Economic

(in)Justice

The Class Division of

American Society

Victor Brancati
Kayla Robinson
Ethics 1098

What do you think of when you hear the term

Economic Injustice?

Where justice is denied, where poverty is

enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where
any one class is made to feel that society is an
organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade
them, neither persons nor property will be safe.Fredrick Douglas

Any city, however small is in fact divided

into two, the city of the poor, the other of
the rich; these are at war with each other.
-Plato

Examples of Economic Injustice Throughout

History

The Stamp Act of 1764

Colonists protest the British Parliament

The French Revolution of 1799

The Third Estates Revolution

Factory Worker Boycotts in the 19th Century

Wealthy factory owners unfairly treating
workers.

Delano Grape Strike 1965-1970

Lead by Cesar Chavez, the strike was used as
a way to com

Occupy Wall Street Movement (2012)

Protesters protested the amount of wealth that the 1% held compared to the
rest of the country.

Division Of Classes
The Top 1%

Vs.

The Bottom 99%

The Top 1% of America

The Top 1% Demographic

In the United States the Top 1% Make 13.2-45.4 times
more each year than bottom 99%
In California:
Yearly Earnings to be in 1%: $454,000
Average income of the top 1%: $1.4million
Average income of of bottom 99%: $49,000
Top 1% makes 29 times as much as the bottom 99%

http://money.cnn.com/calculator/pf/income-rank/

The Poor
The poor, or people
who live at or below
the poverty line,
make up 43.1 million
42.2 million Americans lived in food
people
in the including
United
insecure households,
29.1
million
adults
and 13.1
million
children
States
(Feeding
America)
.
(Feeding America).
Among racial and ethnic groups,
African Americans had the highest
poverty rate, 27.4 percent, followed by
Hispanics at 26.6 percent and whites
at 9.9 percent.(The State of Working America)

http://playspent.org/

The poverty line is a line created as an

estimate to the amount of income someone
needs to secure the necessities of life.

Effects on Poverty on Health Care

19.2% Percent of people under age 65 and below the
poverty line who did not have health insurance at
any time in 2015
People in poverty are more likely to live in
communities with hazardous outdoor and indoor air
pollution
People who are chronically ill or disabled from an
injury are likely to become poor or even poorer
http://blog.oup.com/2013/11/poverty-public-health-united-states/

Effects of poverty on Education

More than 30 million children are growing up in poverty
Children living in poverty have a higher number of
absenteeism or leave school altogether because they are
more likely to have to work or care for family members.
Dropout rates of 16 to 24-years-old students who come
from low income families are seven times more likely to
drop out than those from families with higher incomes.
40% of children living in poverty arent prepared for
primary schooling
https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-education-and-poverty-america

Minimum Wage V Living Wage

The minimum wage is the minimum hourly wage an
employer can pay its employees (331).
A Living wage is calculated based upon the cost of
living in a given region, factoring in things like rent, food,
transportation, and child care (331).
Shocking Fact: In 2010, 4.4 million Americans were paid the federal
minimum wage of $7.25.
Interactive Map:
http://www.confessionsoftheprofessions.com/living-wage-infographic/

Ethic Principle Connections:

John Rawlss Theory of Justice
Wealth
Levels

Societ
yA

Societ
yB

Societ
yC

High
Incom
e

$200,0
00

$70,00
0

$20,00
0

Mediu
m
Incom
e

$70,00
0

$40,00
0

$20,00
0

Low
Incom
e

$15,00
0

$30,00
0

$20,00
0

Why are socialism and Capitalism ethical or not

Laissez-faire --------------- Capitalism --------------- Socialism
No Government
Government
Total
Government
Interference
Facilitates
Control

Activity
http://playspent.org/

Sources
http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/2016/06/17/How-Much-Money-It-Takes-Be-To
p-1-Every-State
http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Country=United_States/Salary
http://inequality.org/income-inequality/
http://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/impact-of-hunger/hunge
r-and-poverty/?referrer=https://www.google.com/
http://blog.oup.com/2013/11/poverty-public-health-united-states/