The One Percent Research Paper

The documentary directed by Gibney, analyzes the true facts of the gap between the poor and the rich in the America dream. It shows that the gap has been increasing over the last thirty years. The Park Avenue that passes through Manhattan (where the rich stay) and South Bronx (where the poor stay) shows this distinction (Lee). The two are separated by a river making the gap appear smaller but in real sense it wide. The intended audience of this documentary is the American population, especially the rich. In the documentary, the tone is negative especially towards the rich people who

Wealth inequality; its not a topic many people would choose to make a YouTube video about. However, earlier this year a video regarding this very topic went viral and received over 12 million views on YouTube. It is titled, Wealth Inequality in America, which was produced by the YouTube user Politizane. The issue of wealth inequality across the United States is well known, but this video shows you the magnitude of the disproportion in intense and illustrative manner. It uses charts to explain in the simplest of forms, the issue of inequality. The video is a little over six minutes long. It isn’t very showy but does illustrate the point the creators are trying to make very clearly. The series of charts are accompanied by what seems to be a

In the book, “a raisin in the sun”, by Lorraine Hansberry, one main theme is that Money is both good and bad.

In Diana Georges “Changing the Face of Poverty”, she uses various examples of ads, brands, and organizations  to show that the way poverty is portrayed has corrupted the understanding Americans have on poverty and what it really is. I agree with Diana George’s statement that the impression of poverty through visual imagery is distorted. Her essay examines many aspects of the misrepresentation of poverty. Society believes that they are doing more than what is actually being accomplished. The effect of her explanation allows for the audience to alter their opinion on the true image of poverty. Her use of real organizations within the community strengthens her approach.

Many movie companies and industries have made millions of dollars off of movies that portray poor people, because many individuals prefer to relive the times when they were either poor, or disliked by the society as a whole. There are many movies such as Pretty Woman which “is a perfect example of a film that made huge sums of money portraying the poor in this light” (Hooks, 486). Hooks perceives this as a very good way of making profit, but does mention that the poor should not be devalued by the society this way, and should be treated differently with respect. The way the companies portray the poor in the movies is the way the higher and middle class

As a main point of her argument, she argues that poverty is generally stereotyped into the poverty that would only be seen in Africa, or another third world country. To support this, she establishes a sense of ethos for her readers by citing other individuals that have also noticed the poverty representation gap. Seeing that poverty is a complex issue to begin with, George addresses this complexity by simply suggesting that it should be represented as such in the media. Nonprofit charities may now have to reconsider their

Part two of the documentary which was labeled as “High and Low” struck out to me the most. This part brought up issues that we can all for the most part say we have at least saw in our daily lives. This section also brought up some of the many struggles that African-Americans have to deal with every day. For example, two women brought up the point that the label “Bourgeois” is a constant problem within black America. If a black person works hard to make a lot of money, get a good education and become successful, the black

In “Changing the Face of Poverty”, the author Diana George shows different ways poverty is advertised and displayed. She disagrees with the way poverty is addressed and visually represented, in a limited way. I agree with the way she wants people to acknowledge how poverty is being misunderstood.

Stiglitz identifies dwindling opportunity, monopoly power and tax treatment, and the investments of the government as the effects from manipulating the economy to exclusively benefit the top 1%. The societal impact becomes clear when the author states that the ultimate price is the “erosion of our sense of identity,” which includes “fair play, equality of opportunity, and a sense of community” because a majority of people realize the importance of these topics related to the success of themselves and their country (Stiglitz, “Of the 1%, by the 1%, for the 1%”). The article concludes with the significance of paying attention to common welfare as a “precondition for one’s own ultimate well-being” that the top 1% have a history of failing to grasp before meeting their

In ‘Seeing and Making Culture: Representing the Poor’ by Bell Hooks, issues involving the poor and the rich in the society are brought to light. Hooks addresses issues such as how the poor are viewed in the community, common assumptions about the poor, and how the poor are represented in the media. In her analysis, it is evident that those living in poverty are grossly misrepresented. This misrepresentation affects these people’s daily lives.

Words provoke preconceived ideas and images in the mind, when it comes to a situation like poverty these preconceived notions can have undesirable and unintended consequences. Diana George examines the semantics and the imagery of the word poverty in her article titled “Changing the Face of Poverty; Nonprofits and the Problem of Representation. While also addressing the issue of the perception poverty and what someone in poverty truly looks like (676). Prof. George is arguing that organizations like Habitat for Humanity, which are created to help people in poverty actually perpetuate the wrong image of what someone in poverty looks like (678). Most organizations created to help those in need, especially those in the US tend to portray poverty as what is seen and thought of as living conditions in Third World countries (683). In reality, poverty is all around each and every one of us in this country on a daily basis, and people might not always recognize it for what it is (681,682). Furthermore, the majority of people living in poverty in the United States do not live like or look like someone living in a Third World country. But in reality they are still living in poverty nonetheless (682,683). Organizations that portray people living in poverty here in the US as totally devastated and completely impoverished are doing a disservice to the people they are attempting to help. Consequently, by doing this they are giving a limiting idea of what someone living in poverty

Capitalism has been the central force behind the growth of the United States’ progressive economy. Within such advanced economic system the chances of economic disparity are significantly high. In fact, over the past three decades there has being a steady increase in unequal wealth distribution among the economic classes. To sustain the current unequal wealth distribution among the classes of the American population, there are numerous factors that influence and shape this trend. For some members of the population it is alarmingly disturbing to know that recent statistics have shown that, “In the US [alone] the wealthiest 1% of its population owns more than the bottom 95 %” (Gutman). As for the difference in economic wealth, it resulted

In the article “Of the 1%, by the 1%, for the 1%” Joseph Stiglitz, a noble prize winning economist, argues that the upper 1% controls about 40% of all wealth in America. This top 1% has taken about a quarter of all income in America, and has seen their income rise about 18% in the past decade. This has made the inequality between classes in the US expand. Eventually, this inequality gap will even hurt the top 1%, because the other 99% will either fight for a bigger piece or just stop working all together. The top 1% can buy anything they need, but their fate realizes on the other 99% to work hard and not fight back. If the 99% stopped working, there would be a simple way to gain back money… that would be to raise taxes on the rich. However, the rich get rich by capital gains, which have a low tax policy. So overall, the upper percent can eventually learn, but a majority of the time it is too little too late.

The lack of dignity that these individuals feel is a direct effect of society’s disrespect for the lower class. The stereotypes of the homeless conceived by upper social classes, cause the lower class to lose any respectable role they may have in society. A homeless man in Oberlin, Ohio says, “Many of us historically invisible people, in our quest for visibility, have chosen to take the routes of organization and alliance building. Often we tend to find that our muted voices have more resonance, bass, and credibility within these snugly, institutionally sanctioned cubby holes” (Laymon). After failing to get sufficient help through

The video is briefly, but explained the details of social inequality depend on the social classes of our society; upper class, middle class, and the lower (working) class and how it is that the resources in a society are unevenly distributed. It is explaining how each classes are treated in education and healthcare. One of them are the wealth distribution in the United States; the fact that Top 20% of US are taking control of 72% of the world