INEQUALITY WITHIN COUNTRIES

Increasing Inequality within Countries Makes the Rich Worse Off As Well As the Poor

Increasing Inequality within Countries Makes the Rich Worse Off As Well As the Poor

Introduction

Income inequality is a characteristic of societies which has been a subject and area of keen interest for not only the economists but also for many social scientists and other players of the society (Thorbecke & Charumilind, 2002, p. 1477). The implications of higher levels of income inequality on the people within a society have been researched greatly. It has been held that the implications of greater income inequality are applicable solely with the people and families who are present in the bottom end of the income class continuum.

The aim of this paper is to assert that increasing inequality within countries makes the rich worse off as well as the poor in that country. The paper will utilise different articles and books in order to support the claim that income inequality not only brings negative outcomes for the poor in the country but to the rich people as well.

Discussion

Britain is one of those places in the world where income inequality is considerably higher as compared to the levels of income inequality in other countries of European Union. Moreover, this level of income inequality in Britain is continuously rising with the time. These two facts regarding income inequality in Britain are unchangeable. This is an area of increasing concern because of the severe implications that it has on all the levels and dimensions of the society (Saunders, 2010, pp.9-10).

Previously there was a conception held that prevalence of high levels of income inequality have negative impacts on particularly the lower tier of the society that is the poorest people in the society (Wilkinson & Pickett, n.d., pp.1-3). With the changing social, political and other patterns in the world, the conception needs to be reshaped and modified. It needs to be discerned that income inequality in a state or a country is damaging for not only the lower tiers of the country but also to those present in the upper tiers that is the richer people in the country (Wilkinson et.al, 2010, pp.1138).

The impacts of income inequality are negative and unconstructive for all the individuals at all the levels of income distribution in the country. Regardless of the fact that how much prosperous an individual is, greater income inequality in the country is likely to bring negative consequences for him or her (Saunders, 2010, pp.9-10). These effects and implications of income inequality in the country or state were highlighted and emphasised by Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett in their book “The Spirit Level”. They have provided statistical and graphical backing to their claims made in this regard.

It is noted and evidenced by the statistics and other documents that the countries and states in which the levels of income inequality are higher have poor social and health conditions. It is apparent that in such countries and states for instance in the unequal states within United States ...