The Wealth Gap

Lidia Li, Oliver Sandino, Juvenal Torres, Guojie

Wang

Wealth Inequality
AKA Wealth Gap = unequal distribution of assets among
residents

Wealth Gap in China

Chinas income inequality started rising in 1978

Top 1% of households holds 1/3 of total assets
The Gini coefficient
The warning level is 0.4 set by the United Nations
Chinas development policies favors heavy industry, cities and special economic
zones in coastal areas

The demise of the trickle down economic

theory of Milton Friedman

Economic benefits upper income levels benefit poorer

Gap between rich and poor growing wider
Situation has become dire in many countries.
Inequality leads higher chance of conflicts.

Widening income inequality is the defining challenge of our time

Socialism vs. Capitalism

Socialism--individuals do not own land, capital (money), or industry

All share equally in work and the fruit of labor
Everyone gets same income
Under Capitalism, individuals own land, capital and industry
Solutions-- major social unrest or through oppressive taxes
Taxes should be increased on the rich

Dilemmas Caused by Inherited Wealth

Wealth is not equally distributed

Can negatively affect the inheritors.
Puts the rest at a disadvantage

The Pros and Cons of Our

Welfare system

Provides Much Needed Assistance

Its For The Children
Helps To Reduce Crime Rates
Health Care Is Essential
Its Temporary Assistance
A System of Abuse
It Costs The Taxpayers

Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas

Piketty

r>g
capital reproduces itself faster than output increases
Wealth Gap still increasing

The entrepreneur inevitably tends to become a rentier, more and

more dominant over those who own nothing but their labor

Debate Over Proper Minimum Wage Rate

President Obama called for raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an

hour
Reduce employment opportunities
29 states have minimum wage above the federal $7.25
$7.25 breaks just above the poverty line of $12,000
Hilary Clinton has called to a raise of $12
Democrats: raising the minimum wage help working poor
Republicans: will cause job losses and raise prices

Joseph Stiglitz: Key Arguments

Tax laws, Regulations, Financial sector

Financial Services
Childcare
Health care
Paid leave
Better wages

Paul Krugman

Government policies created the middle class = nonsense.

The high standard of living
Freedom
Capitalism
Continuation of the Industrial Revolution

Robert Reich, Former Secretary of Labor

Inequality is inevitable
People need incentives to innovate
Continues to widen
Threat to equal opportunity

Quick Explanation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Xa9T2OMzmw

Works Cited Page

"THE WEALTH GAP in the UNITED STATES.(Statistical Data Included)."Pediatrics, 107.6 (2001): 1276.

Blanchett, David M, and Brian C Blanchett. "The Wealth Effect and the Savings Gap."Journal of Pension
Benefits, 15.3 (2008): 48.

Dobija, Mieczysaw. "Labor Productivity Vs. Minimum Wage Level." Modern Economy, 2.5 (2011): 780-787.

http://pikettyexplained.blogspot.com/2014/11/summary-of-capital-in-twenty-first.html

Li, Shi, and Terry Sicular. "The Distribution Of Household Income In China: Inequality, Poverty And Policies." China
Quarterly 217.(2014): 1-41. Academic Search Premier. Web. 1 Dec. 2015.

Di, ZX. "Does Housing Wealth Contribute to or Temper the Widening Wealth Gap in America?." Housing Policy
Debate, 16.2 (2005): 281-296.
https://hbr.org/2014/04/pikettys-capital-in-a-lot-less-than-696-pages/
http://www.economist.com/blogs/buttonwood/2014/03/inequality
http://inequalitywatch.eu/spip.php?article95&lang=fr
http://jamesgrubman.com/sites/default/files/Acquirers_and_Inheritors_Dilemma.pdf
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/11/stiglitz-heres-how-to-fix-inequality/413761 /