Bridget Malone 

Malorie Seeley-Sherwood 

ENG170-29 

9/30/21 

The Effects of Income Inequality on Daily Lives 

Audience: the average American citizen 

In this world, society is often divided into two groups; those with money, and those without. Those with money, are typically celebrities and the rich, and those who have money but are not rich or make an average or less than average income tend to be the majority of the population. The people in these groups or statuses are the same people in many biological ways, so what determines who gets to live a life of luxury and who can barely afford the bare necessities? Why is it that the number of green pieces of paper a person has determines the way they live their life? Those with a higher income such as celebrities, are usually seen by the public leading different lives than those with lower incomes in ways such as housing, goods and services, luxuries, and quality of life, due to the amount of money they have/make. 

To the public eye, these differences in lives due to inequalities in money or income become blatantly obvious when you see a person with a designer hand bag walking past a homeless person begging for change, all on the same street. By comparing the lives of those with an above average amount of money or income to the lives of those who struggle financially, there tend to be many differences in their lives and quality of life mainly due to their income or amount of money. The rich group have more money to spend on luxuries, as according to Max Ehrenfreund, author of the Washington Post article titled “Where the Poor and Rich Really Spend Their Money,” “The richest tenth spent $2,239 over the year on fees and admissions, likely to sporting events, museums and concerts, and $1,084 on their pets,” compared to the other group who “spent $162 and $220 in these categories, respectively.” (Ehrenfreund). This is only one example of the lifestyle differences between the rich and the poor. 

Studies further show, the rich group, or those with a higher income, generally spend more annually on goods and services compared to those with an average income, and those with a low income spend even less than both, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Furthermore, some causes of income inequality, according to Michael Mccormack and Amanda Novello are underemployment. This is because “low employment-to-population ratios indicate that the economy is not providing enough jobs for the people who are willing and able to work” (McCormack), and because of people with larger families who already make an average to low income. They further state, “Wages and incomes continue to stagnate as working Americans struggle to maintain living standards, especially those with children” (McCormack), which serves as an example as to why income inequality continues to grow. People who need jobs that can financially support their families, especially those with a lot of children tend to struggle obtaining the jobs that wouldn’t require them to work multiple jobs at once or work extra-long hours. It is also seen that people with larger families can’t get these higher paying jobs due to lack of financially stable jobs available in the area where they live or lack of degree needed. Will people be discouraged from having a family or children if they make an average to low income? How does society plan to come together when they constantly face inequalities in life, income inequality being one of them? What kind of measures can be taken to ensure a better quality of life for everyone and help reduce the growing gap between social classes that are based on differences in income?  

Income and wealth inequalities have mental and physical effects on people’s lives as demonstrated in the studies above, where spending money on certain items between high and low income was compared. If someone is struggling financially and doesn’t have enough money for the bare necessities or can’t provide for their family, it can have mental and physical effects on them and their life. Those with a lot of money or high income tend to lead different lives than those with low incomes in the aspect of housing, luxuries, goods and services, health services, and overall well-being. With a higher income, it is easier to afford basic necessities than it is for people with a lower income, especially those with large families. This ultimately results in different lifestyles of the rich and poor due to income inequalities. 

Works Cited 

Ehrenfreund, Max. “Where the Poor and Rich Really Spend Their Money.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 26 Apr. 2019, www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/04/14/where-the-poor-and-rich-spend-really-spend-their-money/. Accessed 29 September 2021. 

McCormack, Michael, and Amanda Novello, et al. “The True State of the U.S. Economy.” The Century Foundation, 28 Jan. 2020, tcf.org/content/report/true-state-u-s-economy/?gclid=CjwKCAjw49qKBhAoEiwAHQVTo3lmaG_aIz82eP6Dx08hC-Cdwvn14BXCsTP-cLL6g3S9rJ-jwBxv3BoCSawQAvD_BwE&agreed=1. Accessed 29 September 2021.