Daniel Polo-Wood

Professor Douglas
UWRT 1102
2/10/16
The Wealth Gap: Who Will Take Responsibility?
The people of the United States of America are facing the largest wealth gap
between not only the poor and the rich, but the middle class and the rich, which
begs the question, do the problems of the many trump the problems of the one?
The top 7 percent of wealthy households own 63 percent of the nations wealth, the
top one percent of the population have a higher net worth than the bottom 90
percent, 49.7 million Americans are living in poverty, these arent worst case
scenarios, this is reality and proof that the American Dream is a fable in todays
time. In following the situation this country finds itself in I will spend time
researching the ideas behind flat taxes, and percent based on wealth, or other
solutions to discover what is best for the country to progress healthily in the future.
The top percent in this country find themselves in Wall Street, and own the
banks that operate in the United States. The irresponsibility of Wall Street and the
big banks has led to the crash of the economy and the long winded recession that
has followed afterward. The problem lies in the immunity that one receives with
wealth which protects those that are wealthy from ever losing their wealth even
after making terrible decisions that has ruined lives, and would have negative
effects if the person wasnt as wealthy as they are. It allows those who are corrupt
and greedy to keep their positions even after making decisions which would

normally be unlawful, or illegal, but under the protection of their wealth there are no
consequences to their actions, which in turn cause them to make more risks which
yield no benefit to anyone except themselves if they get lucky. Not only is their lack
of responsibility a dangerous state for the American economy it also harms the
workers, and people of America who dont have the luxury of making their own
decisions when it comes to jobs.
Over the semester its important to find the information about this situation
and research both sides to see what the best possible solution is for the future of
the American economy and people. Along with facts about the American
government being millions in debt, and the American people sharing that
responsibility it is important to assign an amount of responsibility to the rich as well
as the middle class. The informed will be able to make a solution to the problem
that faces the United States today.
Its important to note the great impact that this behavior has on the American
people for the worse. If the people knew that the problems they are facing was due
to the efforts of Wall Street and the large banks they would be outraged and would
finally have a target to focus their anger and frustrations. The problem is that many
American people dont realize why their situation is so dire and just accept it as part
of life in America without really questioning what causes their problems. The most
important thing for the American people is to inform themselves of the problems of
the wealth gap in the United States, and what the possible solutions are being made
to solve or deal with these problems.

Works Cited
Einstein, Katherine Levine. "Inequality In America: Race, Poverty, And Fulfilling Democracy's
Promise." Political Science Quarterly (Wiley-Blackwell) 130.4 (2015): 773-774. Academic Search Complete. Web. 10
Feb. 2016.
Ren, Chunhui. "Homeless: Poverty And Place In Urban America." Journal Of Urban Affairs 37.4 (2015): 500501. Academic Search Complete. Web. 10 Feb. 2016.