Reinventing the Gilded Age: Social Inequality in the Trump Era

• In Event: 3412 - Section on Marxist Sociology Refereed Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 05. Trampling on Trump: Sociological Examinations of Trump, U.S. Expansion, and Inequality

Abstract

The results of the 2016 election swept Donald Trump into office as President of the United States. The result of this development placed a focus on revitalizing policies favored by the Republican Party and their wealthy benefactors. Subsequent legislation emphasized the economic interests of corporate and individual entities with substantial wealth such as the Tax Reform legislation. Other priorities include the attack on immigrants as expressed by policies targeting DACA and globalized exclusion of particular individuals from specified countries. In the meantime, the most affluent Americans enjoy tax advantages as the future portends continued affluence while the other 99% of our society will pay more taxes and face the possibility of cuts in Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security to cover such deficits. This paper will address the essential elements of the gilded age and the more recent reincarnation through examining the distribution of wealth in America, the Republican/Conservative interests in protecting the wealthy and conflicts with constituent groups such as women and minorities in the contemporary era. Analysis of policy documents and contemporary developments will enable analysis of enhanced hegemonic control through important Presidential cabinet functions and agencies such as the Justice Department. The overall emphasis permits us to observe the joining of political interests with elite economic interests in a symbiotic relationship benefiting both the interests of Donald Trump and wealthy domestic and international groups. Finally, consideration of the above factors enable us to analyze the impact on emergent anti-poverty and policy groups toward opposing the efforts of the wealthy and powerful.

Author

• Lloyd Klein, City University of New York-LaGuardia Community College