Inequality in modern society is primarily the result of an economic model of capitalism, where each person’s differential input into the economic context is valued differentially. The explanation and reason are rooted in unequal access to knowledge, opportunities, support, skills, and resources. The conflict theory explains socioeconomic stratification the best, although the suggested course of action might have practical issues. The wealthy class will always strive toward multiplying their wealth, which is mainly acquired through the labor of the working class. The heavy reliance on labor to produce a good or service and the conditions of market competitiveness force and incentivizes worker exploitation rather than the promotion of equity.
The major myth of class structure in the US about social mobility and poverty is the ‘American Dream.’ In other words, one cannot simply work ‘hard enough’ to enter the upper class because there are limiters inherent to the system. A child born in a poor neighborhood will have poorer health and education, which translates to fewer opportunities to be properly employed. Poverty is a state of being with an insufficient amount of socially acceptable material possession and money. Poor people are the ones living in poverty without any financial means to change it. Due to inflation, the rising cost of living, and ever-increasing wealth inequality in the US, the demographics are changing for the worse. The main reason is that the minimum wage is not being increased, the rich are not being properly taxed, and the current poverty line might not be reflective of true statistics.
I feel that we are losing our middle-class structure, and it is important to the US to have a bulk of society as middle class. The latter stimulates the economy because they are the prime consumers, spenders, and transferors of wealth. On the global level, without social mobility and low poverty, the poor cannot enter the middle class. Global stratification impacts the US stratification, policies, and economy by luring corporations to cheap labor comparable to slavery, such as sweatshops, lowering the standard of pay for the working class.