The distribution of wealth in America has been uneven since 1970. We can see the uneven distribution by comparing one of the wealthiest man in America, Bill Gates, who makes over $50 billion, to a homeless person, who has nothing. This shows an income inequality in the U.S because there is a huge gap between rich and poor. While the unemployment rate has decreased in the U.S, the gap between rich and poor in this country has dramatically increased ("Understanding the Distribution of Wealth in America"). There are many contributions to the gap, such as different education levels among citizens and cost of living. The main reason that contributes to the income inequality between rich and poor is technological advances. Technological advance hurt the low-income class greatly but at the same time is a big gain to the higher class. .
Many of today's technological advances have eliminated wide range of jobs in the industry. Today's technology is growing rapidly through out the work force. A rapid change in technology means that there are machines that can replace human's jobs. For most low-income workers this means unemployment. Since most of these workers had little or no education, it is very hard for them to keep up with the technological advances of today's world. Therefore these workers are then either lay off or are replaced by machines that can do their jobs at a faster rate and a cheaper price. For example, many years ago banks nationwide needed tellers to help customers with deposits and withdrawals. A teller is considered to be a low-income to middle class job by society, and it was a very popular position because all banks required it. It was popular for a while until ATM machines were introduced. ATM machines basically do the same thing as a teller does such as allowing one to makes deposits, withdraws, transfers, all at a faster rate and even more convenient for some people.
