Krugman, Paul. “Wonking out: Are Billionaires Making out like Bandits?” The New York Times, The New York Times, 4 Feb. 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/04/opinion/income-wealth-inequality-pandemic.html.
PART 2 SUMMARY
Jeff Bezos’ superyacht has become a symbol for America’s rising inequality. According to the author, it is critical to distinguish between wealth and income, which are impacted by distinct variables. He contends that significant increases in taxes on the wealthy would be a very excellent idea. Much of the rise in asset values is due to unfavorable news, such as a decrease in the rate of return on new investments. The wealth’s income inequality has increased, but not nearly as much as their wealth – and it has trailed behind that of the bottom half of the U.S. population.
Lower-income Americans have achieved relatively big economic improvements (from a low starting point), yet we remain a very unequal nation. There are several ways in which the pandemic has affected people.
PART 3A REFLECTION
This is an article I would suggest to everyone who is interested in and follows business and financial news. It fascinates me how the divide between affluent and poor is expanding, especially during a pandemic when all others can worry about is how to live. I discovered that wealthy disparity has risen, and it is equally appropriate for the affluent to be taxed more heavily than the typical person. I noticed that although most people were stranded during the epidemic, things were moving at a breakneck rate for the wealthy who had invested in stocks and cryptocurrency, and I personally think it’s a really clever way to grow income, but also a hazardous move if you have a lot to rely on.
PART 3B RHETORICAL ANALYSIS
Krugman,Paul is an American economist, and public intellectual wrote this piece.The author expressed his thoughts considering the pandemic’s occurrences with rich income He demonstrated his accuracy of his opinion with graphs to show the difference in the point he was making. His intended audience for the essay is the public who are interested in business, commerce, and finance, as well as those who wish to learn how to develop income through investments. The New York Times is an up-to-date, reliable, and well-respected source of business and financial news.
PART 4 NOTABLE QUOTES
“So, what has been happening to the income of the very wealthy? It’s up, but not nearly as much as their wealth — and in fact, their gains have lagged those of the bottom half of the population:” (Paul Krugman)
“And if, say, the value of your stocks has gone up because of low interest rates, but the dividends you receive have stagnated or gone down, have you really come out ahead? It’s not that easy of a question to answer.” (Krugman, Paul)
“Some people will, however, also be cheering on interest hikes because they tend to reduce stock prices, which makes the wealthy less wealthy — and this, they imagine, reduces economic inequality.” (Krugman, Paul)
