Directions: Today, we will begin watching Inequality for All. While you watch, please take notes. In this blog space, jot down your initial questions and impressions in Three (3) paragraphs using direct evidence from the documentary. Please use the list of questions from Robert Reich's website to help us begin our discussion.
Study Questions
1) Describe a moment from the film really sticking with you – maybe you found it particularly inspiring or particularly troubling. What was it about that moment that is so memorable?
2) Imagine going home and telling a friend about this film. What would you say?
3) What parts of the film were surprising or made you sit back and say, “Hmmm, I need to think more about that? Or, “Wow, I never thought about that.”
Visit the webiste:
View this brief explanation about the economic structure in America, which is similar to Reich's.
Celia Hoffman
ReplyDeleteA part in Inequality for All that stuck with me was when he said “400 people have more wealth than half the population.” I found that statistic really troubling and scary to think about. 400 people does not compare to half of the population. It's troubling to think that those few 400 are more wealthy than 194 million people living in this country.
I would probably tell them that the poor and middle class are more poor than we thought. And I would explain the statistics to them. I would tell them that 400 people have more wealth than half of the population and that the wealthy are 100 times more rich then the poor. And I would also explain how the middle class isn’t doing very well and how the economy depends on them. Hopefully that would make them think.
I think what was surprising to me is that I haven’t heard of it before, since it is such a big deal. Something that made think “Wow, I’ve never thought about that” was when it was mentioned that the middle class are vital to the economy. Since they purchase everything, they are big contributors in the economy.
1)
ReplyDeleteDescribe a moment from the film really sticking with you – maybe you found it particularly inspiring or particularly troubling. What was it about that moment that is so memorable?I thought that the last clip in the wealth documentary was very shocking because how wrong people were about their wealth and place on the wealth chart.
2) Imagine going home and telling a friend about this film. What would you say?
I would tell them that the wealth difference is astonishing and the difference between middle class and the rich are.
3) What parts of the film were surprising or made you sit back and say, “Hmmm, I need to think more about that? Or, “Wow, I never thought about that.” A part in the film I was surprised about was when the documentary talked about the difference of money earned compared to middle class and rich in past vs present day.
ReplyDeleteAnthony Dimuzio
One moment that stuck with me through the film was that 400 people had made more money than half of the country. If I told a friend about this film they would probably think that this video is crazy because 400 people made more money than half of a country and that people where in dept and they could not get out of it. I thought that the part about the middle class was interesting because the middle class keeps everybody together. The middle class people have problems with money but they are living comfortable. And I never thought about the middle class struggle as much because they are middle class and I though that they were not rich but not poor and lived comfortable.
Dylan Brenner
ReplyDelete1) Describe a moment from the film really sticking with you – maybe you found it particularly inspiring or particularly troubling. What was it about that moment that is so memorable?
One thing that stuck out to me was that 400 people have more wealth than half of the population in the U.S. This is weird to say and think about today because this is saying that 400 people are not with half the population.
2) Imagine going home and telling a friend about this film. What would you say?
I would tell them that the poor and the middle class are actually really poor. Some people may think that someone is in the middle class, but they might say that they are on the poor side because they are barely making the middle class.
3) What parts of the film were surprising or made you sit back and say, “Hmmm, I need to think more about that? Or, “Wow, I never thought about that.”
One part of the film that was surprising to me was that some of the middle class people are actually struggling with money. This surprises because the middle class shouldn’t be like the more wealthy people, but then again they shouldn’t be struggling with money like the poor are.
Luke Newton
ReplyDeleteWhat really shocked me is that the US ramks 64th in income inequality and that 400 people own more wealth than half the country. This shocked me because I think of the US as a 1st world country, but i had no idea we were on the same level at Uganda and The Ivory Coast when it came to Income Equality.
I would tell them that the middle class is struggling a lot and the top 1 percent is taking much of the wealth in this country, I would tell them that the economy needs a vibrant and growing middle class to survive for long.
What really surprised me is how much the economy depends on the middle class and how much difference there is in how much the 1 percent make compared to the middle class and the poor. It is crazy that 400 people make more than half the country and how the middle class is almost making the same as the poor.
Suhani Karki
ReplyDelete“The US has the most unequal Distribution of Wealth” This quote from Robert Reich really stood out to me because it was very troubling. To think that out of all 195 countries in the world, the US has the most unequal Distribution of wealth is a huge issue. I cannot believe that this is true because the US is one of the most developed countries in the world. If you told people in undeveloped countries about this issue, they would not believe it because other countries think so highly of the US.
If I had to go home and tell my friends about this film, I would say to them that it really opens your perspective of things. I would ask them if they think that the system (Distribution of wealth) is skewed unfairly, and after they answer I would say that 92% of people believe that the system is biased unfairly. Which means a lot because it is very accurate. The fact that even Americans (The middle class, Upper class, and lower class) know this is very concerning to me because that makes this problem ‘real.’
I never thought that the typical 1% (super wealth people) was making $393,682. In fact, I felt that it was absurd that there even is 1%. Everything about the documentary made me very surprised (even when Robert Reich met Bill Clinton). Even that, 400 people have more wealth than half the population of the US. Which is very surprising because 400 people are a lot especially if you humanize them.
Dowol Lee
ReplyDeleteOne part of the film sticking to me is that the middle class is what holds the economy together. The consumers buy everything and stimulate the economy. This really stuck out to me because it shows how important we are, and how we effect the overall United States. the top 1% depends on the middle class. The money distribution is so uneven. I never knew this fact. If I had to show this film to a friend, I would say it helped me understand our country and how money distribution works. I learned a lot from this documentary and I find it very interesting that The 400 richest people have more wealth than half of the United States.
The fact that the top 400 richest people have more wealth than half of the United States is very surprising and made me think about how unfair the money distribution is
Hanna Saad
ReplyDeleteThe moment that really stuck with me is that the wealth is actually not distributed equally. The information is also troubling because people's salaries. We need people in the middle class to be consumers and workers and the poor should be in the working class and spend some money. The moment that is memorable is that the inequality was very bad. People were only making ten dollars more than minimum wage.
I will tell them that people income and wealth was very unbalanced. The middle class helps with the economy. The middle class has no official definition. I would say that the one percent is a job creator. And if you own a business there are only so many consumers to buy your pillows.
I never really thought about that the top one percent only had so much things to by. For the past 40 years the wages have dropped down and flattened. This cause more people in families to have one or more people working.
What do you mean by flattened?- Griffin
DeleteGriffin Littlewood
ReplyDeleteWhat surprised me the most was the difference between the middle class and our top class. I was surprised how even with the amount that they make is not even used by the 1%. I also thought that we can't be equal but we could definitely spread the money out a lot more between the classes. I believe that you have to work hard to get paid the amount of money that you want you shouldn't just expect it to come to you but, this doesn't mean people should not have a home to go to or food during the day you should be able to live a normal life.
I would tell a friend how unfair this is and how the division is so off for the payment in the classes. I would expand off of that by saying how we should split it so no one has to struggle that bad and live off things like food stamps. This is because people should have a chance to achieve anything for the american dream.
A moment that really made me think is that we are forty-sixth in the world for the most inequality out of 195. This is really bad because it causes us to look bad economically and our middle class is struggling. The middle class controls our spending causing are money to spread.
Yasmiin Ali
ReplyDeleteThe moment from the film that really stuck with me was when they compared what people think people are paid and what’s actually the truth. When they showed the graph change from thoughts to the truth I was shocked. The middle and bottom class have 7% of 40% and the 1% has 20% of America's wealth. What's crazy is that 70% of our economy depends on consumers. The moment that is so memorable was when the women working in Costco started talking about how much she is paid and how much struggle she goes through every day. If I told a friend/family about this film, I would tell them about the differences in what the middle class gets paid and 1%. I would first ask them about how much money each class makes. Then I would tell them the truth. The fact that back in 1978 the typical male worker $48,302 and typical 1% $393,682 and in 2010 - typical male worker $33,751 - typical 1% $1,101,089 is scary. I never thought about how much people are actually paid before. Now I want to ask my dad how much he makes per year and maybe tell him about what I learned in the film.
Evan Lin
ReplyDeleteOne thing that surprises me is how 400 of the wealthiest people in the country can have the same amount of money as the rest of the nation. There are over 325 million living in the country and the 400 richest have a greater amount of money. It really shows how little the middle class is paid for their work.
I would tell him about how the middle class control the economy, and how unequal the wealth is being spread among the people. I would tell him about the wages and how they are going down, and how a small amount of people can still have more money than the rest of the country.
How, over the years, even as the economy grows, the average wage of a worker goes down significantly.
Nick Entner
ReplyDeleteAm moment in the film the surprised me was when the women said that she only makes 21 dollars an hour. I think that it's sad that we don't think about what we have how good we have it. But there are people who only make little money and have nothing. I think that this is very crazy.
I would tell a friend that the US has some problems that need to be fixed. I think that the things are happening to people are terrible. I think people should be able to have a job that can support them and have them be able to live happily with no problems. I just think that this is sad. This is an awful thing happening to so many people.
The most surprising part of the film to me is when the women and men talk about what it's like to be in the middle class. I feel awful that these people have to be worried just to make it through the day. I just wish the middle class was more developed and is able to maintain itself. I can't believe this is happening.
Jacob Moore
ReplyDeleteI find it crazy how that 1% of american people make 20% of all the wealth in america. That just blows my mind because such a small percentage of people have a good chunk of america's wealth. I think it's kind of a scary topic because who knows what someone could do with so much money because I feel in our society money=power. Another thing talks about how 400 of the richest people in america networks have more money than the rest of americas net worth.
If I went home and told my friend about this film I would say how the U.S has the most disproportionate wealth between the middle class and the upper class. I would also tell them how in 2010 the average middle class worker made 35,751$ and the average top class worker made 1,101,089$. Lastly I would tell them that the upper class only makes so much money because of the middle class is buying their products, so the world really revolves around the middle class.
I think the biggest part that made me sit back was that most people who are in the upper class own businesses for example the man that they interviewed was a pillow business owner that brought in around 10,000,000$ a year. But the key point for having all this money is that he saves it all which is the biggest problem because all the rich people save all their money while all the middle class people spend it all. That kinda made me think that I want to be a businessman.
I like how you should alot of data to support your answers
Deletesean -
DeleteSean Curtis-
ReplyDeleteOne thing that really surprised me was how the 1%/400 Americans make up the 20% of American wealth. I believe this is a real issue and I think that more people need to know about it.
When I would meet up with a friend there would be many opinions about this film. My biggest topic of discussion would be how much money the 1% is making compared to the middle class, poor, and even some of the rich. I would talk about how to have a working system you need a strong middle class to support the inequality.
What I thought about was where I stood in the classes. I was definitely not a 1% but I wasn't a poor either. This made me think how big companies and people are controlling the world. Even when the Wealthy get a ton of money they don't usually spend it because they don't have to. This is one of the biggest causes leading up to the inequality and it is making a lot of people mad.
Shruthi Saravanan
ReplyDeleteA moment from the film which was really striking for me was was when they mentioned that the top 40 wealthiest people have about the same amount of money that half of the US population has. It gave me a really good visual example of their main point, how unsable America’s wealth distribution balance was. It really made me worried of how bad this situation really is because as time goes by this could easily become worse and worse making the distribution become more unequal.
If I went home and told a friend about this I would mention how mislead people are when it comes to wealth in general. How much money certain people have compared to others, what was the source of them gaining all of this money in the first place, where people assume their money goes to when they pay for something, where the money actually goes when you pay for something.
A part of the film that was surprising for me was when they said the amount of money a certain worker gets compared to another worker who has a slightly higher job than them in the past and how much change there was now between those to jobs. The difference between the two wages of money now in 2010 was so much bigger than it was in the past which clearly shows how much the distribution got messed up.
*400 people
DeleteOlivia Dionisio
ReplyDeleteSomething that surprised me a lot is that the average worker now is only making around 30 thousand dollars a year. In past years the average middle class family was making around 50 thousand and houses were also a lot cheaper so the middle class thrived.
If i was telling my friend about this movie i would tell them that the economy is very unequal right now, the rich are taking most of the wealth and the middle and poor class is having rough times.
What really made me think was that the pillow selling guy said that it doesnt matter how many pillows you make if no one can afford to buy them, this made me realize that every economy needs a healthy middle class to thrive.
Xingyun Pan
ReplyDelete1) Describe a moment from the film really sticking with you – maybe you found it particularly inspiring or particularly troubling. What was it about that moment that is so memorable?
I felt particularly troubling when I saw the graph of, “The distribution”. It clearly shows that there are different incomes for different classes. The middle class earns even less money than we thought the lower class will get. They need to struggle for food everyday and they didn’t feel like that they are members of the middle class..
2) Imagine going home and telling a friend about this film. What would you say?
I would say that this film shows us that the equitable difference between different classes is becoming even worse. The top 400 people have more wealth than the rest of the country. From 1972 to now, the income of middle class even decreases, but the income of top class has doubled since then.
3) What parts of the film were surprising or made you sit back and say, “Hmmm, I need to think more about that? Or, “Wow, I never thought about that.”
In the film, It says “when is inequality became a problem, how much inequality can we tolerate?” I think I never thought about that. It’s a serious problem and I think I need to think about it although it hasn’t affected my daily life like how it affects the family in the film. But I think that someday maybe when I grow up, if this problem still exists, I will maybe be one of the character in the film. Not only in the US, China also has this problem. The price of the houses increase dramatically and the rich people are getting richer from buying and selling the houses. But the poor people could never have enough money to pay for the houses.
Jillian Boyer
ReplyDelete2) Imagine going home and telling a friend about this film. What would you say?
I would say, ”I just watched a really interesting film in English today. It was about the difference between the wealth of the upper, middle and lower classes. It was very shocking and intriguing to see the patterns between economic growth and decline over many years. It was also interesting to see just how much of a difference there is in the different classes, and especially the top 1-10%.
Jillian Boyer
ReplyDelete2) Imagine going home and telling a friend about this film. What would you say?
I would say, ”I just watched a really interesting film in English today. It was about the difference between the wealth of the upper, middle and lower classes. It was very shocking and intriguing to see the patterns between economic growth and decline over many years. It was also interesting to see just how much of a difference there is in the different classes, and especially the top 1-10%.
sorry I posted that twice by accident - jillian
DeleteRobbie Mahlebjian
ReplyDelete1) The thing that stuck with me that I learned from the film was the middle class controls the economy. If the middle class is doing bad then everyone does bad.
2) I would probably ask them if they heard of the topic of the economy now. If we begin discussing about the economy I would bring up the movie in the discussion.
3)I think what made me think the most is the floating money the one percent had just vaulted away somewhere into nothingness not getting used at all. I mean what if all of America's money is going to the corporations.