Income inequality is a subject that recently has been the focus of news media but is not a recent phenomenon. Inequality has actually been on the rise steadily for decades. Income inequality has been linked to increased violent crime, health problems and educational disparities that have long-reaching effects on society. The trend is unlikely to change anytime soon, as income gaps continue to widen.
Wealth distribution plays an important role in how a society functions. The more income inequality present in a country, the less social mobility there tends to be. This means it gets increasingly harder for people in lower income brackets to improve their situation as the income gap widens. Those who are poor are more likely to stay poor, while those who are richer continue to amass wealth. The lowest 20 percent of earners in the United States make less than the basic cost of living, meaning that those people typically need to go into debt to afford basic necessities like food and housing.
Income inequality has increased approximately 15 percent in the United States between 1979 and 2012 due to the interplay of multiple factors. There are fewer blue-collar jobs that pay well, as many of those job are now based overseas. There is also a wider pay gap between blue-collar jobs, such as in factories and service industries, and white-collar jobs, those that require greater levels of knowledge, experience or training. Urbanization plays a role in income inequality as well, with inequality more common and more severe in urban areas.
As income inequality increases, a larger segment of the population has less discretionary income to spend, so the economy starts to slow down as demand for products and services lessen due to lack of available funds. In the long-term, this results in a shrinking economy where available resources like jobs, food and affordable housing are scarcer, and competition to acquire these resources is higher, resulting in more incidents of violent crime.
The increased stress levels that accompany reduced financial levels and a lack of resources also affect physical and mental health, resulting in increased health care costs, decreased worker productivity and even more depressed economic conditions. This creates an increased burden on taxpayers and social services agencies because the lowest income earners can't afford their own health care.
Uneven wealth distribution is not just an issue that affects the very rich and the very poor. Income inequality is a systemic problem that affects nearly every element of society on at least some level, whether directly or indirectly. While opinions are mixed about how best to handle the problem, it is clear that income inequality will only increase if nothing changes at the business, social, educational and governmental levels.
(Photo courtesy of (Naypong)/ freedigitalphotos.net)
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