Sociological Class Theories - Bush
In every society, people are grouped into a variety of categories in order to determine how they earn a living, and how much they earn that actually affects or is affected by the economy. This kind of social stratification is common in virtually all of modern societies, but social class theories can help explain or provide some insight as to why a certain economy works smoothly or inadequately. In effect, the real question becomes, is each social class being served fairly, or does one appear to have a class advantage over the others? The three primary theories of social class are 1) conflict, 2) functionalist, and 3) interactionist. If we examine George Bush's economic policies we'd notice that these were implemented for the express purpose of benefiting the upper classes even though tax cuts may at first glance, seem like an equal benefit for all. By applying each of the aforementioned to theories to Bush's economic policy, we can identify which seems to be the most pertinent.
According to conflict (Marxian) theory, "capitalist societies are divided into two opposing classes, wage workers and capitalists, and that conflict between these two classes will eventually lead to revolutions that will establish classless socialist societies." (Wright 1997) In regards to the functionalist viewpoint, "social classes will emerge because an unequal distribution of rewards is essential in complex societies." (Kornblum 2002) However, the interactionist perspective stresses the prestige factor of understanding the behaviors of status groups that form within a given class. In effect, two persons could be in an upper class neighborhood, but one owns an Olympic-size swimming pool whereas his neighbor only owns an above ground pool. "Armani suits are symbols of urbane professionalism; tweed suits and silk blouses are signs that a woman is a member of the country club set." (Dowd, 1985) That being said, Bush's economic plans seem to favor the upper class, but not just the wealthy, the extremely wealthy - the top one percent.
When we examine the regressive nature of Bush's tax initiatives, the single biggest component is helping single mothers to become financially stable. However, if we take a closer look at a program that was designed to remove certain bottlenecks in the tax code that act like an impediment for the middle class, we'd recognize that the problem is the kind of inequity normally tackled by the Democrats. "As wage earners advance beyond poverty and lose eligibility for income-support benefits like the earned-income tax credit, they face a very high marginal tax rate on every additional dollar they earn." (Greider 2000) The Bush plan helps them by doubling the tax credit for children and creating a new, lower tax bracket at 10% plus charitable deductions for non-itemized returns. "The result is that the zero-tax threshold would move up to $31,000 for single wage earners with children, $35,000 for married ones." (Herbert 2003) The helping hand for single parents would be to deliver about $2.6 billion to families of median income. However, this accounts for only 1.5% of Bush's total package whereas 60% of Bush's tax reductions ($81 billion) are allocated to some 13 million taxpayers who are already living in the highest economic bracket.
It appears that Bush's economic theory of trickle-down economics (hmm, where have we heard this phrase before? - Hello Mr. Reagan), marshals his plan after the functionalist sociological theory of stratification. Although some might argue that the conflict theory directly applies because Mr. Bush appears to favor the upper class over the working one, hence widening an already increasing gap between the two, the fact is Bush does believe that people who have displayed greater talents and deserve greater responsibilities and more money, should therefore be rewarded with greater tax breaks. In effect, some may contend that Bush is creating a job market for the working class by imposing a war where none existed less than a year ago. Let's face it - the working class will be put to work in this effort (rich people don't serve in the military) and more people in uniform will have the opportunity to step up in rank, but unfortunately more government funds will go to waste in this effort, that is except for those who work at military cemeteries.
The simple fact is that functional view of sociological theory can never be accepted as a truly valid one for the notion that people are in different classes primarily because that's how those who have special skills are matched...
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