Response to "Inequality and Violence in the U.S" Chapters 3-5

This reading really opened my eyes to the power big corporations really have over the individual lifestyles we lead and the inequalities prevalent in our society today. Just the fact that people belong to certain social classes according to how much money they make is in itself inequality. Many don't have access to the necessary resources to change their financial position in life; this is the perfect example of inequality. Big corporations have so much power and influence, they change the very dynamics of the traditional employer-employee relationship. They have ways of manipulating the public into not joining unions by withdrawing bonuses and they are able to find loopholes in their tax returns so that they pay only a fraction of what they normally would pay in taxes. These loopholes are not available to the public, so they are left to pay according to what they make. Is it fair for these corporations to manipulate people and money they way that they do? This manipulation can even be credited to the surge of violence that is evident in our society today. People are frustrated with their position in life and working for these big corporations often leaves little room for improving this situation.

This begs the question, is this corporate manipulation more detrimental to society than street crime? Personally, I think it is...not only can this cause the disgruntled employee to lash out physically, it causes family units to struggle with basic necessities. An employee from Wal-Mart cannot support a family on their own, whereas the CEO of the company is able to live quite comfortably and lavishly. This discrepancy is evidence of the inequalities in everyday life. Two people working for the same company can have such differing lifestyles, and the one living the more simple lifestyle cannot do much to change his/her disposition. 

At this point, I wonder whether or not the people in these CEO positions know the power and manipulation they hold. I don't necessarily believe that they want to make their employees miserable, but I think that they feel pressure to make budget cuts and such in order to maximize their profits. 

If that's true, then where does this pressure come from?? I can honestly say I have no idea...maybe if we really knew, then we could find ways of combatting it to make a more even field. 

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http://routingbyrumor.files.wordpress.com/2007/12/walmart.jpg