Capitalism's influence: The Gap Between the Rich and The Poor

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The Gap Between the Rich and The Poor
Capitalism refers to an economic and political system in which the country’s trade and industries are controlled by private owners for profit rather than the state. It is a phenomenon that has taken root since the industrial revolution and has been incorporated in almost all communities on the planet. Communism, which is an alternative system of resource distribution has had conflicting ideologies and has failed. However, capitalism which seemed to be worthy the chase has been failing. Capitalism has created income inequality and the gap between the rich and the poor has been expanding exponentially. According to CITATION Har14 \l 1033 (Bruinius), more than 95 percent of all income is for the rich one percent whilst the rest of the world share the other 5%. Additionally, CITATION BBC16 \l 1033 (BBC) observes that the wealth of richest 1% equal to other 99%. These startling statistics show the gravity of income inequality in the world birthed and supported by capitalism.
Many people believe if they work hard, pursue their dreams, convert opportunities to income generators, they will join the rich. The system has been hinged on this fallacy and has continually been indoctrinating the masses with this belief. It is true if you work hard the system will reward you with its goodies and enable you to live a good life. However, the system has more hurdles for the poor than the rich. To break out survival income and start earning enough to invest is a challenging endeavor and many have been unable to do it. They continue to writhe in economic stings that the capitalist system hands them. On the other hand, the rich are having it easy. They hire the best managers and pay them handsomely. These managers generate a lot of money for them and they are at best idling around. Their families have the best the world has to offer with least effort. In a capitalist system, the least effort borne by the rich gives them the highest income whilst the other people who work hard get meagre returns. The system has already been rigged to favor the rich.
The wall street is a perfect example of the effect of capitalism in a country. A single street down in New York houses the most profitable companies in the United States of America. The street single handedly controls most of America’s industries and through some antics developed by the rich, they channel the profits of these corporations in to their pockets. The wall street is heavily intertwined with the political arena of the United States and it positions itself to institute and implement policies that favor these corporations. Through lobbying, they sway the political opinions to ensure they formulate and implement policies to enrich themselves. These policies touch on tax and capital flow through the economy. CITATION Tam14 \l 1033 (Cave and Rowell) observe that lobbying is just bribing the political class to subvert the will of the people for own selfish gains and capitalism has successfully achieved in this regard.
The system is rigged against the people such that when these big companies that control significant chunks of the economy face challenges that threaten their sustainability, the government ...