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Essay / The Roaring Twenties and the 21st Century: The Same Problems a Hundred Years Later
Nearly a hundred years ago, jazz music filled the streets, flappers smoked outside while cars sped along the streets. We are in the Roaring Twenties. A moment of joy and an ever-changing culture. Compared to today's culture of technology and millennials, it feels like we've changed dramatically since simpler times. However, this is far from the truth. Even though we no longer have youthful jazz music or flappers, many of the fundamental problems of the 1920s have not changed. Problems like economic inequality are just as bad as they were in the 1920s and with immigration. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The 1920s saw a rise in worldly culture and with it a wealth gap. According to research by Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman, both economists, the richest 0.1% shared about 23 to 24% of the country's wealth in the 1920s. In 2013, the richest 0.1% The rich shared approximately 22% of the country's wealth. This is only a 1% difference. It’s been almost a century, and yet America still struggles with economic inequality. Although research also shows that the gap decreased during the 1930s and continued to decrease until the late 1970s, it reached the extreme it was in the 1920s in just 30 years. Another problem with the current economic situation is that the so-called “middle rich” are moving away from the 1%. The moderately rich are people who are not rich enough to be part of the 1%. Other research by the same people reveals that the amount of wealth shared by the average rich has fallen to 35%, the 1920s saw the rate drop to 33%. Although this is still a significant sum, the middle-wealthy classes comprised many more people, as they are considered the richest 10-1%. America has had years to solve the economic crisis of inequality, but no change has happened. Although there have been changes between the 1920s and today, these have seemed to disappear. Immigration has been a difficult problem to solve for decades. The 1920s saw an increase in immigration. People came from all different cultures, but mainly from southern and eastern Europe. However, many Americans did not welcome immigration. Ideas such as "Americanization" and "nativism" became stronger ideals held by many Americans. They wanted to impose an ideal American way of life on immigrants. In today's society, immigration is a hot topic. The idea of Americanization was now abandoned and deportation was now what people wanted. This problem has worsened to the point that the government has had to pass immigration laws. Something that had rarely been used in the twenties. Today, the government is fighting for stricter immigration laws. While many people are protesting the idea of deportation, which is very different from the situation in the 1920s, the fact that there are still debates over the same issues reveals how much things have changed . The 1920s are considered history, but the problems that plagued America still affect the 21st century. It's surprising that issues like the wealth gap and immigration are still big problems today. Even if society changes its face, the fundamental problems do not..