Write a 200 to 250 word summary of this chapter. Be sure you capture the main ideas. (But don’t go over the word limit — the point is to try to write the summary.)
This chapter is about income inequality and poverty. It discusses the income groups in the United States, and the differences between them. In this chapter we discuss the poverty rate, that is the percentage of families that fall below the poverty line. It discusses how we measure inequality and how those views of inequality can translate into ideals of government. This leads us into the discussion of utilitarianism, liberalism, and libertarianism. It finishes up going deeper into welfare and the role of government in income distribution. Utilitarianism is the philosophy that the government should choose policies to maximize the total utility of everyone in society. Utilitarianism believes in redistribution of wealth from the rich to the poor based on the assumption of diminishing marginal utility. A dollar given back to the poor is better than 1 more dollar to the rich. The government should try and achieve a more equal distribution of income. Liberalism is the philosophy where the government should choose policies deemed just, as evaluated by an impartial observer behind the ‘veil of ignorance’. Liberalism is concerned about the bottom of the income distribution and setting a higher floor by raising the welfare of the worst off in society. Libertarianism is the philosophy where the government should only punish crimes and enforce voluntary agreements, but not redistribute income. Libertarians believe that equal opportunities are more important than equality of outcomes.
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