Wealth Inequality In America

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Pages: 3

Around the world, improvements in education, technology, and capital can bridge the gap between rich and poor. The wealth gap is a major problem in the United States and can be solved through giving people the proper education, increasing the wealth tax, and decreasing the use of technology. These improvements can change wealth inequality due to improving society and education around the country. Over the past few years the wealth gap has increased by 63 percent and shows no sign of stopping. An important factor in the creation of wealth inequality is access to education. Education creates high wages for those who work, but also decrease growth in income inequality. As a result, those who are unable to afford an education, or choose not to pursue education, generally receive much lower wages. The justification for this is that a lack of education leads directly to lower incomes. In particular, the increase in family income and wealth inequality leads to those at the bottom of the educational …show more content…
having such low tax rates. A much higher tax on wealth would go a long way toward making America’s income distribution more equal than it is now. Thomas Piketty, a French economist who works on wealth and income inequality, argues that “...with disparities in income and wealth rising substantially over recent decades, a global progressive tax on individual net worth would offer the best option for keeping inequality under control” (Piketty). Even though pursuing and major tax change would be politically difficult, with the support of the United States it would be feasible. Another point made by Piketty is to introduce a global tax on all capital. This includes not just taxes on stocks and bonds, but also land, homes, machines, patents, anything; if it’s wealth, then it should be taxed. That may seem extreme, but it is one of the few ways to decrease the wealth gap between the rich and the