photograph

Why some people are rich and some are poor

Social Studies

How the government maintains inequality

Some people are rich and some are poor because of government tax policies and gender and racial discrimination. National Priorities Project reported that the federal government give 54% of federal taxes to the military and only 3% to unemployment and labor. This shows the government does not invest enough into helping people finds jobs. According to National Women's Law Center, "For every dollar a white man makes, Latina women make 53cents and white women make 77 cents" This demonstrates that there is gender and racial based discrimination in work places. Finally, the New York Times published that "President Trump lowered the number of estates required to pay the federal estate tax by increasing the exemption amount of $5 million." This means that rich people do not have to pay taxes on their first $5 million and can give all of that to their children. You could argue that rich people deserve to keep their money in their family when they die. But the weakness is that by not taxing estates the government allows people to be born rich and not work for the privileges. Therefore, the government's policies help maintain inequality.

Bronx, NY

10.16.19

Ali Haridopolos

National Priorities Project, National Women's Law Center, The New York Times

photograph | money | inequality | government | Platinum research | discrimination