This video is more to the subject area of my sociology class, but when we think about shaping domestic and international public policy, Professor Richard Wilkinson offers much lawmakers and their consitutents should think about.
This presentation from Richard Wilkinson is very timely, given the current situation in the US which is a growing gap between the rich and poor. I thought the graph that showed people's level of trust was very interesting - the more unequal countries had citizens with lower trust. Less that 40% of people in the US agreed that most people can be trusted; this isn't surprising considering we have leaders that allow wall street bankers to tank the economy, leaders who shut down the government down as part of a political tactic, and an economic divide in which the richest 1% have more than the bottom 50%.
Economic inequality has become a big issue in our society. The gap between the rich and poor can only grow bigger and bigger if the government doesn't have any method to stop it. This presentation shows that the inequality in our economy is also affecting our next generation. People don't trust each other because people are afraid that others will take something good away. The society will not be safe if we lose our trust in each other. The inequality will harm our daily life.
Ms. Rose always talked about how the money gap was directly correlated to the happiness, or in this case trust, of society. If the rich poor gap continues to widen, the less people will have in common and the less people will be willing to trust and compromise with each other. This presentation fully supports that conclusion. If this economic equality is not combated, the top 1%, as Grant said, will look out for themselves and no other special interest group will be accounted for. In that case, we lose our sense of democracy.
Growing inequality is an issue in today's society, but it is not government's role to fix it. The Declaration of Independence states that everyone has the unalienable right to the pursuit of happiness. Note that happiness itself is not an unalienable right, government will not inhibit your pursuit of happiness, but it as no responsibility to give you happiness.
Now I recognize that money does not equal happiness. But if you ask a lower-class adult if they think they would be happier with more money, I believe they would say yes.
4 comments:
This presentation from Richard Wilkinson is very timely, given the current situation in the US which is a growing gap between the rich and poor. I thought the graph that showed people's level of trust was very interesting - the more unequal countries had citizens with lower trust. Less that 40% of people in the US agreed that most people can be trusted; this isn't surprising considering we have leaders that allow wall street bankers to tank the economy, leaders who shut down the government down as part of a political tactic, and an economic divide in which the richest 1% have more than the bottom 50%.
Economic inequality has become a big issue in our society. The gap between the rich and poor can only grow bigger and bigger if the government doesn't have any method to stop it. This presentation shows that the inequality in our economy is also affecting our next generation. People don't trust each other because people are afraid that others will take something good away. The society will not be safe if we lose our trust in each other. The inequality will harm our daily life.
Ms. Rose always talked about how the money gap was directly correlated to the happiness, or in this case trust, of society. If the rich poor gap continues to widen, the less people will have in common and the less people will be willing to trust and compromise with each other. This presentation fully supports that conclusion. If this economic equality is not combated, the top 1%, as Grant said, will look out for themselves and no other special interest group will be accounted for. In that case, we lose our sense of democracy.
Growing inequality is an issue in today's society, but it is not government's role to fix it. The Declaration of Independence states that everyone has the unalienable right to the pursuit of happiness. Note that happiness itself is not an unalienable right, government will not inhibit your pursuit of happiness, but it as no responsibility to give you happiness.
Now I recognize that money does not equal happiness. But if you ask a lower-class adult if they think they would be happier with more money, I believe they would say yes.
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