Posts

Rage Against the Automated Teller Machine

Image
In their 1999 song “Sleep Now in the Fire,” Rage Against the Machine tackles issues of greed and financial inequalities within the United States.   The opening line states “The world is my expense…the cost of my desire…Jesus blessed me with its future and I protect it with fire,” which blatantly sheds light on the growing corruption within America.   When America began to grow in power it was expected to guide its people on a moral path (i.e. the American Dream).   However, the corruption within the country led to all its power laying in the hands of the few and the greedy.   American greed has led to large gaps in income and high levels of poverty for most of the population.   The music video for the song utilizes vivid imagery representing this greed and displays the ignorance and lack of care U.S. citizens have for the growing gap in wealth. The video is not only filmed directly in front of the American Stock Exchange in New York City, but it is also...
Post a Comment
Read more

Perceptions of Equality

Author: Rachel Downey I n “Equality, Sustainability, and Quality of Life,” Wilkinson, Pickett, and De Vogli (2010) argue that greater equality in societies is not only a prerequisite for coping with climate change, but it is essential. In societies with more equality, both physical and mental health issues are lesser. Presumably, this includes nations such as Sweden, Denmark, The Netherlands, and Japan. According to the International Panel on Climate Change, the rise in global temperature this century is estimated to be somewhere between 1.1 degrees Celsius and 6.4 degrees Celsius.This doesn’t sound too staggering to someone who uses the Fahrenheit system, but I did the math and the range is between 34 and 43.5 degrees Fahrenheit. This is terrifying. Imagine a humid summer in St. Louis with temperatures in the 135’s! This could lead to a number of global health crises, including foodborne illnesses, famine, malnutrition, temperature related deaths, and deaths from extr...
1 comment
Read more

Psychology of Inequality: Explaining Irrational Thoughts and Behaviors

Author: Lily Davis Income inequality is the extent to which income is distributed in an uneven manner within a population. In the United States, the gap between the rich and the rest of the population has been continuously growing for the past several decades. For example, in 1979 the top 10% of the U.S. population made a weekly wage of $1,479, while the bottom 10% made a weekly wage of $414. As of 2016, the top 10% of the US population had experienced a steady increase in weekly wages, making an average of around $2,000 per week. Despite this steady increase in the top 10% of the US population, the bottom 10% of the population remained fairly stable and even slightly decreased, making an average weekly income of $397 in 2016 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2016). Not only does there remain a gap between the highest earners of the U.S. population and the lowest earners, but the gap is continuing to grow. The way our population thinks about inequality has a much larger impact on the i...
3 comments
Read more