Wealth, Income and Power

Analyzing Wealth , Income , and Power

In his analysis , Wealth , Income , and Power , G . William Domhoff clearly shows that the disparity of wealth distribution in the United States has become more inequitable over the past several decades . This should not come as a surprise as the free market system creates such a scenario . It is , however , important to understand the free market factors that contribute to this scenario

How are disparities in wealth accumulated ? There are many reasons why this occurs . On a baseline level , it simply has to do with the type

of work one is performing . The elite 1 ' of the super wealthy will hold 33 of the nation 's wealth . The next category is professionals managerial personnel , and small business owners and they hold a 51 of the nation 's wealth while comprising 19 of the population . As such different positions in life will yield different distributions of wealth . This does bring about the question of how the remaining percentage of employees and the working poor are unable to amass wealth when some are paid decent incomes . The reason for this centers on the definition of wealth

Domhoff is quick to point out that the definition of wealth is a person 's assets minus their debts . This is an important point because someone who earns a great deal of money but amasses a lot of debt will not be wealthy if his equity is in the negatives . This is a critical point to understand because many workers with...