Bridget Malone 

Malorie Seeley-Sherwood 

ENG170-29 

10/5/21 

The Effects of Income Inequality 

Put yourself in the shoes of a child or teenager who attends public school, whose clothes are all hand me downs, and who has always shared a room with their siblings in a tiny two-bedroom house in the suburbs. Now imagine seeing on tv or on social media people wearing these clothes and designer handbags, where the price tag has more zeros than you can count, and with houses the size of all the houses in their neighborhood combined. Or even just going to school every year and seeing that all your other classmates always have a brand new backpack every year, when you’ve had the same one since you started school. What are you thinking when you look at those people with mansions and designer clothes and then turn off your tv or phone and look at the passed down and worn-out clothing and small piece of land you own? The impressionable adolescent might wonder why they can’t buy new shiny clothes or live in a house with a big backyard and swimming pool. “Why do those people get all the new and pretty clothes and house, and I don’t? That’s not fair.” There are many inequalities and disparities in all aspects of life, but one of the many and most prominent inequalities in today’s society is income inequality.  

But what causes income disparities, and why is the gap increasing? A few causes of income inequalities and the increase in income disparities are, lack of well earning job opportunities and availabilities, equal tax increases on the lower and upper classes, and gender, race or ethnicity. Although some might say that income inequality is not increasing or income disparities are not a prevalent or pressing issue in today’s society; because it’s a choice to not work hard or get a high earning job, or because there’s plenty of job opportunities for those in the lower class. But, income disparities are increasing with time, and have life altering effects on people; therefore, this issue needs worldwide attention and acknowledgement as a severe and pressing global crisis. Furthermore, as disparities in income increase, those with higher incomes obtain more advantages in life than those with average or lower incomes, regarding affording basic needs, household necessities, luxuries, and most specifically quality of life.  

The increase in income inequalities and the effects it has on people’s lives reveals a reoccurring trend in American culture where society tends to focus on or value people based on the  amount of money they have.  Think about a time when you were watching the news and they were reporting about what a random person from a small town in the middle of nowhere was doing for the day. Can you think of a single instance of this, other than when the story had to do with this ordinary person winning the lottery or being involved in a terrible crime? No? Oh, but you’ve seen a run–down of everything your favorite celebrity was doing the other day on the news, for example, simply walking down the street? Or your favorite tv shows are reality shows like “Keeping up with the Kardashians” where for entertainment and enjoyment you watch famous celebrities unintentionally show off their wealth. America’s attitude continues to show and prevail as reality show views increase, paparazzi magazine sales increase, and as the number of people becoming homeless increase and are treated as people who only want money to make poor choices. America’s attitude can therefore be seen as one of praising the wealthy and famous and looking down upon homeless people or anyone with a lower income than them. We see America praising the wealthy and looking down upon the poor  in many ways, both subtle and glaring, such as, news reports only about celebrities, reality tv shows given to wealthy families, the repeated mistreatment of homeless people and building of anti-homeless architecture, and the price increase on organic healthy foods.  

Income Inequality doesn’t just affect impressionable adolescents or even full-grown adults in the moment they witness it, it sticks, and grabs hold of their mind and can even affect them physically and mentally in the future. Based on multiple controlled characteristics such as health insurance and demographics, it was concluded that income inequality has a significant impact on a person’s physical and mental state, “including heavy drinking, obesity, exercise, diabetes, heart attack, heart disease, physical and mental health problems, and depression,” (Matthew and Broderson). Furthermore, studies also show that increase in income inequalities hinders the increase in poverty rates; thus, proving that increase in income inequalities and disparities, increases the rate of poverty. According to Nasir and Mridha from Project MUSE; whose mission is to promote the creation of essential resources regarding humanities and social sciences with the help of scholars, publishers, and libraries, this increase in income inequality is set to annually decrease the amount of people released from poverty (Nasir and Mridha). In fact, it was estimated by the same study that “the rising inequality is likely to lift 129,405 fewer people out of poverty annually” (Nasir and Mridha).  By examining how rising income inequality increases poverty rates, we can finally see just how many people are negatively affected by rising income inequalities and demonstrate the fact that growing disparities in income is an extremely important issue that must be dealt with utmost importance and sincerity.   

Some might say that the increase in income inequality doesn’t mean anything in the bigger scheme of the world or society, but to those who experience its harshness firsthand, it means the difference between going hungry and feeding your family.  Therefore, it is important examine and analyze the key factors that contribute to the increase in income disparities. Based off findings and research from Hu and Hanink it can be concluded that key contributing factors in the increase of income inequality in metropolitan places are social classes and the type of job you have/the type of work you do (Hu and Hanink). The factors of social classes and the type of job you have can be very hard to avoid/change. For example, social classes are not written in stone, but once society puts you in a certain class or category, it becomes very hard to escape the stereotypes that come with it. Also, many people claim that there are so many available jobs that if you don’t like yours, you can find a new one or a higher paying one. This is not always the case, as in order to get higher paying jobs it usually requires a higher degree or level of education and those who have lower income jobs to begin with are usually because they didn’t receive enough education to get a higher income job, which is also usually because of money issues regarding paying for college and getting a degree. As stated, it can be very hard to avoid or escape these factors that cause income disparities to push down harder and harder on those with a lower income. These social classes can still be seen in todays society as well. For example, the homeless are seen as low of the low and labeled either as terrible people or people with drug or alcohol problems. Whereas rich celebrities are seen as the highest class, and are always constantly being idolized and followed. Furthermore, proving that these existing social classes are extremely hard to break free from, homeless people or lower income people who obtain a position of power or high paying job, are often still first thought of or forever known as the poor person. Revealing that America’s cultural belief is that the rich are put on a high pedestal where everyone follows them no matter what and they are praised on the daily and the poor are forever seen as the poor and weak and uncared for even when they no longer are poor. It is important to reveal and examine America’s cultural belief because it shows how America must do better at erasing negative stereotypes and stopping the hate or negativity towards people of lower incomes; and instead preach positivity and not judge or determine a person’s worth based on their bank account or clothes they have/wear, or the house they live in, or if their classmate doesn’t have the newest and nicest backpack every year.  

Due to income inequalities and disparities, there are many negative effects on a person’s mental and physical health. This includes an increase in poverty rates and mental illnesses in the poor or those with lower incomes. But ultimately what is arguably the most negative impact of rising income inequalities and disparities on a person’s life is their value of life. To those affected by this global crisis, getting to eat food for the day is their definition of a luxury, whereas a luxury to the rich would be buying their fourth brand new sports car. When do those struggling due to rising income disparities get to relax or do something enjoyable for themselves like traveling, or painting, or even reading? When do they just get to enjoy life without constantly worrying if they’ll be able to survive the day or be able to provide food and shelter for their family? How can they value life like the rich can when they can barely just survive and buy the bare necessities, let alone a luxury like new clean clothes for their children? Thus, rising income inequalities and the major negative impacts that come with it, must be dealt with as a huge global problem that must be solved in order to better our society and improve the lives of millions. 

Works Cited 

Hu, Qinglin, and Dean M. Hanink. “Declining Union Contract Coverage and Increasing Income Inequality in U.S. Metropolitan Areas.” Professional Geographer, vol. 70, no. 3, Aug. 2018, pp. 453–462. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/00330124.2017.1416298. Accessed 8 Oct. 2021. 

Matthew, Pravin, and Donka Mirtcheva Brodersen. “Income Inequality and Health Outcomes in the United States: An Empirical Analysis.” Social Science Journal, vol. 55, no. 4, Dec. 2018, pp. 432–442. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, doi:10.1016/j.soscij.2018.05.001. Accessed 8 Oct. 2021. 

Nam, Jaehyun. “Does Economic Inequality Constrain Intergenerational Economic Mobility? The Association Between Income Inequality During Childhood and Intergenerational Income Persistence in the United States.” Social Indicators Research, vol. 154, no. 2, 23 Feb. 2021, pp. 469–488. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, doi:10.1007/s11205-020-02579-2. Accessed 8 Oct. 2021. 

Nasir, A. B., and Hosne A. Mridha. “Does Income Inequality Dampen Growth Effect on Poverty? Evidence from the U.S. County Data.” Journal of Developing Areas, vol. 51, no. 4, 2017, pp. 167–177. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, doi:10.1353/jda.2017.0095. Accessed 8 Oct. 2021.