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Inequality for all

The centerpiece of "Inequality for All" is a documentary of a graph put over a

suspension bridge, emphasizing the bridge's distinctive curve. Essentially, it depicts the disparity

in income between the typical middle-class worker and the average rich person. It dips downhill

in the first half of the century before rising in the second, reaching two maxima in 1928 and

2007, with the second peak in 2007. The film's primary point is that the abandonment of

America's middle class is the primary cause of the country's current economic problems.

'Inequality for All' boils down our recent financial troubles to the core truth that America is a

consumer-driven economy, as the video emphasizes. In the United States, consumer expenditure

accounts for 70% of overall economic activity. The middle-class family's purchasing power is

the motor that propels the American economy forward. The Wall Street Journal pays careful

attention to consumer spending because it is so essential to the health of our economy.

The vast majority of today's middle class lacks the purchasing power required to keep

the economy humming. Middle-class wages have remained constant or perhaps declined since

the 1970s. According to the video, many jobs less than 30 years ago when adjusted for inflation.

Still, the same workers must also struggle with growing housing, daycare, and higher education

costs. In the video, multi-millionaire Nick Hanauer remarks, "Even a guy like me who makes a

thousand times as much as the average American household does not purchase a thousand

pillows a year." "Even someone like me, who makes a thousand times more than the average

American household, do not purchase a thousand pillows every year."

"Unequal Childhoods" is a novel written by Annette Lareau, first published in 2003.

She investigated the differences in parenting styles between lower- and higher-income families

to understand better how different families nurture their children. According to her, both

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working-class and middle-class parenting techniques have benefits and drawbacks, but middle-

class parents are more likely to assist their children in achieving success in school and the

workplace. Beginning at an early age; one's social class determined by their parent's choices.

Lareau (1987) shows that illiterate parents who have a poor income are less likely to engage in

their children's school activities or help them with their homework at home. This group of

parents believes that their lack of knowledge makes them unable to provide enough assistance to

their children; thus, they outsource education to the school. As time goes on, parents who are

more financially secure and have received a college education are becoming more involved in

the lives of their children's schools. And assisting them more at home in the classroom, seeing

their children's education as a collaborative effort between themselves and the school. More

importantly, wealthier parents from the middle and upper classes socialize and mix with other

parents at school, forming networks that supply them with information about their children's

performance. Still, low-income parents are less likely to do so (Lareau 1987). Thus, children of

middle and upper-class parents are born into a ready-made network that may assist them in the

future, such as career opportunities. Upper-class individuals have a higher chance of climbing

the corporate ladder because they have more social capital, which includes a ready network of

friends and family who are already in high-status positions who can assist them in getting a foot

in the door. (McKenna, FEBRUARY 16, 2012)

“Robert Putnam, a social scientist at the University of Southern California's Price

School of Management, described the growing opportunity gap among children in the United

States as the central question that college students will have to deal with throughout their lives

during a lecture hosted by the Sol Price Institute for Social Innovation, which is housed within

the Price School of Management”. A Harvard University public policy professor, Putnam cited

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examples from his most remarkable book Our Kids: The American Dream under Crisis to show

how the social class divide is damaging."For the vast majority of Americans, wealth disparity is

meaningless," Putnam said. According to the report, "what matters to them is that everyone gets

an equal chance and starts on the same rung of the ladder." For the United States to achieve its

full potential, it must fulfill its full potential."

According to Gary Painter, "director of social policy at the Sol Price Center for Social

Innovation," the center features "a community of scholars who produce ideas and solutions to the

issues that our metropolitan communities face." Professor Putnam will be speaking on his

groundbreaking study on the opportunity gap in our communities, and we are happy to have him

here." Putnam believes that as a result, there are fewer mixed-income neighborhoods in the

United States now than there were 50 years ago. As a result, students from various

socioeconomic backgrounds are less likely to attend the same educational establishment. He

compared Fullerton's Troy High School to Orange County's Santa Ana High School, about ten

miles away, and has a similar vibe. Even though both schools spend the same amount of money

per student, have the same student-to-faculty ratio; and have professors with comparable

experience levels. Putnam believes Troy is the significantly better school – and the reason for

this belief stems from who else is attending the school. Putnam said. "Whatever your family's

income is, you'll be better off." The trend continues in college, where family wealth is now a

more crucial indicator of graduation rates than students' performance on standardized tests.

“According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, just 29% of low-income

students with the highest test scores complete from college, whereas 30% of high-income

students with the poorest test scores and 74% of high school students with the highest exam

scores do”. (Kredell, May 1, 2015)

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"Social Class and School Knowledge" was a game-changer in educational research in

the United States. It was possible to get in-depth descriptions of the sociological processes of

social class reproduction at the secondary school level. Jean Anyon's research made explicit

Marxist theoretical notions, which he developed. The value of "studying," "learning," and

"remembering," as well as the need of using "brains" and "intelligence," according to Anyon, is

recognized by students from the middle class, who adopt an epistemological viewpoint that base

on their social status. Despite a strong emphasis on reading books as a source of "official

knowledge," information sources remain "above reproach." Anyon's representation of

interactional classroom behaviors revealed unresolved concerns with authority, information

sources, and knowledge applications. Critical Curriculum Studies (CCS) focused on constituting

an inherent content of textbooks and curricula before their popularity. Working-class schools

continue to suffer from a lack of "intellectual demand," critical literacy, and "technical registers"

of disciplinary and field knowledge, all of which contribute to learning fragmentation as students

look for "basics." "In American urban education, Jean Anyon has provided a magnificent

example of policy studies. "Anyon was able to show, using current fieldwork data derived from a

close study of Newark, New Jersey's inner-city schools, how federal, state, and local policies,

combined with business and market forces, had created the 'inner-city community and school

problem,' making the chances of achieving successful inner-city school outcomes virtually

impossible" (p. 104). Because of its "meticulous historical, sociopolitical, and economic facts

revealing how the inner-city school problem develop in the first place, Ghetto Schooling was a

significant study critical of structural policies and conventional urban education literature,

according to Grace" (p. 104).

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Despite a significant focus on reading books as a source of "official knowledge,"

information sources are held in high regard. Anyon's depiction of classroom interactions

indicated unsolved issues with authority, sources of information, and knowledge applications.

Before their popularity, Critical Curriculum Studies (CCS) concentrated on the intrinsic content

of books and curricula. Working-class schools continue to lack "intellectual demand," critical

literacy, and "technical registers" of discipline and field expertise, all of which contribute to

learning fragmentation as students seek "basics." " Jean Anyon has set a great model of policy

studies in American urban education."

Jean Anyon's work has won several accolades, and she considers an internationally

renowned academic. She takes her role as a mentor to the next generation of academics

seriously. She and her students have worked on several important papers and lectures in a range

of notable venues. I've gone to a few of these sessions and have been blown away. The

outpouring of grief within our community of scholars—including beginners and seasoned

veterans—that has followed Jean's untimely death is a monument to both our connection to Jean

and her outstanding contribution to the field.

Robert Reich was the subject of the documentary Inequality for All is tenure as

Secretary of Labor. In his Berkley wealth and poverty classes, he discusses how the rich are

wealthier while the poor are poorer. Our country is in a state of emergency, and the general

public is oblivious to the growing gap between the wealthy and those struggling to make ends

meet. Economic policy expert Robert discusses the effect of inequality on our economy, as well

as the policy improvements that have been in place for more than a quarter-century.

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Consumer expenditure is one of the variables that contribute to the well-being of the

middle class in the United States. Currently, the middle class constitutes 70% of the country's

total population. The wealthy have turned to stock options to increase their fortune, while the

middle class is in difficulties and needs aid. He meets a handful of people, some labeled as

middle-class but unable to save money for a down payment on a house, who have lost their jobs,

and cannot provide for their families with food. According to their definition, someone who lives

comfortably and has a steady salary consider being middle-class by society.

Even though the economy is still growing, productivity is also rising. After then,

wages continued to climb until the late 1970s, when they began to level off. What exactly is it

that is driving that chasm to spread even further? The rise of technology had a significant part in

the decline of middle-class wages in the 1970s. According to the unions, this is due to Ronald

Reagan's takeover of the air traffic controllers, which they allege is the cause of their collapse.

The moment companies launched an assault on labor unions to maintain their competitiveness.

Companies grow as a result of globalization and technological advancement, but mainly due to

globalization. For instance, he cites the iPhone as an example. Although it was built in China, the

cash required to acquire it distributes to the companies that make the components for each

individual component of the system. Amazon employs 60,000 people and generates around $2

billion in revenue, but a mom-and-pop business generating the same amount of income would

employ twice as many people.

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Works Cited
Kredell, M. (May 1, 2015). Putnam describes ‘opportunity gap’ between rich, poor at Price Center talk.
https://priceschool.usc.edu/news/putnam-describes-opportunity-gap-between-rich-poor-at-price-center-
talk/ .

McKenna, L. (FEBRUARY 16, 2012). Explaining Annette Lareau, or, Why Parenting Style Ensures
Inequality. https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/02/explaining-annette-lareau-or-why-
parenting-style-ensures-inequality/253156/ .

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