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Emily Razzi
Professor Sheila Fielding
WRTC 103
11 October 2015
Income Inequality and the American Dream
Income inequality is a growing issue in America today. It has affected millions of people
and continues to affect them every day. Stewart Lansley discusses this issue in his paper,
Income Inequality Has Eroded the Middle Class and the American Dream. This text was
published in 2013 in Missouri. Lansley claims that inequality is a big political and economic
challenge in the United States. The PSA was created by Emily Razzi at James Madison
University. Not everyone may know what income inequality is. It does not apply to students at
this moment, but it will once the students graduate from college. The wage gap between the
upper class and the lower class is increases. This means the upper class is making more money,
while the lower class is making less. The middle class is shrinking and many who were
previously in the middle class have dropped down into the lower class. This is a big issue for the
United States because this will reduce the GDP per person and the overall GDP of the United
States since the median salary is decreasing. The rhetoric of Stewart Lansleys Income
Inequality Has Eroded the Middle Class and the American Dream argument and Emily Razzis
PSA relies on logos, ethos, and pathos to show why income inequality needs to be fixed.
The gap between the rich and the poor is increasing and Lansley is concerned by that. He
believes the rest of the United States should be concerned by that as well. Lansley claims,

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Inequality is now one of the biggest political and economic challenges facing the United States
(P.2). This issue was important during the 2012 presidential election and it still is important
today. The United States used to have a large middle class, but it has been steadily shrinking for
four years. The intended audience for Lansleys text are people who want to learn about this
issue and people who are experiencing this issue. His style is scholarly because he uses statistic
and facts throughout his text. His style helps the reader fully understand what income inequality
is and how it is affecting the middle class. The argument is organized by subheading. These
subheadings help break up the text into smaller and easier parts to read. The subheadings go
through history, facts, and concludes with how the problem can be solved. Lansley also uses
logos, ethos, and pathos to support his argument.
Lansley uses facts to explain how income inequality has become an urgent matter.
Income inequality was not a large issue in the past because it was controlled, but throughout
these past four years it has become critical. Lansley states, As early as 1956, the celebrated
sociologist, C. Wright Mills, wrote that American society had become less a pyramid with a flat
base as a fat diamond with a bulging middle." (P.4) This shows how large the middle class used
to be. Now it is becoming that pyramid again and the upper class is small, but the people in it
have millions. It shows how large the lower class is becoming. Lansley reveals, The chairman
of President [Barack] Obama's Council of Economic AdvisersProfessor Alan
Kruegerhas shown how the size of the American middle class (households with
annual incomes within 50 percent of the midpoint of the income distribution) has
been heading backwards from a peak of more than a half in the late 1970s to 40
percent now (P.5). He uses this as support to show how rapidly the middle class

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has been shrinking these past years. Lansley uses trusted sources and people to
show that this is a real problem. Lansley also uses ethos to prove his own credibility.
Lansley introduces himself in the first paragraph of his text. He explains his
accomplishments and proves why he is qualified to write this argument. The text
confirms, Stewart Lansley is a visiting fellow at the Townsend Centre for
International Poverty Research and the author of The Cost of Inequality: Why
Economic Equality Is Essential for Recovery (Lansley P.1). He is an author and also
helps with poverty research which is why he an expert on income inequality. This
helps the reader trust the writer because he has extensive background on the topic.
Lansley is well informed on income inequality and writes to inform others about it.
He wants change and proves that by stating that he works on poverty research.
Lansley uses pathos to evoke the readers emotions on this topic. He
understands the impact being lower class can have on a family and how it affects
their lives. Lansley declares, The return of inequality to levels last seen in the
1920s has had a profound effect on American society, its values, and its economy
(P.4). He shows how this issue is affecting society and the American values. It makes
the reader realize how that change is negativity affecting lives. Lansley proposes,
With a growing percentage of the current generation facing a lower living standard
than their parents, more and more US citizens express a fear of falling, worried
about a further loss of livelihood and their relative income status (P.8). He uses
these emotions to make the reader feel like they should take action. Political actions
can be made the fix this problem and Lansley wants the readers to realize that.

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Income Inequality Has Eroded the

Middle Class and the American
Dream

The wage gap is increasing.

Dont just let it happen. Do
something about it. Income
inequality is unacceptable.

http://americandreamfoundation.
com/

Created by Emily
Razzi

This PSA above was created to show awareness of income

inequality. It shows the urgency of the problem and the American
Dream Foundation supports this cause.

The
PSA
created above shows how income inequality has affected the upper, middle, and lower class. The
main claim is that the lower and middle class are in trouble. They need help to survive this
problem. The story it is showing is how income inequality is negatively affecting our society. It
shows the reader that a change needs to happen. The political cartoon helps to show how this
problem is changing the United States. The bold red text shows how the reader needs to take a
stand and decide that this problem needs to be solved. The PSA sums up the article in the form of
an image.

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The PSA uses ethos to show the authors credibility. At the bottom of the PSA is shows
that is was created by Emily Razzi. Although the author may not be too credible the sources she
used to create the PSA are. She uses the logo of the organization this PSA is created for and their
website. The author stuck to the same viewpoint as the article and helped support the articles
reasoning for fixing income inequality. The PSA is professional and straight to the point.
The author also used logos to support her PSA. The cartoon shows the sinking ship of
inequality which represents the problem first discussed in the article. The title of PSA and the
article are the same to show the relationship between the two. Both the article and the PSA are
connected to the same viewpoint. The text in the PSA shown talks about how the wage gap is
increases and it compels the reader to try to help. This PSA not only captures the readers
attention, but also their emotions.
Pathos is used to connect to the reader. The PSA shows the text in bright, red letters to
attract the readers attention. This text color shows that what the author has to say is important
and urgent. The cartoon used express a negative emotion among the middle and lower class
readers because it blatantly shows them what the future has in store. If this problem does not
change they will be in trouble. Lastly, the foundation used shows the reader the importance of the
American Dream. This PSA inflicts a lot of emotion in the reader.
The PSA helps add more pathos to the argument which strengthens the overall concept. It
shows how important income inequality and why the reader should care about it. Income
inequality can be a confusing concept to people who do not know much about it, but the cartoon
really helps the reader understand the argument more. Overall, the verbal argument is more

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convincing because there are lots of facts and the author is credible. But, the PSA does help add
that needed emotional emphasis to the argument.

Works Cited
Lansley, Stewart. Income Inequality Has Eroded the Middle Class and the American
Dream: Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 11 Oct. 2015.
"Political Cartoon." Community Village. Web. 11 Oct. 2015.