"Excuse me, do you have any spare change"?

     Wealth is defined as a “great quantity or store of money, valuable possessions, property, or other riches”^[1]  however, this is how I see wealth for all of us. First, we have “Old Money Wealth” like the Vanderbilts where money is inherited, then we have “New Wealth” like Oprah Winfrey a successful African American media mogul. Secondly, we have” Just Enough Wealth” with the middle class who both the rich and poor depend on to keep the economy growing to paying higher taxes to provide social programs and such, then we have “I Ain’t Got No Money Wealth” which is self-explanatory. Having said that, at which point does the inequality distribution of wealth come into play? How or can this inequality be changed? Is it possible?

     Unequal Distribution of Wealth is how income is unevenly distributed among a population that causes income disparity. In 2017 the wealth distribution in the United States is as follows: “Top 1%  have more wealth than the bottom 90% of people. The cause of inequality is that the U.S. went from a manufactured-based economy (food, computer, electronics etc.) to a Service-based economy (healthcare, media, sports etc.) and are reaping the benefits of being wealthy. This transition has made life hard for us bottom feeders and with no opportunity to have a piece of the pie. This transition also brings jobs that require highly educated people to work for a huge corporation, leaving a regular Joe with no chance of employment. A large percentage of the poor population is not given the option of attending college because of the need to make money to support themselves. This transition is surely causing the slow death of social mobility. How can we fix this?

     We must raise the minimum wage, have access to affordable and quality education, subsidies for training, loan programs for people wanting to start a business. We also need to invest in women and combat discrimination in the way of thinking that “women are meant to be housewives” and if they have children, we can implement a program for childcare. Implementing these changes will not get far in our government because along with being wealthy they have access to the government. These corporations make huge donations to parties that will side with their wants, it’s like a “money talks bullshit walks” kind of thing. But will it work?

     No, my ideas would not work because most of the wealthy are selfish and will try hard to keep this capitalist country the same, all because of the Benjamin’s. What the hell are they going to do with all that money? They will pass it down to their offspring and the pattern will continue. This inequality has been happening since the day American was formed and I do not see change. I read that some billionaires pledge to donate their fortunes to charity. If you happen to become a millionaire, think altruism, it’s good for your soul.