The income gap is when the gap between the wealthy and the poor is very big. This is an issue that is still affecting many people to this day, it is an economic impact that many people have to face. However, the income gap does not only stop at being an economic issue, but it could also have a political and social impact. For me, I take the stand that the income gap causes an unhappy society. The income gap especially makes it harder for people who are of the low middle class to survive and so this affects them negatively. Thus today, we will be discussing both the negative and positive stands, to further expand our knowledge of the issue.
The first reason why the income gap causes unhappiness is that, goods become too expensive and soon many people would not even be able to afford those goods which would make it difficult for them to support their family. As the income gap increases, the higher class will get wealthier and the prices of items sold at stores would increase to cater to the higher class’s wealthiness. This happens because, since, the rich become filthy rich, they would be able to afford very expensive things and would keep buying those expensive things. People tend to buy luxurious goods as they see cheap goods in a negative light. Additionally, they see luxurious goods as something to show their status and it boosts their self-esteem. Thus, because the rich can afford all these expensive things, they would buy a lot of them. Which then leads to stores increasing their prices so as to earn more profit. However, because goods increase in price to cater to the higher class, it becomes too pricey for even the upper middle class to afford. It would make the cost of living too high. Many middle to lower classes would have difficulty supporting their families and their lives would be made harder because of financial issues. With severe financial issues comes unhappiness because of the constant worry of how they are going to survive when they do not have enough money to continue living. It affects the poor severely. Therefore, as goods increase in prices, the cost of living will increase which will bring forth unhappiness due to the constant stress and anxiety of not being able to keep up with the cost of living.
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The next reason why the income gap causes unhappiness is that, with the gap increasing, people will tend to feel envious towards their peers, unfairness or they would even develop an emotion of distrust. Unhappiness does not just come from lower wages but it also comes from the negative emotions that people will feel regarding this issue that is very prominent in many countries today. As the rich get richer while the poor get poorer, unhappiness becomes very prominent. A study was conducted in America where 50,000 responses were taken accounted for. The research shows us that Americans have not been the happiest for the previous 4 years when the gap between the rich and the poor was very high. The income gap affects people negatively in a way where they constantly look at their peers and feel jealous that their peers are making more than they are. They will feel envious that their peers would be able to lead such good and happy lives without worrying about their financial status as much. With all of these negative emotions that they are constantly feeling, it would lead to a decrease in unhappiness. Therefore, because the income gap makes people feel envious, unfairness, and distrust, it decreases their happiness in general. These emotions bring down their mood entirely. Thus, leading to an unhappy society.
In spite of all that, the first reason why the income gap does not affect the happiness of society is that, money does not affect a person’s happiness. Even though, people may feel upset that they have a low income or if their peers have a higher earning than them, happiness comes more from just materialistic things. Happiness is usually based on the things that they have experienced. The memories that they have, like spending time with their loved ones or when they have won an award after all their hard work. Therefore, even though they might feel jealous of others for having a higher income, it does not affect their happiness. If this were to be how the satisfaction of one is with their lives and how the income gap affects that, then yes, an income gap can cause them to feel unsatisfied with their standard of living but, as mentioned before, happiness will not be affected.
Lastly, the income gap does not cause unhappiness in society because, the income gap does not affect the happiness of society especially for the richest 20%. The richest 20% were not affected by the income gap. They do not feel unhappiness, distrust, or unfairness.
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