The Article, “For Mitt Romney, the election hinges on the middle class”, focuses on the tactics in which Mitt Romney needs to perform in order to win the middle class votes of the Americans. According to the article, 90% of the American people consider themselves to be members of the middle class. In order for Mitt Romney to have a strong chance of winning the election he needs to have the majority behind him. Mitt Romney is a very successful businessman and has obtained much wealth to his name. Although, he is a part of the small percentage of the upper class in America his main focus for the election is to appeal to the middle-class as a devoted family man who is seeking to lower their struggles.
In order to accumulate wealth, the authors suggest that people need to play “good offense.” You must budget, budget, and budget. The authors explain how the average person acquires wealth through seven common denominators. The first common denominator is to live well below your means. As stated before, most millionaires are very frugal. They know how much money they have and where every penny of it is spent.
The Super Rich Are Killing Our Democracy It was foretold by Thomas Jefferson that the downfall of a democracy is the accumulation of wealth by the rich and the lack of money for the poor. This is now happening with the Super Corporations controlling the flow of money and the flow of money controlling our politicians. Barbara Ehrenreich, in her article, “The Trouble With The Super Rich”, talks about: America being divided more and more by money. The upper class is shrinking in size, but not in wealth. Having such a small amount of people possessing such a large amount of the wealth will pull down society.
Charles Foster Kane, publisher of the New York inquirer and numerous other papers, and one of the richest men in the world, influenced America’s thinking for half a century. However, Kane is flawed, self-serving, destructive opportunist, a classic tragic figure doomed to fall. Because he had lots of money, Kane believed he could buy anything including the friendship and love. Message is simple: success, power, riches cannot replace love and tranquility. Many people walked out on Kane’s life: first wife Emily, the best friend Leland, and second wife Susan.
Winner-Take-All Politics; a book which defends the middle and lower class by stating that the richest 1% is getting richer because of political forces. The authors argue that the structure of our government has created economic woes and inequalities in our society, that interest groups play a big part in politics, and that those at the top of the economic ladder use their power to better themselves economically, leaving the rest the USA, the 99% struggling to maintain economic stability. The structure of the government has contributed tremendously to US economic woes and inequality. The main structures of our government that are creating these economic woes are: separation of powers, the legislative process, and federalism. Separation of
The Dirty Little Secret: Poverty In America Jane A. Easter The current reality in the United States of America is that the level of disparity between classes is growing and not in a good way. The small portion of the rich are getting richer and the number of poor is increasing creating a larger gap between the previous middle class and the lower class. The other reality is that it is a “don’t ask, don’t tell” society. Though studies, census data and other overwhelming proof is all around us, it is one of the least talked about issues. The classes by race and gender continue to have disparate realities across the country.
Through East Egg and West Egg, Fitzgerald reveals that the American Dream is simply an illusion for most people in society. It is portrayed as though those in East Egg simply inherit their money (this is why they are considered ``old money``), while those in West Egg have somehow earned their money by working for it (this is why they are considered the ``nouveau riche``). When Fitzgerald writes ``Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, just remember that people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.`` (7), he is trying to say that it is much better to be morally upright when you are trying to make an honest living. In saying this, Fitzgerald makes the immorality of the wealthy seem even more unforgivable. Another important piece of evidence that shows that the American Dream is not what it appears to be is the fact that Gatsby did not earn his wealth through hard work.
After World War Two the United States of America finally seemed to prosper after the Great Depression. The 1950s became the capitalist golden age. Society was classless; there were growing numbers of white-collar jobs, high wages for blue-collar workers, and few labor strikes. Everything seemed to be great, however the growth of the affluent society put many problems in the dark. African Americans were still unequal to whites; twenty percent of the nation had been in poverty, and the defeat of Nazism and imperialism brought on a new enemy to freedom: Communism.
While “Asia manages to balance their desire for wealth against other claims of human spirit…and the Soviets honor the holding of political power,” we Americans show no medium between wealth and other aspects affecting their lives. Lapham states that “a rich man is perceived as being…both good and wise.” He asserts that Americans judge what is good and wise by its monetary value. Americans validate his point because we only tend to trust people who fall under the same social class and believe that the poor “willed it so” by not working hard enough. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald portrays how Americans show off their wealth and what kind of lifestyle a rich man lives. Money to the East and West residents was their American Dream that was earned or passed on, and they valued monetary value and the idea of it more than their relationships.
I disagree that we are taught that America is a classless society; I think we have always are aware of the class of people that exist. Although social class does not hold the same parameters as it did 50 years ago, but social class is very evident today. Mass media has made Americans more aware of the major poverty that exists and the billionaires that live the very high class life. Media allows access to see how the other half lives. The public is able to see rags-to-riches stories and believe that could be me one