ASSIGNMENT

Assignment

Assignment

Question 1: The Rich and the Poor

The term poor refers to the people who do not have enough wealth to feed and cloth their families, on the contrary the term rich refers to the people who possess wealth and are capable of buying the luxuries for them. Poverty exists everywhere, and, unfortunately, in the third world countries its magnitude is substantial. Every year, millions of people in underdeveloped countries die because of starvation or various diseases. (Sen and Foster, 2007) It is common in countries like Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan and Bangladesh, where the average income of a poor person is below one dollar per day. On the other hand, developed countries have a low rate of poverty, although the gap in developing countries between rich and poor is also increasing. The main causes are availability of exclusive luxuries for the rich people, like exclusive clubs, parks, resorts, lawns etc. These exclusive luxuries are creating a gap between the rich and poor in developed countries.

Gap between Rich and Poor

The exclusive community in America for rich which includes: private school, private health clinic, clubhouse, well-groomed lawns and paths for leisure activities, also numerous security guards, maids, chauffeurs, plumbers, and electricians made the life of rich people more easy. They live in the societies which will supply them electricity, even during the frequent and long power outages in the city. (Wilkinson, 2005)

It is a way for rich citizens to buy an escape from the many hardships that affect much of the country. Additionally, these elite communities reflect the desires of American's developing affluence, giving them Western amenities along with American indulgences. Therefore, the issue at hand right now is that the poor are falling deeper and deeper into poverty, while the rich continue to accumulate more wealth. The presence of the middle class is waning as the difference between the upper, and lower classes are growing larger. It is raising uncomfortable questions for a democratically elected government about whether America can enable all its citizens to scale the golden ladders of the new economy.

This issue is crucial because as the rich are growing richer, the poor have no opportunity to grow along with them. They are forced deeper into poverty, only to sit back and watch the rich climb higher. Some believe this ever-rising gap is a positive event. Despite this increasing gap, some find encouragement and hope that things are slowly improving. The Wilkinson (2005) believes that the gap between America's rich and poor people are undisputed fact, and is the biggest barrier in the process of growth.

On the other hand, there are others who believe this gap is not America's biggest issue. Sen and Foster (2007) believe America's greatest problem today is its corrupted government and social rule. Today it is because of corruption that public money is not being used properly for infrastructure and for the poor, although they are paying taxes.

If the rich kept acquiring more and more wealth, there would be nothing left over for the ...