The Growing Gap between the Poor and

the Rich
The gap between the poor and the rich has stretched to its widest levels since time
memorial. Economic inequality also referred to as the gap between the poor and the rich,
wealth disparity or income inequality consists of the differences in the income and wealth
distribution. Typically the term, the gap between the poor and the rich refers to inequality
among groups and individuals in the society, but can as well refer to inequality among
countries. The gap between the poor and the rich is related to the concept of equity:
opportunity equality and outcome equality. This paper explores different aspects related
to the growing gap between the poor and the rich.

There are several reasons why there is a growing gap between the poor and the rich
within societies. These reasons normally are interrelated. The major factors that are seen
to affect the growing gap include innate ability, culture, education, globalization, labor
markets, policy, taxes reforms, technological changes, racism, gender, inequality in
salaries and wages.A major cause of the growing gap between the poor and the rich
within modern economies is the wage determination by the capitalist market. The job
wages are determined by demand and supply in the capitalist market. For instance, in a
situation where there are many workers who are willing to do a job for a desirable time,
then the supply of labor will be high for that job. On the other hand, there will be a low
demand for a job in case there are few persons willing to do the job. When the supply is
high and the demand is low for a job, there will be a low wage.

Apart from this market related factors which impact the inequality of the wages,
government facilitated initiatives can as well decrease or increase inequality. Policy
makers and social scientists debate the effectiveness and relative merits of every strategy
of inequality regulation. Typical initiatives of several governments that can reduce the
growing gap between the poor and the rich include public education which can increase
the skilled labor supply and reduce the income inequality because of education
differentials. Implementation of progressive taxation that will result to the rich being
taxed relatively more as compared to the poor; hence the amount of income inequality in
society will be reduced. Minimum wage legislation initiative will raise the income of the
poorest workers. Products subsidization initiative will result to services and goods being
provided cheaply to everybody.

In conclusion, the trend whereby only the rich become rich can be resolved or reversed
by putting more emphasis on financial literacy, education and investing in human capital,
but this is not expected to be effected within the next decade because the growing divide
between the poor and the rich in most countries such as USA is worsening because of the
manner in which the resources are allocated.

An Essay on the Gap between Rich and Poor - by Victor

Wealth is inequitably distributed. Many rich people keep it for themselves and
they are quite greedy. I think that since the beginning of the 2008 financial
crisis, the differences between rich and poor people have increased and the
middle economic class has vanished.

Then we can use wealth better than we are using it now. If some of the rich
people accept the idea of giving some money and not going out of the country
when we increase taxes that will be easier. Then we can distribute money more
fairly. We should help poor people perhaps not by creating more organisations
but by helping public places such as hospitals, schools etc. That will help
students and people who do not have enough money to pay for treatment.

Secondly some wealth is just useless for the rich but will help poor people.
They take too much food and they often waste it and if you look, for example,
at Africa, many people need food. If we cannot give that food to them, they will
surely starve to death.

The vast majority of people really need money: some of them do not do
anything to obtain more but others work really hard for it and they still do not
get anything. While the richest people do not need to work and they still earn
more in a month than I will earn in my entire life. That is why I want the
wealthiest to give a proportion of their money to the lower economic classes. It
is just unfair that the government does not tax rich people more than poor
people.

We need to increase taxes and distribute the wealth more evenly which can help
more poor people than rich.

We can tell third world countries that they can keep the food they produce
instead of selling it for ridiculously low prices. For rich people wealth can be
shared by giving and not taking.
Anyway we have to change economic issues for poor people. Evidently, in
order to bring about the more equal distribution of wealth which we all desire,
two things are necessary: firstly, that the minimum wage shall be raised,
permanently, far above the level at which it now stands; and secondly, that
willing hands shall always find remunerative work; and this must be done, not
by charity, not by individual or local action, but by social rearrangements which
will be self-acting and self-sufficing. I firmly believe that such changes are not
only possible but comparatively easy, for I hold with Henry George, that at the
root of every great social evil will be found a great political wrong. Let us seek
out the wrong thing, and fearlessly put it right; and we shall then find that man
is not so completely out of harmony with the universe in which he exists that
thousands must starve in the midst of plenty, and that the actual producers of
wealth in the wealthiest countries in the world must continue to live without
enjoying a fair and adequate share of the wealth which they create.