Wealth Inequality Flashcards
Lifestyle choices
E- some people argue that wealth inequality exists because of the designs individuals have made. They argue that wealthy individuals have made better decisions than poorer and have much more money. If poorer people made better lifestyle choices and used there money better then they wouldn’t have financial problems.
E - an example of this is the research carried out in 2020 which found that almost a quarter of a million UK households are living in poverty due to the combined spending on alcohol and tobacco products. Household with the lowest income spend £25 per week on alcohol and tobacco
H - this argument is opposed by collectivist who argue that people living in poverty are better at managing ig there money then those who aren’t as they can’t afford to waste money. Poorer people get often cannot male better choices as they spend more per person than rich people on housing because they can’t afford to do anything but rent. Research from the institute of of cal studies published in 2023 found that low income families have become more likely to be private renters and face higher cost.
Low wages
E - some people argue wealth inequality exist because of wages being low. They suggest that wages for poorer people should be increased to bring their income closer rich people.this argument is supported by groups like the living wage foundation. They argue that the minimum wage should be based on what people need to survive. Currently the minimum wage is £10.18 per hour. The living wage foundation suggest it should be £12 across the country and £13.15 in London
E- in November 2023 the government accounted there new living wage rates for 2024 as £11.44 an hour ans have adjusted this to include over 21 year olds. This wont come into effect until April 2024. However this is still £1,092 a year short of what a wokrer on the real living wage should earn
H - this argument is opposed by many who argue that wages are not too low and compared to other countries the UK wage is set a perfect level. It is higher than many countries like the USA and raising it more would lead to employers not being able to hire staff, so people would loose their jobs
Dependency culture
E - some people argue that wealth inequalities exist because the benefits system encourages People not to go to work, but to stay home and receive money from the government. They think that benefit system provides them enough money to survive, people are not motivated enough to get a job. This leads to wealth inequalities because they are not earning enough as much as those who do not live on benefits.
E- an example of this is the current benefits that is claimed by most unemployed people, is job seeker allowance that is up to £73.10 per week. Some people argue that this is too much and it should be lowered to force people back into work rather than take money from the government.
H- this argument is opposed by many groups who argue that there is little evidence to suggest that people are happy living on benefits. A study by Joseph rowntree foundation could not find a single family in the UK where three generations had been unemployed and found that the vast majority of unemployed people remained committed to value of work and searching.
Employment status
E - some people argue that wealth inequalities exist because of the type of work that people are doing. Recently there has been a big shift towards zero hour contracts where workers have a contract with an employer but are not guaranteed a certain number of hours each week, and gig economy jobs were workers are not not salary but per job they do
E- according to guardian newspaper there are nearly a million people working on zero hours contracts who loose an estimated £1000 a year compared to dot ordinary employees doing the same work. This argument is supported by groups like the resolution foundation who found zero hour workers earned 93p less an hour compared to staff on permanent contacts, this made it worse by the fact people on zero hour contracts tend to work fewer hours per week than those on permanent contracts
H - this argument is opposed by many individuals who argue that zero hour contracts offer choice to worker. A 2013 study found that 47% of workers on zero hour contracts were very satisfied or satisfied with their deal and 72% believed it offered them some choice over the hours they worked
