Corporations are claimed to be one of the major causes of the constantly rising economic inequality in the United States. Though this claim doesn’t offer substantiated basis, there exist some validity. One as an example of big companies which is gaining extra profit at the cost of lowest wages is Apple. While this technology giant is run by most of the richly compensated chief executives, majority of the job it has provided are service sector positions-sales employees and customer service representatives, repairmen and delivery drivers. In reality, not every job pays a living wage, especially to low skill and part time working employees. The workers are exactly compensated to what they have done, including the work conditions they have endured, and these have nothing to do with the company’s profits. This, however, should not be a reason to deprive these low wage workers of the benefits and recognitions they can get for the services they have given. Failing to solve this socioeconomic situation will worsen the unequal wealth distribution. The concentrations of income will remain to those who belong at the top.
The government has called for actions and proposals to deal with this trend. Dealing with inequality is not the task of the government alone. The legislative proposal that has been calling for attention is the increase in minimum hourly pay among these low wage workers. President Obama, in his State of the Union address, has called an increase in minimum wage, believing that this legislative proposal would lift millions out of poverty and stimulate broader economy. He has supported big companies and small businesses alike to give their workers the right kind of pay they deserved for every day’s hard work. For years, he has been putting an effort to raise the prosperity of the middle class by this federal minimum wage increase.
However, this kind of policy response would not generally clear out the problem. If there is growing wealth among the workers, it doesn’t happen to the hundred percent of them. There are other matters that contribute to this inequality that need effective response too. It would be misleading to treat that problems that exist on cultural, social, and behavioral basis are seen as economic problem alone. Failure to clarify them would give ineffective responses.
Several efforts are introduce to resolve inequality by providing opportunities that motivate economic mobility. Investing in education, providing childhood programs that can increase economic growth, and providing jobs with training programs that would give a better career path are among of the examples.
Still, I take the increase in minimum pay as a good start in response to the inequality that The United States have been dealing with. However, I believe there are related factors to consider too along with this action. This response could give more benefits or could lead to other economic issues. Economic assessments should be evaluated to validate that these efforts produced continuous results in the long run. If not, a small increase may not be enough to take the country into another forward step. There are instances where public-assistance benefits would not be enjoyed by those low wage earners who were no longer eligible when there is raise in pay. Job loss might result when businesses won’t be able to cater the increase in their employees’ salaries. The economic response should be weighed accordingly to achieve what is aimed at its start, and to minimize the risk of believing in false solutions.
Works Cited
Brooks, David. "The Inequality Problem." The New York Times 16 Jan. 2014: n. pag. Web. 20 June 2015.
Segal, David. "Apple's Retail Army, Long on Loyalty but Short on Pay." The New York Times 23 June 2012: n. pag. Print. 20 June 2015.
