Historical Events as a Basis for Income Inequality and Social Injustice: Events That Had and Have an Impact on the Social Fabric of the United States

By Frederick D. Bedell

My motivation for writing the essays in this book stemmed from my observations over the past years with my colleagues and friends regarding politics and economics. It has intrigued me as to their voting decisions which led one to conclude were not in their best interest given their economic levels.

After many discussions about politics and economics I determined that there was a void in the areas of politics, economics, historical facts and current trends, so I decided to do some research. The essays in this book are a product of that research.

This book is a revision of my earlier book, “History with a View of Income Inequality and its Impact on the Social Fabric of the United States”.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Sep 20, 2019
• ISBN: 9781796060430

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Copyright © 2019 by Frederick D. Bedell.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 09/19/2019

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CONTENTS

Preface

Acknowledgments

1 Essay on the Historical Events That Have Become the Basis for Income Inequality and Social Injustice in the United States

This essay explores the founding of the Constitution, which, for all intents and purposes, was the basis of wealth accumulation and the domination of the landed gentry and the corporate behavior that privatized public assets for profit that contributed to income inequality.

2 Section 1 Flaws and the Causes of the Crises of 2007 and 2008

This essay is divided into two sections. Section 1 (2007) examines the theory of American exceptionalism that is based on capitalism. In addition, it focuses on the real estate crisis that was one of the major factors in the financial crisis of 2007.

Section 2 (2008) explains the causes of the financial crisis of 2008. In addition, the financial transactions and financial instruments used in that crisis are explained.

3 Section 2 The Financial Crisis of 2008

This essay is written in the context of unifying the previous essays, highlighting the causes that led to the economic malaise of the economic debacle that contributed to income inequality. In addition, we examine the behavior of the wealthy class, manipulating and taking their advantages in public education.

4 Economic Injustice as an Understanding of the Two Americas—the Affluent and the Less Affluent

This essay speaks to the context of domination and subordination as it pertains to white supremacy / white privilege as manifested in the history of slavery and Jim Crow laws in the United States that continues to subjugate and marginalize minorities through federal, state, and local policies.

5 Essay on Race Relations in the United States and Its Impact on Social Injustice

This essay examines the impact of the new revolution of knowledge and information with an emphasis on automation and technology that has decimated the jobs of the lower-skilled workers in the middle class and that also promotes income inequality. We make several suggestions regarding several programs that can address this situation

6 Essay on Innovating the Future and Education on the Brink

Conclusion (Connecting the Dots)

References

Other Publications By The Author

About the Author

PREFACE

My motivation for writing the essays in this book stemmed from my observations over the past years with my colleagues and friends regarding politics and economics. Their voting decisions have intrigued me and led me to conclude they were not in their best interest given their economic levels.

After many discussions about politics and economics, I determined that there was a void in the areas of politics, economics, historical facts, and current trends; so I decided to do some research. The essays in this book are a product of that research.

This book is a revision of my earlier book History with a View of Income Inequality and Its Impact on the Social Fabric of the United States.

I have added additional essays that speak about race relations and current trends in social injustice.

The context of the book focuses on the social construct of domination and subordination, and at the center of this concept is white supremacy / white privilege.

The essays affirm this observation by the documentation of historical events that have occurred throughout the history of the country.

In addition, I offer some suggestions and possible solutions that address these issues, particularly in the area of education and technology.

The essays may be redundant as they overlap in several instances in order to support the theme of the different essays. Each essay is designed to stand on its own yet collectively to affirm the historical background of the economic and social dilemma that we find ourselves in today.

Some of the references date back several years, but I feel they are still relevant to today’s political and economic environment.

In researching and writing articles, the writer searches for facts to reaffirm his or her beliefs; we take parts of records or documents and develop an argument to defend our position. It is within this context that this book is written.

Fred Bedell

July 2013

Revised: July 2019

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to acknowledge all my family and friends who have reviewed the text and offered commentary.

ESSAY ON THE HISTORICAL EVENTS THAT HAVE BECOME THE BASIS FOR INCOME INEQUALITY AND SOCIAL INJUSTICE IN THE UNITED STATES

1. Introduction

Today’s voters are inundated with a plethora of information and issues. Political views often confuse the electorate. Some of the information are accurate and some slanted to the advantage of the political party providing the information. Misinformation or disinformation is the communication vehicle that often find ways into our homes; the question becomes, How do we sort through the information that is based on facts and is accurate? The purpose of this essay is to address this dilemma.

2. Background Information

We hope to establish a background grounded in historical events that are omitted in today’s political discourse. The focus of this essay is to acquaint the reader with a view of historical events that may lead to an open-mindedness about what got us to where we are today and why these historical events have contributed to social injustice and economic inequality.

We will speak to the corporate culture that had its beginnings in the founding of the Constitution, which was the basis for wealth accumulation through the institution of slavery. In addition, we will focus on the privatization of public assets for profit and how corporations use the legislative process for their personal gains.

3. Income Inequality

What is income equality? It is, for all intents and purposes, defined as the disparate income distribution among Americans where the top 1 percent of the population owns more than 40 percent of the country’s wealth. During the