Wealth, when measured in money, goes from zero dollars to infiniti dollars. The poorest you can get is to have no money ($0), but there is no limit to how rich you can get. As time goes on and as new products are invented, it makes sense that we would have people that are richer than ever before. In fact, I think we would want to have richer people now than 2000 years ago because it would show technological progression. There will almost always be someone with $0, so if we have richer and richer top earners, it means that the wealth gap will continually get bigger. It's really only a problem when the poor and middle class are not seeing a rise in wages that is at least equal to inflation. And it's especially problematic when the two are connected: the reason the wealth gap is widening is because the rich are getting richer by exploiting those beneath them. Benefits are being slashed, workers are being kept at part-time employment so they don't qualify for those benefits, retirement funds and 401k plans are being raided, etc. The real source of the problem, I think, is the corporate mentality that your business is only considered profitable if you exceed the profits you earned last year. That model is unsustainable. Eventually, you're going to be as streamlined and efficient as possible, and you won't be able to save any money by trimming away extra fat. Eventually, you're not going to be able to find cheaper parts and labor for your manufacturing. Eventually, your market is going to be saturated and you're not going to be able to find more customers. So, what's a poor CEO to do when that happens, but he still needs to meet quarterly projections? Start taking money from his employees, of course.
Economic success in America is often seen as a reflection of what kind of family a person was born into, how hard they work, and what kinds of opportunities exist in the economy. Of course, though, the story goes much deeper than that. How well a person's parents were positioned financially tends to reflect the well-being of the family they grew up in and, in turn, how their parents and grandparents did.
Research shows there are all sorts of positive outcomes associated with households owning assets. “In our present economic system, where making culture and making money are deeply intertwined, each of us participates in the capitalist system, no matter how much we might wish to think otherwise.” Seeing Power And for that reason, the huge racial wealth gap in America should be deeply alarming -- especially given how that gap has actually grown in the past five years due to an epidemic of foreclosures in communities of color, many of which were systematically targeted by predatory lenders, including respected banks like Wells Fargo.
“Can there be revolutionary art without a revolution? No.” The Interventionalist.
The fact that women are at a historical socioeconomic disadvantage should come as no surprise. They get paid less and live longer, which means women need to survive longer on less money. On top of that, we have fewer savings than men do, naturally. These issues are exacerbated for single mothers and for the many women who end up being the sole breadwinner for their families — often these two are one and the same — who manage their finances alone. Being financially literate was something that you figured out as you grew up. Turns out, personal finance is something you actually have to learn. I want to know what’s going on around me, and my personal finances are no different. And I’m willing to start a revolution to the awareness of financial literacy. If I (or you) can understand how to manage money, I (we) can build a strong foundation for my (our) personal and professional goals. And I'm willing to start a revolution.
The goal is to completely use all techonological resources whether it be social media, QR codes, and event brites- but also physical medium as well.
Works Cited
Lusardi, Annamaria, and Olivia S Mitchelli. “Financial Literacy and Retirement Preparedness: Evidence and Implications for Financial Education.” SpringerLink, Springer, 1 Jan. 2007, link.springer.com/article/10.2145/20070104.
Mettler, Suzanne. “Bringing the State Back In to Civic Engagement: Policy Feedback Effects of the G.I. Bill for World War II Veterans | American Political Science Review.” Cambridge Core, Cambridge University Press, www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-political-science-review/article/bringing-the-state-back-in-to-civic-engagement-policy-feedback-effects-of-the-gi-bill-for-world-war-ii-veterans/3A2A04768B16CF558A8CECC780758B1F.
Mandell, et al. “The Impact of Financial Literacy Education on Subsequent Financial Behavior.” By Jikun Huang, Ruifa Hu, Scott Rozelle, Fangbin Qiao, Carl E. Pray :: SSRN, 27 Feb. 2013, papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2224231.
“Wealth in America.” Google Books, books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=FpkMaxCWUsMC&oi=fnd&pg=PP11&dq=wealth inequality&ots=mft31pucRt&sig=sK_CVlt90H7ooAs8qOIAqzWBTbY#v=onepage&q=wealth inequality&f=false.
Wilson, and Reginald. “GI Bill Expands Access for African Americans.” Journal of Research in Education, Eastern Educational Research Association. George Watson, Marshall University, One John Marshall Drive, College of Education and Professional Development, Huntington, WV 25755. e-Mail: Eerajournal@Gmail.com; Web Site: Http://Www.eeraorganization.org, 30 Nov. 1993, eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ495060.
Wolff, Edward. “Top Heavy: A Study of Increasing Inequality of Wealth in America.” Arts and Humanities in Higher Education, SAGE Publications Ltd, 1 Jan. 1995, nyu-staging.pure.elsevier.com/en/publications/top-heavy-a-study-of-increasing-inequality-of-wealth-in-america.
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