Obama: Income Inequality a Defining Challenge - Economics Essays Examples

Summary

US President Barack Obama said that America has stumbled on the problem of economic income inequality, despite the fact that the economy is growing each year. He claims inequality to be the underlying problem of our market economy. The income gap between rich and poor in America as well as limited social mobility remain major problems, the solution of which will depend on the economic future of the country. At the same time, Mr. Obama points out that such problem is not unique around the world. So why should we care so much and pronounce it so much, if the problem is embedded in the free-market system itself?
Well, the President considers the USA to be the wealthiest country in the world. It is unacceptable for a civilized society to have kids suffering from lack of basic health care and descent primary education. Increased inequality trends are likely to reduce his ratings, provided that the President built his election campaign around social issues. Addressing this problem Obama recognizes his own failure to reduce unemployment rates and ensure sustainable growth. Obama is a democrat after all and equality is a milestone for any democrat in power. That is why the President considers this issue to be the defining challenge of our time.
Obama built his speech in such a way, that it seems to continue the topic had been raised by him two years ago, when he spoke about the problems of income inequality and limited social mobility.
In this speech President Obama conveys the principles of equal human rights and dignity of the nation. We, the people deserve a better life, because we are Americans, and we are above inequality. One may claim Obama for his pluralism and will probably be right, but the one thing is indispensable to Mr. Obama – his charisma of a leader.
Talking about inequality issue he uses emotional arguments, which eventually take us to the point at which we don’t think of the reasons, but rather of consequences such, as starving kids. Obama places himself in one line with any compassionate citizen. He addresses our hearts with phrases like “this challenge is the very essence of who we are as the people”. Unity and compassion are, to my mind the key points of his inequality speech. United we can’t be offended by such problems as low quality of primary education. We are better than this.
The target audience is the middle class, the layer which traditionally the most vulnerable to the inequality issues. Reference to Pope himself are quite are strong argument for any citizen, who spends his Sunday morning in a church.
So, to sum up I want to express my own feelings about this speech. Obama raises controversial issue, but places it in a way, that cannot offend anybody. His arguments are strong and, which is more important, emotional. They make us feel united as a nation that faces a problem which relates to all of us. Gestures and voice techniques have always been Obama’s tricks and he goes using them to the best of his ability. This body language makes us believe in what he says. I hope that this speech will eventually lead to actions, because our nation cannot suffer from the lack of middle class, and, substantially, inequality problem. Middle class, which is the driving element of sound free-market system, is shrinking. And government needs to employ sound policies regarding unemployment regulation and investment stimulation. This problem is typical for almost all developed countries due to the recession of middle class both in Europe and in the USA and even 4-years economic grows is not enough to provide income equality. For Obama this issue is more political, but nevertheless, essential.

Works Cited

“Obama: Income Inequality a Defining Challenge,” Bing [online]. (4 December 2013) Retrieved from: http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=obama+on+income+inequality&FORM=HDRSC3#view=detail&mid=ACF0B82AD4288CFF2FDBACF0B82AD4288CFF2FDB