经济不平等与贫穷知识讲解.pptVIP

Capitalism is traditionally caricatured as unfair and heartless. This view is manifestly unfair. You can emphasize that there are no societies where income or wealth is equally distributed. Point out that there are two concerns: prosperity and equality. Private enterprise (capitalist) societies are, in general, more prosperous, and are in most cases (but not all) no less equal than socialist societies. Ask which is better for a family, to be the poorest in a rich but unequal society or equal with everyone else in a poor society. You can also discuss that there is an opportunity cost to redistributing income in any society—when a dollar is taken from a rich person, a poor person receives less than a dollar. The size of the economic pie shrinks because: ? Productive resources are used to implement the program rather than produce goods and services, ? Redistribution requires taxation, which imposes a dead weight loss on society, ? The incentives facing the recipient of supplemental income are altered, leading to less work, and ? The incentives facing the taxpayer are altered, also leading to less work. 3. You can use the example of college tuition and subsidized services to show how the redistribution of income works. If you’re teaching at a public institution, ask students what their in-state tuition is. Also ask for an out-of-state student to provide an estimate of his or her tuition fees. Ask students why the state sets up this fee structure. You can also ask students why the state is particular when deciding if a student qualifies as a state resident. By asking these questions, see if your students come around to the fact that the state is redistributing income. You can also remind students that by attending a public institution, their parents are recouping a portion of the state taxes they have paid If you are teaching at a private institution, you can use the same exercise, but you will probably need to provide the data. You can also point out that because ther