Question

informative speech about incoming inequailty causes and the solutions to it!!

Answer 1

Income includes the revenue streams from wages, salaries, interest on a savings account, dividends from shares of stock, rent, and profits from selling something for more than you paid for it. Unlike wealth statistics, income figures do not include the value of homes, stock, or other possessions. Income inequality refers to the extent to which income is distributed in an uneven manner among a population.

Over the past five decades, the top 1 percent of American earners have nearly doubled their share of national income. Meanwhile, the official poverty rate for all U.S. families has merely inched up and down. The official poverty rate understates the number of people in the world’s richest country who have trouble making ends meet.

Causes of Inequalities:

There are several causes which give rise to inequality of incomes in an economy:

(i) Inheritance:

Some persons are born with a silver spoon. Rich inheri­tance gives them a start in life and if they are reasonably prudent, they keep up the lead. Some persons are born landless; others inherit a few acres and still others thousands of acres. Parents of some persons die penniless or still worse die under debt passing the burden of debt on to their children, while others leave huge cash balances for the benefit of their heirs. So long as the system of inheritance lasts, inequalities are bound to be perpetuated.

(ii) System of Private Property:

Under the system of private property, a person is free to earn, free to save and free to own property. Once acquired, property breeds further and there are large accretions thereto almost automati­cally. If there had been no system of private property, people will altogether lose incentives to work and to save

(iii) Differences in Natural Qualities:

No two persons have the same natural talent. Some are more gifted than others. Persons who are endowed by nature with superior intelligence, better physique and greater capacity for hard work must surpass others in the race of life. Some inherit a feeble mind in a feeble body, and they naturally lag behind.

(iv) Differences in Acquired Talent:

It is true to some extent that environ­ments make the man. Natural or inborn qualities are considerably modified by environments. A child may be born intelligent but if he is not lucky enough to receive proper education, the latent abilities remain undeveloped. On the other hand, a child of mediocre ability, if properly nursed, brought up and educated, will more than make up for the lack of natural gifts.

(v) Family Influence:

It is generally recognized that the job that a person gets is very largely determined by the family influence. Ordinary graduates manage to get lucrative jobs through the influence of relations and friends, whereas brilliant graduates without helpful contacts may have to be content with low-paid jobs. That is why unequal incomes are earned by different persons. In this world, family contacts make a lot of difference to what people earn.

The following are some of the measures which can be suggested to reduce inequality of incomes:

(i) Fixing Minimum Wage:

One step that can be taken in the direction of more egalitarian society is to guarantee each citizen a minimum wage consistent with a minimum standard of living. In India in 1948, the Minimum Wages Act was passed in pursuance of which minimum wages are being fixed for agricultural labour and labour in what are called the ‘sweated trades’. This is a step which will level up the incomes from below.

(ii) Social Security:

Another important measure is the introduction of a comprehensive social security scheme guaranteeing to each individual a minimum standard of economic welfare. The social security scheme that we envisage must include provision of free education, free medical and maternity aid, old-age pension, liberal unemployment benefits, sickness and accident compensation, provident fund and schemes of social insurance, etc. In that manner, substantial benefits can be assured to persons whose incomes are low. Such benefits of course have a money value. This will be another step towards leveling up incomes.

Social services like public parks, libraries, museums, community air-conditioned halls, community radio and TV sets, refrigerators may be provided on a liberal scale, so that the poor are able to enjoy almost all possible amenities available to the rich.

(iii) Equality of Opportunity:

The Government may devise and set up some sort of machinery which may provide equal opportunities to all rich and poor in getting employment or getting a start in trade and industry. In other words, something may be done to eliminate the family influence in the matter of choice of a profession. For example, the government may institute a system of liberal stipends and scholarships, so that even the poorest in the land can acquire the highest education and technical skill.

(iv) Steeply-graded Income Tax:

Mere leveling up will not bridge the gulf between the rich and the poor. It will also be necessary to raze to the ground the high mountains of privilege. For this purpose all possible fiscal devices should be adopted. One such device is the steeply progressive taxes on incomes. This will prevent, to some extent, a rich man from getting richer still. Other direct taxes like the super tax, excess profits tax, and capital gains tax and limitation of dividends, etc., may also be imposed.

(v) High Taxes on Luxuries:

All conspicuous consumption by the rich may be ruthlessly crushed by means of heavy taxation of the consumption of luxuries by them. This will take away from the rich the power to display their wealth. This will also take away the incentive to amassing wealth for exclusive private enjoyment.