out to eat at fancy restaurants or even saving up money, everything the earn they need to continue living. Which some might argue that their not really living life if they are being exploited and don’t have certain luxuries that allows them to be free. These working conditions really are like a new way of enslaving people because they need to work to survive and put up with the exploitation to have a job. An individual cannot get themselves out of the cycle of poverty with the distribution of wealth we have in the world.
This type of distribution of wealth can hurt a lot of people specially people in third world countries. We are entering an era of globalization were everything usually comes from other countries and no one is really benefiting from it. In this type of era globalization is run by capitalism because of world trade organizations and the World Bank. Even though these organizations are put there to help out developing countries they actually just empowered the rich more. These organizations open up business with third world countries which declines the economy from these countries because foreign business come to third world countries to exploit their workers and take the money back home instead of investing it back into the country. This is what organizations like the WTO allow to happen and this is how these organizations also allow for the rich to continue in the cycle of wealth while crushing everyone else.
Globalization can be a real harm to a lot of people because an individual doesn’t just have to worry about competing with someone for a job he now has to compete worldwide for this same job. This is another effect which empowers the rich like no other power because corporations find markets were they make as much profit is they want by not paying taxes and playing the race to the bottom with workers which only benefits them.
The major inequality in distribution of wealth leads to many effects in the world which do not benefit many. The tension between the haves and have-nots (Thomas Jefferson) is a factor in society. Society is now always comparing what they do not have instead of seeing what they already have. This is a competitive tension which tries to justify the reason why individuals are greedy and only care about themselves. This all happens because people always want more and more and our system of economy allow for that to happen. Capitalism allows for people to be competitive and stomp all over other individuals. This tension can be traced back to the brain and reasons why people steal. For example is it an injustice that people steal or is it a bigger injustice that has individuals stealing to be able to survive on earth. This type of thinking can be traced to that though of wanting stuff and another example of this is white collar crimes. These people are already rich but they still steal to make even bigger profits. This is just the inequality distribution of wealth and some of the effects it can have.
The unequal distribution of wealth has allowed for the top 1% percent to exist. The top 1% consists of only the wealthiest people on earth. It has been recorded that the top 497 of the wealthiest people on earth hold more than the combined incomes of the poorest half of the world (Ken Boettcher “capitalism must be overthrown”). This is an injustice because how is it possible for such a small group of individuals to own so much wealth. Compared to the population on earth it is ridiculous that these people can own the combined incomes of 3.5 billion people.
The way that this group continues to be so dominant is because the wealth always flows through them. It is if they are in a cycle of wealth compared to the cycle of poverty. The first way that these individuals keep the wealth on their side is by exploiting workers. Company owners can have thousands of people working for them for low income wages but be selling the product the workers make for up to ten times the amount of their wage. This means more profit for them and they keep their dominant status in the world, but there is also the other side of this and the effects of exploitation. Many of these workers are exploited in many different ways it can be in sweatshops, by child labor, by no insurance and just plainly non-working conditions. It is cheaper for a company owner to provide the bare minimum for their workers and often this is what is done, to increase their profits. It is hard to stand up to these top 1% because they hold so much power with all this money on their hands do to the inequality distribution of wealth.
Having this power of holding so much wealth also affects countries. The top 1% of the elite who hold their power because they can threaten people, cities, states and even countries by removing their business from them. For these reasons countries has given big companies tax cuts, so that big companies will stay interested in keeping their business there. Countries feel obligated to keep these companies here because even though they exploit workers they still provide some type of job which people need. The Chicago Tribune writes after the states corporate tax increase, about 10 companies threaten to leave Illinois or complain about the tax increase. This is unreasonable because they already make so much profit them being able to threaten to leave just makes them even more stringer and dangerous because the workers feel like they cannot stand up for themselves or they will lose their jobs.
Also these big companies give big contributions to campaigns so that once the officials win they will help the companies out. It’s kind of like scratch my back ill scratch your type of deal and this is happening all the time. One way that this is able to happen is through super PACs. These are newly established as of 2010 which allow for individuals and corporations to give an unlimited amount of money to political candidates (http://www.opensecrets. -org/pacs/superpacs.php). This is another way for big corporations to stay in the cycle of wealth because they are able to influence the decision of political candidates to curve things so that they can keep getting profits. An example of this can me like tax cuts or loopholes which continues to keep the inequality of distribution of wealth.
This is when competition to exploitation begins which can also be called the race to the bottom begins. Nothing is better for the top 1% or company owners when workers are willing to work for less to get a job. This is also an injustice because workers are going against their morals and putting their dignity a side to compete to have a job and support for their families. For example if I am working for 8 dollars an hour but someone else is willing to work for 7 dollars an hour it is more likely that the person willing to work for 7 dollars will get the job. This race to the bottom continues to go on until the wage is so low that it cannot even be considered a living wage. While big companies continue to get tax cuts and loopholes to earn more profit. It is almost as if we are in some sort of class war and it is the rich against everyone else (Real World Micro).
This leads to the increase in the gap between the rich and the poor. It seems as if the rich keep getting richer while the poor get even poorer. This happens because the poor are stuck in the cycle of poverty. The cycle of poverty will not allow individuals to succeed because they work to survive. Workers often do not have a living wage and for this reason have to manage their priorities (http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc1/WagesandWorkingConditions.html). This is an injustice because people with poor living wages have to think about what they can afford a specific week, while the wealthy have enough money to take month long vacations. The workers have to live on the bare minimum to be able to survive. They do not have the luxury of going out to eat at fancy restaurants or even saving up money, everything the earn they need to continue living. Which some might argue that their not really living life if they are being exploited and don’t have certain luxuries that allows them to be free. These working conditions really are like a new way of enslaving people because they need to work to survive and put up with the exploitation to have a job. An individual cannot get themselves out of the cycle of poverty with the distribution of wealth we have in the world.
This type of distribution of wealth can hurt a lot of people specially people in third world countries. We are entering an era of globalization were everything usually comes from other countries and no one is really benefiting from it. In this type of era globalization is run by capitalism because of world trade organizations and the World Bank. Even though these organizations are put there to help out developing countries they actually just empowered the rich more. These organizations open up business with third world countries which declines the economy from these countries because foreign business come to third world countries to exploit their workers and take the money back home instead of investing it back into the country. This is what organizations like the WTO allow to happen and this is how these organizations also allow for the rich to continue in the cycle of wealth while crushing everyone else.
Globalization can be a real harm to a lot of people because an individual doesn’t just have to worry about competing with someone for a job he now has to compete worldwide for this same job. This is another effect which empowers the rich like no other power because corporations find markets were they make as much profit is they want by not paying taxes and playing the race to the bottom with workers which only benefits them.
The major inequality in distribution of wealth leads to many effects in the world which do not benefit many. The tension between the haves and have-nots (Thomas Jefferson) is a factor in society. Society is now always comparing what they do not have instead of seeing what they already have. This is a competitive tension which tries to justify the reason why individuals are greedy and only care about themselves. This all happens because people always want more and more and our system of economy allow for that to happen. Capitalism allows for people to be competitive and stomp all over other individuals. This tension can be traced back to the brain and reasons why people steal. For example is it an injustice that people steal or is it a bigger injustice that has individuals stealing to be able to survive on earth. This type of thinking can be traced to that though of wanting stuff and another example of this is white collar crimes. These people are already rich but they still steal to make even bigger profits. This is just the inequality distribution of wealth and some of the effects it can have.