This opinion piece argues that the gap between the "rich" and the "poor" should be analyzed based on consumption, rather than income. Can you see any potential flaws in the argument?
Please look carefully at the graph above, (click to enlarge) we will consider this in class.
7 comments:
The poor are not as poor as they used to be because of cheaper goods coming in from places like China. Now, low income families can have things such as tvs and computers that were once coveted items because they are cheaper and easier to buy. The standard of living in the United States has gone down because of imports from other countries that makes it easier for poorer people to have the same items that people with higher incomes have also.
There's no way that the gap between the rich and the poor be determined by consumption instead of income. If there's a poor family who has to spend everything they make on things they need and the rich are spending alot on useless crap, it seems like they're
close regarding the gap when it is totally not the case. The gap between the rich and the poor should be solely determined by income.
The gap between the rich and the poor should be analyzed based on income and not consumption. Income can provide a much better idea of the gap between rich and poor. There is a certain base level of consumption that people must adhere to if they would like to sustain their life in our society. It is possible that some really rich people are also really cheap and spend only a small portion of their income. This would throw off the new proposed analysis regarding consumption. Income is the best way to measure the gap between the rich and the poor.
The article neglects to mention that the lowest and highest income brackets consume radically different types of goods. While the highest 5th is paying for alot of education and and "apparal and services," the lowest 5th is paying proportionally less into these groups. However, in the neccessay areas like housing and food, groups are paying proportionally similar amounts. This causes one to believe that living in the United States is just plain expensive, and that many of these lowest-income families are purchasing the bare neccessities, which happen to exceed their annual income.
I agree with Tyler and Eric about how this gap shouldnt be analyzed based on consumption. The rich and the poor are divided based on their income.
I have a family of 14 siblings and I can tell you that the total household income is not above 45,000
The chart below shows how consumption in the past 100 years has spreaded. Yes because of new techonology people rely on the new devices.
I think that the gap between the rich and poor should be based on income and consumption not just consumption. Think about it we live in a town where you can make a lot of money but you also spend a lot of money because prices are so high.
The gap between the rich and the poor should be based on income rather than consumption. Even if there are cheaper, more affordable goods, if the income of the lower class is going down, goods don't matter. There are some low income families who are willing to spend every penny they earn, rather than put some into savings. These families may show that they have a high consumption rate, but in reality they are living based on credit and deep into debt.
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