Here’s what I believe: it is the duty of us all to be concerned with wealth disparity. Age, race, gender, religion, what have you aside; this is one of the most important issues that we as a society face today. I’m not any sort of activist, make no mistake. I’m pretty much your average high school senior girl (yes, one of my current worries is that I won’t find the right dress for prom) and I’m accustomed to being dismissed for this fact, whether consciously or unconsciously. I get it, my generation has a reputation for being somewhat dismissive ourselves and more than a little careless. I’d be lying if said I’ve never been guilty of these things (and probably worse), but I am more than just some teenage girl with petty worries. In fact, I have some very real worries that I think I share with plenty of other people from demographics that differ from my own. For example, I am gravely concerned about the fact that the wealthiest 400 Americans have the same combined wealth as the poorest 150 million Americans. Seriously.

My interest in the topic of wealth inequality has been steadily growing for awhile now. I guess the first time it entered my field of thought was back in 2011 with the Occupy Wall Street Movement. I’m sure most people can recall at least one run in with Occupy protestors and/or their catchy slogan: We are the 99%. At the time, I was certainly aware of my membership in the 99% and I might have felt some solidarity with the demonstrators except that I lead a comfortable life. Going to a private school where I am surrounded by people with wealth far greater than my own is certainly humbling and keeps me reminded me of my middle class status, but still, I do go to a private school and in truth I probably sit somewhere in or near the upper middle class. So the thing is, I didn’t really get what the Occupy protesters were all about. Yeah, there were some privileges that we “99-percenters” missed out on, but as far as I knew it wasn’t so bad. I had no understanding of the harsh reality the protestors were advocating to change. Not until a couple years later that is.

Like every senior at my school, I had to start this school year by working for a total of 20hrs with the political campaign of my choice (which was later detailed in a very extensive campaign portfolio — mine was upwards of 35 pages!). To be perfectly honest, I’m not all that interested in politics. I hate all of the controversy and arguing involved and frankly, a lot of it goes right over my head. Don’t get me wrong, I know how important it all is and I was so excited when I could vote for the first time in the last elections, but I tend to stray away from political conversations and have never ever pictured myself pursuing any kind of career related to politics. Needless to say, there was no particular campaign that I felt super impassioned about. When it came down to choosing which one I would work on I ended up deciding based on the one I imagined would be the most exciting and the one I thought could teach me the most about something I knew very little about. So this is how I ended up working for Kshama Sawant, the socialist alternative candidate for city council.

My time on the Sawant campaign was as interesting as I could have hoped for. I went into it somewhat critical, but still open to having my opinion changed. While I wouldn’t say that I was transformed into a diehard socialist, I really did learn a lot and I discovered that the socialist alternative agenda is not nearly as bad as what a large amount of Americans would have me think. My time on the campaign brought both funny moments and trying moments, but more than anything I walked away with my perspective of America having changed. Some highlights of Sawant’s platform included creating affordable housing and “funding human needs, not corporate greeds.” More than anything Sawant was concerned with giving a voice to the underrepresented population of our city. Politics here in Seattle, Washington are known for being liberal and I’d always assumed that was enough, that all groups were being championed for. Sawant brought to my attention the fact that this was (and is) not the case. It really got me thinking about the reality of not only my city, but our country as well.

After about 2 months of campaign work elections were held, the campaign ended, and I basically felt like my job was done. Sawant achieved an exciting victory and I actually felt like I had something to do with that! Rad. I was ready to walk away feeling accomplished and move on to the next thing, but that’s not exactly how things happened. There was a lot of information I’d picked up during the campaign that I still found swirling around in my mind. I found myself looking at situations with a brand new perspective and I even began listening more closely to political discussions. I took mental notes about what I did and did not agree with. Even so, I tended to keep the thoughts to myself and largely let my focus stray elsewhere. That is, until a couple months later when I found myself bursting with concern.

In late January/early February of this year, I had the pleasure of going on a school trip to El Salvador. I’m not sure how best to describe what this trip was. It wasn’t really a service trip, rather it was a “learning trip” for lack of a better term. We partnered with the SHARE foundation and adopted their concept of solidarity and accompaniment during our 2 weeks. More than anything, this trip was about listening and absorbing all that El Salvador and its people had to offer us by way of story and experience, past and present.

This was my second time visiting El Salvador with my school, I went last year as well, but this time around was completely different. For one thing, this year presidential elections were being held and we were fortunate enough to be involved as International Observers which was a really wonderful experience. However, I think the real difference during this second trip was me. My mental focus was completely different than it had been the first time. I was far less distracted by the novelty of the country and far more interested in a question I hadn’t thought about until the very end of my previous trip: How did they perceive me? I spent a lot of time considering the implications of my presence as an American in El Salvador.

For those who don’t know, El Salvador and the United States share a tangled history. El Salvador is one of the many Latin American countries the US forced its influence upon during the 20th century. At the height of their involvement, the US was pouring $1 million into the Salvadoran Civil War which claimed thousands of lives and tore apart El Salvador’s society. In many ways the country is still recovering. This was a tricky context to be entering in, but it also invited a great deal of personal development.

Everyone I met in El Salvador was so kind to me. I never felt looked down upon for being una extranjera, a foreigner, despite the fact that it couldn’t have been more obvious. Throughout the trip we were met with warm welcomes and gracious hosts. I found it so easy to temporarily slip into a semi-Salvadoran way of life, which I think was a part of my problem during my first visit. I felt so comfortable with everybody and I was so hypnotized by all of the things we had in common, that I forgot to consider all of the major differences between us. And truly, despite some super cool similarities, there were some major differences.

Privilege is a tricky subject for me. On the one hand I think it’s crucial to talk about because it really plays a significant role in society. On the other hand, it can get really uncomfortable talking about privilege and that’s not always a place you want to go to. I certainly didn’t want to address privilege with my Salvadoran friends, despite the fact that it was so conspicuously existent. I think a part of the reason I didn’t really want to think about it was because privilege has a way of making me feel almost guilty, even when I know it shouldn’t. The thing is, because a lot of my privileges were something that I inherited as a result of the fortunate circumstances of my birth, I know that I am not generally any more deserving of the privileges I have than anybody else. And I don’t really know what to do with that.

However, here’s a privilege I’ve been really digesting lately: the privilege of blinders. The privilege not having to acknowledge the existence of something you don’t want to. I think it’s easiest to see this as a privilege when it’s one that you don’t have. For example, all my life people have wanted to talk to me about race. Sometimes it’s because I’m the token black person in the situation (even though I’m 50% African American and 50% White) and sometimes it’s because people want to discuss my ethnicity (or just ask the “what are you??” question). I used to be so envious of my friends who never seemed to encounter this because when I was younger I couldn’t stand talking about race. I got queasy trying to navigate these black and white conversations with my dual representation and what I really wanted was to just pretend race wasn’t even there. Thankfully I’ve become a lot more comfortable having these kinds of conversations now, probably as a result of them being force fed to me when I was younger; but sometimes I still feel bad for that younger me who just wanted to talk about anything else while there were people who never really had to talk about it all.

Anyhow, I realized in El Salvador that I had been unknowingly exercising this privilege of blinders for quite some time, particularly with regard to privilege itself. I had been able to successfully avoid having conversations about my own privilege because I didn’t want to and I was never really forced to. Luckily, I have control over the blinders and I was able to let them go. My choice to avoid complicated subjects was a disservice to myself, my peers, and all of the people I get the chance to meet because not having these kinds of conversations really leaves a lot of important things unspoken. That being said, there was never a time in El Salvador that I felt like I could say “hey, want to have a conversation about privilege?” partially because of the nature of the situations I was in and partially because of the language barrier. But I did what I could which for me meant staying very mindful and reflective of the important privileges that divided me from people I felt close to.

By the time I was leaving El Salvador, 2 weeks after our arrival, I had found myself meditating on one particular issue repeatedly. As I mentioned before, everyone in El Salvador was incredibly nice, but they were also honest when they spoke about the US. This was an interesting discussion topic because it carried a mix of distaste and longing. Many of the kids who attended the school we visited talked about wanting to go to America when they grew up. I also saw first hand in my host family what a big difference it made to have family members in the US. However, many people also spoke about the horribly destructive nature of the US, which was already on my radar. What wasn’t was the fact that this dissatisfaction with the United States was also completely tied up with a strong disdain for capitalism, and this was something I just couldn’t get off of my mind.

When I got back to the States I began feeling hopeless. It had really dawned on me during my final days in El Salvador what a hole we were in. My head was spinning with the intricacies of system that was in place which kept poverty alive. Some of the hardest workers in the world live miles below the poverty line and I don’t need to think very hard to know how wrong this is. At the same time, I wasn’t sure what I could do about this. Mariah vs. Wealth Disparity doesn’t really feel like a fair fight.

A couple days after my return I was fortunate enough to have a conversation with someone I truly respect and whose spirit I really admire. She has been to El Salvador before and was open to listen as I outlined the depths of my confusion and helpless feelings. Turns out she shared them. We both agreed there was this problem out there and its existence proved that something was seriously wrong. At the same time, we made no feeble attempts at deciding on a solution. Rather, we meditated on the fact that it was complicated and nothing about it, or our responsibility to deal with it, really made much sense. Tears were shed and I walked away feeling both relieved at having been able to verbally unload, but also very lost. A couple days later I stumbled across this quote:

Compassion hurts. When you feel connected to everything, you also feel responsible for everything. And you cannot turn away. Your destiny is bound with the destinies of others. You must either learn to carry the universe or be crushed by it. You must grow strong enough to love the world, yet empty enough to sit down at the same table with its worst horrors. -Andrew Boyd

This resonated with me and I decided that that was where I would start, I would sit down at the same table with the particular horror of wealth disparity and get to know it.

It started with a simple google search which led me in a few different directions. First, I came across this statement: The 85 Richest People In The World Have As Much Wealth As The 3.5 Billion Poorest. Read that again. Yes, this is a factual statement (check out this article for more). I was mystified and quickly hurled myself into more research, hungry to know more and dying to know why. Eventually I landed in information specifically about wealth disparity in America and I became hooked. I don’t want to sound too corny, but this is my homeland. I believe so thoroughly in the potential of this country (have I mentioned my patriotic streak?) that I can’t stand to watch us fail so miserably to live up to it. The facts I came across were simply not ok.

A couple years ago this video came out and caused quite a bit of hubbub. That’s not surprising as the video raises all sorts of shocking points that deserve to be talked about. At the time of its release I didn’t really get it…now I watch it wide eyed. To the left is a chart that the video features early on. Turns out, I’m not the only one who had an unknowingly romanticized perspective of the wealth problem in our country. To me, the “What American think it is” graph is pretty bad. Still, it in no way compares to reality which is incredibly troublesome. What I find hopeful about this chart (even if only mildly so), is the fact that Americans want things to be different. Good, I’m not alone in my dissatisfaction. But I became eager for more than just charts and statistics and my craving led me to my beloved public library.

I found the book 99 to 1: How Wealth Inequality is Wrecking the World and What We Can Do About It by Chuck Collins through a basic search of the library database. I’m so glad I did. This turned out to be an easy yet hugely informative read that has provided me with ideas that continued to linger long after I’d closed the book. It also gave me a basis for understanding the situation our country is in. What follows is a brief explanation of some of the information I learned that I think is worthy of passing on.

Who is the American 1%? To be in the top 1% of income owners you must make over $500,000 per year. In 2010, the top 1% in annual earnings made over 21% of the national income. To join the top 1% of wealth holders your net worth must be over $5 million, in 2009 the wealthiest 1% of households owned 35.6% of all private wealth.

How is the 1% using their wealth/power? While not all members of the 1% make use of their wealth in the same way, many of them are using the power that comes along with it to keep themselves at the top. For example, with their vast holdings they are able to heavily influence the politics of our country. This really concerns me. Because of the 1%’s ability to make big campaign contributions, politicians and policy makers are paying closer attention to their needs and their input. They are in the ears of politicians in a way that the 99% can’t afford to be. Our government is more or less an extension of the wealthy elite of our country. No wonder the disparity is only growing.

This brings me back to a conversation I had while working on the Sawant campaign. I remember being told that voting for Barack Obama was just voting for the lesser of two evils. At first I rejected this idea completely. In my house Obama is practically a saint. My father is the most Obama obsessed person I’ve ever met, I kid you not. He has been known to spend large chunks of time watching videos on youtube of Obama’s motorcade. His motorcade. It’s black car after black car passing across the screen. I don’t get it. I guess that just knowing Obama is in one of them isn’t exactly enough for me. Still, I share the love for him. I remember the first time he was elected, we had neighbors over at our house to watch the results come in and tears were shed when it was announced that Obama would be our next president. I will never forget that moment, I knew I was witnessing something special. And I still believe it was. Obama’s election represented great strides for our country, but I can now see that it isn’t enough.

Of course I would rather Obama be elected over John McCain or Mitt Romney, there’s no doubt. Still, Obama is only relatively liberal. I would argue that without direct comparison to the right wing of country, Obama can be considered conservative. I’d also like to point out that the problem is not just Obama, first off, he stepped into a flawed system that has been this way for years. Additionally, the 1% holds influence at nearly every level of government. With the system of checks and balances, this is hard to combat. Our government is certainly a cog in the system in place in America that the 1% is controlling in order to protect their power. And what I think our country needs is to see this system go. So, to the person on the Sawant campaign who I thought was just some extremist Obama-hater, let me just say that I hear you now.

I also want to take a moment and point out that every member of the 1% is not necessarily all bad or greedy. Many of them are actually in solidarity with the 99% and would embrace changes to this system in order to help others out. Collins mentions this, and this article even highlights some specific ones. I find this wonderfully encouraging.

So the 99%…that’s a lot of people. The 99% is a huge and diverse group. The 99% of the United States represents about 310 million people and over 150 million households. This is everyone from homeless people to individuals with a couple million dollars in wealth. The people nearest the top of the 99% have actually profited from the rule of the 1%, while the further away you move away the top, the less people are being benefited by the system. Overall, the wealth and income has declined for the 99% in past years. Their share of national income has gone from 91% in 1976 to 79% in 2010. The share of wealth owned by the bottom 90% has gone from 19.1% in 1962, to 12.8% in 2009. The rich are getting richer while the poor, and even fairly well off, are getting poorer.

With the so many people suffering hits to their income and wealth, it’s not surprising that the majority of people in the US are dissatisfied with the disparity. Just take a look at this gallup poll. It also makes sense then that people are starting to protest with movements like Occupy or the fight for the $15 minimum wage currently occurring in my city. Collins outlines the needs of the 99% as follows:

• reduced work hours so that people can spend time really living (i.e. hobbies, spending time with loved ones)
• a minimal economic social safety net so individuals aren’t completely ruined should they lose a spouse, get sick, etc.
• quality education that is also financially plausible, providing more people with opportunity
• putting children first and making kids living in poverty a priority
• help for the unemployed and a decrease in unemployment rates
• the elimination of poverty

Over the years, US government has certainly addressed (or claimed to address) most of these issues. Although there is not a complete lack of support for the 99%, the fact that disparity is growing and these issues are persisting indicates to me that the agenda of the 1% is still trumping that of the 99.

But how is disparity particularly destructive? Inequality is an extremely devastating force. It is not just poverty that causes problems, but disparity itself. Here’s how:

• It’s wrecking US democracy. Our government should not cater so closely to the needs of the elite. Also, people are catching on. Have you ever heard anyone talk about not voting because they don’t feel they have a voice? Well here’s one reason people are believing this and it’s not ok.
• It is making us sick. Seriously, there’s an entire PBS Series about it and people are talking. This isn’t just about poverty, though of course poverty is linked with higher health risks. But research has indicated you would be better off health-wise in a lower income community with more equality than in a higher income community with more extreme inequality. Wealth inequality has also been connected with life expectancy.
• It tears apart our communities and erodes social cohesion. A report based on the 2011 census indicated that as inequality has grown, mixed income neighborhoods have become rarer while wealthy and poor neighborhoods have become more common. As distance between the two groups grows, especially physically, it becomes more difficult for people to feel like they are on the same page.
• It undermines equal opportunity and social mobility. A strong correlation has been indicated between countries’ social mobility and the use of policies which redistribute wealth and income via taxation. The US is among the least mobile of industrialized countries in terms of earnings.
• It weakens public services. Historically, times of greater inequality have been correlated with disinvestment and less support for public needs such as education, affordable housing, public health care, etc. Conversely, in 1964, which was period of relative equality, there was a much larger concern about poverty. This was when the War on Poverty launched. When the wealthy choose to privatize their needs and disinvest from public services, they begin a cycle which ultimately leads to the poor becoming trapped in neighborhoods with bad schools and/or a lack of services.
• It is bad for economic growth. Research by the International Monetary Fund and the National Bureau of Economic Research indicate that societies that are more equal experience longer periods of economic expansion, can recover quicker to economic downturns, and have stronger growth rates.

For more information about the ways disparity is harming us, I recommend this TED Talk. The speaker has also authored many books on this subject.