Monday, February 22, 2016
I say no to economic inequality..
In the Ted talk "How economic inequality harms societies" By Richard Wilkerson, Wilkerson stated many points reiterating the same point which was basically that America needs to split up its money and take away from those who have it to give to those who don't so that we can have a better, or more "fair/healthy" society. Although I may stand on my own in this, I really do not think that splitting money up equally among every citizen would be the best idea. For one, I do not feel like it is right to take one persons hard earned money and success and give it to someone else because "its not fair". Would you want someone taking half of your paycheck away to turn around and give it to someone who doesn't have a job? I wouldn't. Please don't take it like I'm saying that I don't want to help people, I do and I believe that we should help each other, but continuing to give things away is not the way to do it. To make and have a successful country we need to teach people how to live and thrive on their own two feet. What I mean by that is in order to have a more healthy society we need to help those who need jobs and get them away from government assistance so that they not only can thrive on their own but also so that they can contribute to society by enhancing our economy. I understand that people need government assistance in certain times of their lives and I'm all for that, that's why we have programs to accommodate hard times, although I think it should be for only a certain period of time then they should take the reigns from there and be able to make it on their own afterwards. It's like the charity "World Vision" they take donations from people to help those in need all over the world that live in poverty, but they don't just give money or food to the people they help they also give knowledge. When World Vision goes to a specific place to help they give them the techniques on how to grow/sell crops, make goods, and sell things in order to survive on their own after their help is finished. I think that is the best way that you can help someone, not just by giving but also teaching and helping them to support themselves. I love the United States and the values we stand for, I love that we want to help each other and I hate that we have so much poverty, but we cannot support each other by only leaning on one another. We have legs of our own and we need to stand on them and take charge.
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I agree with you about everything you discussed. In America we are supposed to support each other and help each other be the best that we can be. We can’t do that by solely just giving money that other people have earned to them. Some people in America are poor because they were raised in a bad environment and never really got the knowledge from their parents about how to be independent and stand on your own two feet, and of course that is why there is government help that is always available. But like you were saying, to really progress in America we need to give people knowledge on how to succeed not just money. If someone is only handed money then that isn’t motivating them to make any money for themselves. Temporarily giving assistance is completely necessary for some people, but it shouldn’t be a forever thing. As Americans we need to motivate people to live life to their fullest, we need to remind people that making themselves proud and caring about their future is very important. I don’t think that economic inequality is what is keeping people from living a healthy lifestyle. Living a healthy life comes from within first, and then that shows in your efforts to succeed economically.
ReplyDeleteYeah I am totally not for wealth equality for all Americans. I just find that extremely socialistic and that everything America is against in a Capitalistic world. I appreciate Richard Wilkinson's skewed graphs degrading the United States, but what works economically for one country will not work for another. There is absolutately zero reason why a doctor who spent 10+ years in advanced education who happens to make 500k a year should be taxed greatly to pay for those who slacked off relying on government programs. I believe not everyone can be rich so Wilkinson's belief on making everyone equal is foolish. If everyone is equal, then nobody will try to be creative and innovate new stuff because then what is the point? Having wealth inequality lets people work hard so they can find a way to keep on improving to reach the American dream.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, comparing Japan to the United States is completely flawed. Like I said before, what works for a certain country will maybe not work for another. Japan is extremely homogeneous meaning majority of Japan's residents are Asians. The United States in the other hand, is filled with diverse, multicultural people. Wilkinson's graphs do not take in food culture, climate, genes into his graphs.
I totally agree, I too would not be okay giving my hard earned money to someone who has been sitting on their butt all day. Yes, there may be very good reasons as to why people don’t have jobs and need to rely on the government and other people. But some people take advantage of that and that is not what is good for our economy and for themselves. America is a very competitive country and people need to hold their grounds and take charge to make their life what they want it to be. Although it would be great if everyone were equal, and poverty did not exist, but I cannot see that happening in America. I hate seeing people struggle. It may not be their choice. They could have been born into poverty or some other circumstance. But everyone has the opportunity to make something of themselves and be able to live comfortably. And yes it is okay for people to rely on the government, but only for short period of time until they get stable on their feet. Things happen and people need some help. But the rich and other people have problems with this and I cannot see the wealthy giving money to the poor without hesitation.
ReplyDeleteI have to say that I agree with you 100%. I am totally against economic equality for all americans. I understand people lack jobs, are paid poorly, but it's not the fault of wealthy americans that circumstance has it that way. America is at the foreground of innovation and people are always climbing their way to the top. Instead of giving handouts at the expense of wealthy americans, people need to learn to support themselves and quit whining about not having enough and " it;s not fair". Take Bill gates. He grew up middle income and started Microsoft out of his garage and turned it into the most grossing software company of all time. It's not about asking for handouts and economic equality. It's about working your ass off so you can climb to the top and make a name for yourself. I feel for lower income families, but there is always the chance to climb up just if you put in the time and effort. Everyone should be happy and not poor, but not at the expense of taking someone else's hard earned money. I think Wilkerson's graphs are obviously skewed and like said in a comment above it doesn't mean it'll work here because it does somewhere else.
ReplyDeleteI could not agree with you more. All of your points from the video were spot on. Why would anyone want to give money away to people that have not earned it? Why do so many people believe that everyone should be paid the same amount of money? Everyone says many of these “ideas” but they never account for inflation, and over population in the work force. For example the board game “Monopoly” starts out equal everyone gets the same amount of money to begin the game and what you do during the game reflects your actions while playing. This is such a valuable board game because everyone has the same chance to win at the beginning but not everyone does very well. Monopoly is very similar to life in the U.S. because everyone has the same chance to do something with your life but first you must apply yourself to chase your dreams rather then to just watch.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with your point where you said, “…the best way that you can help someone, not just by giving but also teaching and helping them to support themselves.” This point was my favorite part of your blog because it shows we need help by teaching, encouraging and motivating others to go after what they want whether it is a dream or just a job. People have so much potential but it is just whether they plan to use that potential or not. Economic inequality is not a problem; it is simply the engine that keeps our economy going by those who care to provide for themselves an their families
I don't really agree with all that. While it's true that the video made a point about how unequal the united States is, nothing was ever really said about taking away from the rich. Instead a bunch of other alternatives were suggested that could possibly fix the problem of inequality. Before I share my thoughts on that however, I would also like to point out that the video wasn't really about fixing the problem of economic equality but rather informing people that it is a problem. As a whole, the video really seemed to build off the idea of making sure people are aware of the issue. After all, awareness is the first step to solving a problem. The graphs during the presentation really helped push that point too. To help aid the presentation, the idea of which information correlates with which scenario was very important. In summary, the information provided through visual aids helped make the point that the purpose of the presentation was to inform viewers of a current situation. Now I would like to touch on the solutions provided by the speaker. Nothing was said about taking from the rich, but rather increasing taxes or minimizing welfare. It depends entirely on the country, but the point is that there are many ways to reach a more equal economic status.
ReplyDeleteI 100% agree with what you are saying! Although economic equality may seem fair it isn’t. People make more money because they have generally worked for it and earned it. And if you don’t make a lot of money you most likely haven’t dedicated your time or worked hard for anything. As college students working toward degrees we will be expected to make more money than your average joe out on the street. But why should we suffer through all of those years to earn our degrees then have to give a certain amount of our paycheck to those who haven’t gone to college or worked hard? It doesn’t make sense. If they want income equality they should go out and go to school and get a good paying job. This is especially evident in the upcoming election with democratic socialist Bernie Sanders running for office. He wants everyone to be equal financially, by taxing people who make a certain amount. Why should those who have made it good in their lives be punished. It is absurd that people want this.
ReplyDeleteI 110% agree with you, the rich stay rich because they work for their money. The poor can become not poor by working hard. Just because you were born into a certain economic class doesn't mean you stay in that class.This is why economic equality is not fair, not everyone deserves to have the same things as others. You must work hard and be dedicated to something in order to be successful and acquire certain things in life. How much money you make starts by how hard you work in school so you can go off to college and earn a degree in a certain field so you can get paid more. Those who don't go to college will not get paid as much as the person next to them who went to college and got a degree. Why punish the hardworking when you can give those who don't work as hard job opportunities to grow economically? It's like saying give a man a fish and you've fed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you have fed him for a lifetime. Give a man some money and he is constantly going to be needing it, give him a job and he will set with the money he needs by earning it.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with when you said that Wilkerson suggests the taking of money from the rich and giving it to the poor. A direct quote from the Wilkerson in this video: "So we conclude that it doesn't much matter how you get your greater equality, as long as you get there somehow." He is simply presenting all this data and saying that these problems occur in unequal societies and those same problems are scaled down or non-existent in more equal societies. He doesn't really offer a solution to the problem, but rather sends the message that it's probably a good idea to do something about it if we want our stress hormones at a minimum. He mentions average societal well-being multiple times in this video, and I think his main point is that societies that are more equal simply enjoy their lives more than those that are unequal. Also to Fernando who commented on this, all of the data he presents is unbiased and none of his graphs are "skewed" or intended to degrade America. He is not out to make certain countries look bad, and if you took that away from this video maybe you should watch it again and pay more attention to what he really means.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you that it isn't fair to take away the money from the rich to give to the poor. The great thing about America is when you are born in a certain class it is not certain that you will stay there. They are chances you can become rich and successful as long as you put in the work. Though we do have a huge economic gap which I believe should be fixed but that will do more harm if we just take it away. Instead those business who are secretly a monopoly should help out with the economic gaps. I don't think they should necessarily have to give up their fortune. I believe that everyone has the ability to work up to their own social standards. Success doesn't just come with luck but it also comes with dedication and hard work.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you completely. Although, the US isnt the only example with the biggest economic inequality gap. The others show how the whole world entirely is incapable of maintaining an equal opportunity for every one. I believe a reason for the inequality would also be the way the government is run in a specific nation-- poverty is really everywhere. I like how you pointed out that the US provides so much for the lower classes and at some point they need to stop that and take advantage of the help they've received and start producing their own lives with their own success. I believe the graphs provided a better sense of how different every nation is regarding their economy with the mortality rates, education, etc. Some differ drastically and others relate closely to each other. Its really interesting to see how advanced some countries are in taking care of their people. Like you said, Japan is the greatest example due to their government being run as a socialist type country. The government runs most businesses and that allows for them to be responsible for everything. This helps everyone get back on their feet or even maintain a successful life. Thus, giving back to others who have lower income and live in a poorer state is unreasonable. There's no need. There will be no change and people will not flourish in their own life while receiving more aid than they should. @dylan I like how you ended your comment, that's exactly how everyone should think.
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