Title
“The
goal to strive for is a poor government but a rich people.”
~Andrew Johnson, American President. 1808-1875
~Andrew Johnson, American President. 1808-1875
Intro
“It’s
no accident that we routinely refer to the wealthiest as the “top” and the
rest as the “bottom.” In English, good is up and bad is down…we say, “things
are looking up” and “she’s down in the dumps”...Calling certain folks upper
class implies they are worth more not just materially but also morally.” [1]
Thesis Statement
Saiz and Aguilar produce a
stirring opinion that the economic disparity is not just a societal crisis, but
a crisis of injustice of human rights. “Economic inequality is clearly a human
rights concern where it can be shown to be a cause or consequence of human
rights violations. The link between rising inequality and economic and social
rights abuses has come to the fore very clearly in the recent context of
austerity and recession in many countries.” (Saiz and Aguilar)
With that premise, I propose
four arguments to prove that our county should uplift its lower and middle
class out of poverty. Following are four reasons and methods for solving this
local and global issue.
Argument 1 (education)
Heather Munroe-Blum wrote this
to the Global Economic Symposium in 2009 “Education – primary, secondary and
tertiary – is perhaps the most critical means of improving the welfare of
disadvantaged populations....”. (Munroe-Blum)
Several qualifying reasons to
have an educated citizenry: Higher educated persons choose better lifestyle
habits. They are less likely to smoke cigarettes and eat fast food. Health care
savings are in the potential billions from cigarette related illness and fast
food related illness such as obesity and coronary problems.
Sakshi Jain presents a
succinct reason for education: “The main aim of education is to create a
rational personality that is free from the pre-conceived notions of prejudices,
superstitions and other evils that pertains in the society.” (Jain) Superstitions are an
inhibitor to a healthy lifestyle by their offering a lack of reasoning about
the world utilizing educated information. Prejudices too are a hindrance to our
society as well as morality in general; both of which either directly or indirectly
have an impact in economy. Races and genders which are prejudiced against are
in a lower income bracket and are less likely to have access to health care and
education.
Argument 2 (tax)
A
significant method of reducing the economic gap would be to take money from the
wealthiest 1% and distribute it back toward the remaining poorest members.
There is a growing consideration to do this with the use of a Progressive Tax.
Tejvan Pettinger explains succinctly what a progressive tax is, compared to what
we have now, which is proportional tax. “A progressive tax means that we take a
higher % of tax from those on high incomes (e.g. a 50% income tax rate for
income above £150,000).If everyone paid a flat rate of income tax of 20%, this
would be a proportional tax. “ (Pettinger)
In America, the poor and the
rich pay the same amount of tax in 43 of the 50 states. An average lower-class
citizen pays California’s income tax; the highest state income tax rate in the
nation: 13.3%. If one makes what KQED’s Matthew Green considers a living wage
of $25,677 (Green) that payment is
$3415.04 per year in income tax. That is either a barely-reliable car, or a
vital dental procedure. Heaven help you
if you need both that year. Compare that with an upper-class citizen’s
salary. An average of $300,000 a year. The upper class is paying $39,900 in
income tax a year. Though the percentage is the same, the noticeable difference
is so significant that it would not require one to consider what to afford;
health care or transportation.
Against (tax)
Not
everyone feels cutting the tax of the rich is a good idea. Fortune’s Jonathan
Chew reminds us that the Republican party’s presidential office holder would
hope to give a hefty tax cut to the very richest, and only slightly less
moderate tax cuts to the less grotesquely rich:
“An
analysis of Donald Trump’s tax plan by a research institute reveals two
interesting points: the U.S. government would get a lot poorer, and the wealthy
would get a lot richer.
In
the Tax Policy Center’s analysis of the Republican candidate’s proposal, the
institute said that Trump’s plan would reduce federal revenues by $9.5 trillion
over its first decade, and an additional $15.0 trillion over the next 10 years.
Including interest costs, the Center said, the proposal would add $11.2
trillion to the national debt by 2026.
To
put that into perspective, Trump’s tax plan would cause the debt to GDP ratio
to hit 180% by 2036, the Center found..” (Chew)
So
what if the rich retain the cuts and the middle and lower class eek out a bare
living? Under the tax reform, the poor will get a moderate $127 yearly tax cut.
It’s all in a day’s work for our POTUS, whose tarrifs have (supposedly)
contributed to the economy boom as well as lifting (pesky environmental)
regulations so big business can steamroll ahead in their profit-making
enterprises. Breitbart’s John Carney confidently reminds us that “the growth
generated by Trump’s economic policies are very nearly paying for the tax
cuts.” (Carney)
While
no mega-rich have enthusiastically taken to the streets in protest to this
issue, there is little doubt that they are well informed of the product of the
plan on our nation and the citizens whose blood oil the gears of industry to
keep the rich stocked with the pleasures to which they have become accustomed.
Argument 3 (medicade)
Many believe it is of
vital importance for our country to strengthen and maintain safety net programs such
as Medicaid. Health Affairs Patricia Gabow and Thomas Daschle published an
inspiring piece on the importance of Medicade, on the 50th
Anniversary of the program July of 2015.
Medicaid
covers “70 million people, almost half of the births in the U.S. and
approximately 40 percent of our nation’s children. If how children and their
families fare in our society influence the country’s future, then Medicaid is
critically important to the well-being of America. Not only is Medicaid the
country’s largest single source of health care coverage, but it is also a
principal provider of many essential services. There is a broad recognition
that providing meaningful mental health care not only helps people lead
productive lives, but impacts the daily functionality and safety of society.” (Gabow and
Daschle)
The argument of the safety of
our society is paramount to the productivity of our citizens and their ability
as efficient providers to selves and others. Stressors from every day wage
earning, child rearing while living below the poverty line is risk enough
without having to worry about family health illnesses which in many cases can
obliterate the savings of even a middle-class family. To a poorer family this
may mean the difference between life and death.
Argument 4 (living wage)
Werner and Ling in the Journal
of Business ethics reminds us that “Adam Smith…believed in paying all workers
at least what we would call today a LW because it would ultimately benefit
society in the form of increased productivity, wealth distribution and economic
growth.” (Werner and Lim)
A living wage is yet another
option to reduce the gap. A living wage differs from a minimum wage. Minimum
wage is the lowest legal amount a person can be paid. A living wage is the wage
at which a person must earn in order to meet basic human needs: health, food,
housing, clothing. According to MIT’s Living Wage Calculator, in Mendocino
county this living wage is estimated at $11.68 while the actual minimum wage is
currently $11.00. (MIT) While this is close
to a living wage, California’s minimum wage will be rising one dollar every
year, making our state progressive in putting citizens’ needs first.
Conclusion
Our challenge, as a nation and
as a people, is to attain equity for the benefit of all. It’s possible that “a
chain is only as strong as its weakest link” is also a correct metaphor for our
society at large. For we are functioning at much less than full strength when
our citizens are struggling in poverty. While most economists and
congressionals agree on the main point, that our economy is suffering due to
the ever widening distance between classes, it will require a bipartisan effort
of equally epic proportion on these and other points, to begin closing the gap.
Works Cited
Carney, John. Breitbart; Carney: Trump’s Tax Cuts
and Economic Programs Are Paying for Themselves. 26 10 2018.
https://www.breitbart.com/economy/2018/10/26/carney-trumps-tax-cuts-and-economic-programs-are-paying-for-themselves/.
17 11 2018.
Chew, Jonathan. Fortune; Donald Trump's Tax Plan
Would Make the Rich Richer, Uncle Sam Poorer. 23 12 2015. http://fortune.com/2015/12/23/donald-trump-plan-tax-policy-center/.
17 11 2018.
Green, Matthew. KQED; MAP: How Much Does It Really
Cost to Live in California? 5 11 2015.
https://www.kqed.org/lowdown/8545/calculating-the-real-cost-of-living-in-calfornia.
17 11 2018.
MIT. The Living Wage Calculator. n.d.
http://livingwage.mit.edu/counties/06045. 17 11 2018.
Munroe-Blum, Heather. Golbal Economic Symposium;
Proposal - Overcoming Inequality through Education. 2009.
http://www.global-economic-symposium.org/knowledgebase/the-global-society/overcoming-inequality-through-education/proposals/overcoming-inequality-through-education.
17 11 2018.
Pettinger, Tejvan. Economicshelp.org; Reducing the
gap between rich and poor. 19 9 2011.
https://www.economicshelp.org/blog/3364/economics/reducing-the-gap-between-rich-and-poor/.
17 11 2018.
Saiz, Ignacio and Gaby Ore Aguilar. Open Global
Rights; Tackling inequality as injustice: four challenges for the human rights
agenda. 30 3 2016. https://www.openglobalrights.org/tackling-inequality-as-injustice-four-challenges-for-h/.
17 11 2018.
Shenker-Osorio, Anat. Keep The Middle Class Alive;
Educating people about Widening Inequality in the U.S. and abroad. 7 4
2011. http://keepthemiddleclassalive.com/do-you-think-the-poor-are-lazy/. 17
11 2018.
Werner, Andrea and Ming Lim. Journal of Business
Ethics; The Ethics of the Living Wage: A Review and Research Agenda. 9
2016. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10551-015-2562-z. 17 11 2018.
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