Archive: Inequality

• WCP: Uber, “Metropocalypse,” and Economic Inequality in DC

  Researchers have already revealed the poor working conditions, high risks, and financial instability that Uber drivers face. In this week’s Working-Class Perspective, Katie Wells, Kafui Attoh, and Declan Cullen show how Uber’s cozy relationship with D.C. policymakers allowed it to pass special rules in its favor. As a result, Washingtonians will likely experience heightened inequality, more discrimination, and worse public transportation.

  Category: Visiting Scholars Tags: Declan Cullen, Gig Economy, Inequality, John Russo, Kafui Attoh, Katie Wells, Lyft, Mayor Bowser, Public transportation, Regulation, Ridesharing, Sharing economy, Sherry Linkon, Uber, Urban Studies, Washington DC, WCP, Working-Class Perspectives

• WCP: The Precariat: Why a Basic Income is Vital

  As work becomes increasingly unstable and insecure, economic inequality balloons. In this week’s Working-Class Perspective, Guy Standing makes the case for a universal basic income with supplements for disadvantaged groups as the only sustainable solution.

  Category: Visiting Scholars Tags: Economic Inequality, Guy Standing, Inequality, John Russo, Precariat, Precarity, Sherry Linkon, Universal Basic Income, WCP, Working-Class Perspectives

• WCP: Equal Opportunity Is Not Enough

  There has been no shortage of explanations and proposed solutions to America’s growing class divide. A recent effort by Richard Reeves’ Dream Horders expands blame from the top 1% to the top 20% of incomes for manipulating the system to benefit their children. In this week’s Working-Class Perspective, Jack Metzgar critiques Reeves’ solutions for reflecting classist attitudes and neglecting transformational policies to generate shared prosperity.

  Category: Visiting Scholars Tags: American dream, Economic Inequality, Inequality, Jack Metzgar, John Russo, Richard Reeves, Sherry Linkon, Tax Policy, WCP, Working-Class Perspectives

• WCP: The Dual Economy

  Increasing inequality has squeezed many Americans out of the middle class and into the working class. In this week’s Working-Class Perspective, Victor Tan Chen reviews Peter Temin’s book, The Vanishing Middle Class: Prejudice and Power in the Dual Economy. Chen argues that Temin’s ‘duel economy’ framework illuminates the challenges facing our economy, but falls short of proposing realistic solutions for the “corrupt and unresponsive political system” that he sketches out.

  Category: Visiting Scholars Tags: Economic Inequality, Inequality, John Russo, Peter Temin, Sherry Linkon, Vanishing Inequality, Victor Tan Chen, WCP, Working-Class Perspectives

• WCP: The Education Campaign: Addressing Inequality through Teaching and Learning?

  Many Americans believe education is the cure for our nation's ills, but the Presidential candidates have been mostly quiet on the issue. In this week's Working-Class Perspectives post, Sherry Linkon

  Category: Visiting Scholars Tags: CAP, Center for American Progress, Economic Inequality, Education, Inequality, John Russo, Racial Inequality, Sherry Linkon, WCP, Working-Class Perspectives

• WCP: Losing More than a Paycheck: Race and Class Conflict in Two New Plays

  In the United States, we perceive deindustrialization to be behind us, but the recent closing of the Carrier plant in Indiana reminds us that industrialization is a continuing phenomenon. In this we

  Category: Visiting Scholars Tags: Economic Inequality, Inequality, John Russo, Race, Reading, Sherry Linkon, Skeleton Crew, Sweat, Theater, WCP, Working-Class Perspectives

• WCP: Master of None Lacks Class

  Aziz Anzari's Master of None gets a lot of things right. Its attention to racism, sexism, diversity, and the immigrant-family experience make the hilarious new Netflix series feel like a breath of f

  Category: Visiting Scholars Tags: Aziz Anzari, Class, Comedy, Diversity, Immgrants, Immigration, Inequality, Master of None, Millennials, Netflix, Precariat, Racism, Sexism, WCP, Working-Class Perspectives