UGC 211 1st Edition Lecture 17 FILM o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o Inequality in America Wealth and poverty When does inequality become a problem The US has the most unequal distribution of wealth 400 people have more wealth than half the population of the US After 1928 and 2007 crash in economy Middle class in both periods were stagnating A strong middle class makes an economy stable Consumer spending is 70 economy middle class keeps economy going Woman had only 25 in her checking account No official definition of middle class 50 000 median income Top 1 380 000 Entrepreneur makes over 10 million invests in lots of funds most of the return is only creating a return for him The problem of the rich isn t that they spend too much it s that they spend too little they save it Productivity is increasing over the years The average hourly earning of production workers continued to rise until the late 1970s and then flattened wages The decline in unions late 1970s The anatomy of an iPhone most of your dollars is going to Japan Germany and South Korea It s assembled in China pieces are coming from everywhere Assembly lines are gone Amazon employees 60 000 people Automated checkout lines take away people s jobs Rising costs of rents health care child care and higher education Middle class families working harder and harder and getting nowhere 1947 1977 The Great Prosperity Inequality is linked to higher education Putting people first Bill Clinton 1978 wage decline began Executive pay keeps going up Many corporate executives raise their wages even when their employees are being put of out work Even rich people need a couple million only need a few pairs of jeans etc It s the middle class pushing the economy The unions control or encourage wage increase It s not happening now because their aren t many unions in the US These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute o o While globalization has been great for tearing down borders lowing costs of many goods there is a flip side bad side two sides need to explore both sides Union organization you join and pay salary too they have leaders lawyers that fight for your rights