Income Inequality and Discrimination

QUESTION

Final Project Submission

Your final project is due in this week. It should be a 5-7 page paper using a minimum of 5 credible and scholarly sources that compare and contrast the political theories of two philosophers. The paper should examine a modern political issue and apply the philosophy of both philosophers. Use APA format and citation when writing your paper.

ANSWER

Income Inequality and Discrimination

Introduction

The extent to which the incomes (salaries, wages, or earnings) of people are distributed in an uneven or an inequitable manner in a particular country or population is referred to as income inequality. Income inequality results in the formation of a gap between the rich and the poor. Over the past twenty years, income inequality in the US and most countries in the world has continued to increase, with the gap between the rich and poor widening significantly (Saez & Zucman, 2016). The level of income inequality in the US has become so pronounced that at the present, the top income earners in the country earn more than seven times as much as the low-income earners. A majority of the people working in the United States earn less than ten dollars every hour, especially those working in the service industry, such as cashiers and people working in fast food restaurants.

In the United States and most of the other nations in the world, income inequality has become a very contentious issue, with governments putting in policies that aim at minimizing the extent of income inequality. Income inequality and discrimination are closely related issues, as discrimination often results in income inequality. According to Braun (1997), since the 2008 financial crisis, the level of income inequality in the United States has grown significantly. The income inequality and discrimination problem in the United States is as a result of the government’s level of investment in the development of human capital being low. The best solution to the problem is increasing this investment in order to improve the competence and skills of citizens and to enable them to enjoy a level playing field in the employment scene. In this paper, the issues of income inequality and discrimination are discussed to identify how best they can be addressed and resolved. The views of philosophers Aristotle and Plato on the issue of income inequality are also discussed.

Income Inequality and its Effects

Discrimination and income inequality are some of the most controversial and current issues in the United States society and in many countries of the world. Many employees in the United States earn less than $ 10 per hour, especially those working in the service industry, such as cashiers, fast food employees, and nurse’s assistants (Braun, 1997). The income gap that exists between the low earners and the high earners in the United States continues to expand (Saez & Zucman, 2016). From the year 2000 to 2006, the approximate number of people living in poverty in the United States increased by fifteen percent (Reinicke, 2018). More than thirty million workers in the country earn less than ten dollars an hour, with a majority of these low-income earners not having health covers or pension plans. The result is that there is a lot of healthcare inequality in the country, which leads to an increase in the medical care cost for all the citizens.

Low-income earners cannot afford preventative healthcare or quality education. The standard of living of the people continues to deteriorate, affecting the economic growth of the country. Over the last ten years, the salaries of a majority of employees in the United States have remained unchanged, even though the productivity of companies and organizations continues to increase. A relationship exists between income inequality and attainment of education, as income inequality renders low-income earners unable to afford quality education (Cingano, 2014). The income gap between top management and workers continues to widen, as the salaries of the workers continue to stagnate. Stagnation of salaries results in increased financial strain and strife, which results in increased rates of crime. Low-income earners and those that are unemployed may participate in crime with the intention of making a living and providing for their families. It is, therefore, important that the issue of income inequality is addressed to ensure economic growth and minimize financial strife in the country.

The current and ongoing shift in the world’s economy is the most significant root cause of income inequality in the United States. The levels of income of emerging economies and markets continue to increase. Countries such as China, Brazil, and India have grown to become very competitive in the global marketplace. The workforces of emerging economies continue to become better in terms of skills and experience, while leadership continues to become better at management. As a result, wealth continues to shift towards the emerging economies and the shift continues to minimize the global income inequality between countries. The problem is that while the emerging economies continue to develop, the developed economies suffer. As the workforce of the developing countries acquires more skills, their wealth increases. The emerging economies, therefore, take more wealth from the developed economies, including the United States and the countries of the European Union.

In order to resolve the increasing income inequality in the United States, the country has to effectively respond to the changes in the global economy and the redistribution of wealth. The country’s government has to make sure that the unskilled and low-skilled workers, who are the low-income earners, are provided with access to employment training and education. As Murphy and Topel (2016) explain, income inequality is the outcome of the failure of the human capital investment of a country to match the increasing demand for skills. Investing in human capital is, therefore, the best solution to the income inequality problem in the United States. A country’s investment in human capital affects the supply of skills and the salary levels within the economy. It is the best way of ensuring that the workforce within a country acquires relevant skills to bargain for better jobs and higher salary levels.

Ensuring that people have access to employment-related education will ensure that the workforce of a country acquires valuable work skills and qualifies for better salaries in the global economy. Through investment in human capital, more workers will acquire and improve their entrepreneurial skills. The United States government should also increase access to capital to enable the citizens to establish their own businesses and creating more job opportunities for the unemployed.

Aristotle on Income Inequality

Aristotle believed in numerical and proportional equality, where people should be treated indistinguishably or granted the same quantity of a good per capita (Barnes, 1984). Numerical equality refers to the situation where all people are treated as indistinguishable or identically. Proportional equality involves formal equality, where the distribution of goods to people is done in a way that produces adequate equality. In cases where differences in factors justify unequal treatment or distribution of goods, as the people involved are unequal in various aspects, the distribution or treatment is just (Gosepath, 2015). Unjust claims to the distribution of goods or treatment have to be considered proportionally in order to determine whether the claims have any base. Where there exists unjust treatment of people or unjust distribution of goods, it is the duty of the government to ensure that equal treatment is administered. Aristotle would argue that it is the role of the government to ensure equal treatment of employees. He associated distribution of wealth with the nature of political institutions and would expect the political powers to resolve inequality (Barnes, 1984).

Plato on Income Inequality

Plato seems to condone inequality based on gender stereotypes (Annas, 1981). He viewed women as a weaker gender and grouped them together with children and slaves, in The Republic (Plato, 1991). Plato would justify gender-based income inequality on the grounds of women being weaker and would defend Greek stereotypes and attitudes against women. Plato lived in an era where women were inferior to men and were expected to stay at home and take care of families while their husbands went to work. He would not advocate against discrimination against women, as he would see it justified. Discrimination results in income inequality, as women are not provided with an equal opportunity to work and grow their wealth.

Application of Principles

Plato’s principles would not help in the resolution of income inequality and discrimination in the United States, as they seem to condone the unfair treatment of employees based on gender. Gender discrimination contributes to income inequality, as female employees are not provided with a level playing field to improve their skills and bargain for better pay. Aristotle upholds the treatment of employees equally and believed that the government needs to ensure equal treatment of employees. However, where employees are not equal, as a result of differences in skills and training, income differences would be justified. Therefore, the government should increase investment in human capital to ensure that all employees acquire skills and training to qualify for better pay.

Conclusion

Income inequality has been caused by changes in the labor market and can be resolved through the government’s efforts to increase investment in skill development and training (Murphy & Topel, 2016). The level of investment in training and development has a direct impact on the supply of skills and wage levels of employees (Goldin, 2016). The high level of income disparity and discrimination in the United States is the result of the inability of human capital investment to match the rising demand for skilled employees. Investment in human capital is the best solution to the income inequality issue.

References

Annas, J. (1981). An introduction to Plato’s Republic.

Barnes, J. (Ed.). (1984). Complete works of Aristotle, volume 1: The revised Oxford translation (Vol. 96). Princeton University Press.

Braun, D. D. (1997). The rich get richer: The rise of income inequality in the United States and the world. Wadsworth Publishing Company.

Goldin, C. (2016). Human capital. Handbook of cliometrics, 55-86.

Gosepath, S. (2015). The Principles and the Presumption of Equality.

Murphy, K. M., & Topel, R. H. (2016). Human capital investment, inequality, and economic growth. Journal of Labor Economics, 34(S2), S99-S127.

Plato, A. B. (1991). The Republic of Plato. New York: Basic Books.

Reinicke, C. (2018, July 19). In the US, the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer, study concludes. Retrieved June 18, 2019, from https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/19/income-inequality-continues-to-grow-in-the-united-states.html

Saez, E., & Zucman, G. (2016). Wealth inequality in the United States since 1913: Evidence from capitalized income tax data. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 131(2), 519-578.