Legacies of 20th Century Developments in the United States : Establishing and Preserving a Free-Market Economy
Words by Yelim Lee
Design by : Athena Luo the skilled and unskilled to diverge , leading to greater income inequality .
Rapid and robust changes in the economy and technology make it difficult for ordinary citizens to catch up with the pace , causing an increase in structural unemployment , or a form of unemployment caused by fundamental transformations in the economic trends . This incline ultimately contributed to the rise of the natural unemployment rate and finally , the income gap .
22 | SLAS TIMES
With the rapid progression of the global economy , rising income inequality has become a central issue around the world , evoking conflicts and revolutions . In economic terms , income inequality is a significant disparity in the income distribution between individuals , groups , populations , social classes , or regions .
In addition to the technological advances , the introduction of neoliberalism in the United States has contributed to further divergences
Income inequality in general has both positive and negative aspects . While it can cause low social cohesion and lead to a high crime rate , mortality rate , and lower standards of living , the recognition of individual achievements also serves as an incentive for innovation and entrepreneurship . However , the complex societal characteristics of the United States compelled economists to observe the matter in question in a counter-intuitive manner .
Ever since its speedy industrialization and wartime economic boom of the 20th century , the United States has long kept its place as the most developed country in the world . Nonetheless , its uninterrupted growth was followed by numerous difficulties .
The most obvious and influential amplifier of US income inequality is growth and development . Beginning in the late 1900s , the creation of professional and specialized occupations caused between the incomes of the rich and the poor . Neoliberalism refers to the minimization of what is considered economically inefficient , such as price control and tariffs , in order to maximize market efficiency . Even though advocates of neoliberalism claim that their policies increase overall prosperity by actively adopting free-market capitalism , this deregulation takes little account of market equalities . Because the attempt to erase inefficiency coexists with the reduction of transfer payments such as welfare , it ironically leads to the degradation of social mobility .