Income inequality is an old and well-known issue Americans face.  According to a recent article on NY Times, income inequality in the United States has been increasing for more than four decades and counting.  On a global spectrum, income inequality increased more from 2007 to 2010 and America is sure enough number one.  The fact is that government cannot be counted on to make significant changes on the issue, and neither can businesses looking to hire more people.  This is because the more profitable businesses become, the more money will flow into the pockets of business shareholders.  The richer the rich, the poorer the poor become, thus contributing to the widening of the income gap.  Another problem America faces that goes hand-in-hand is the issue of waste.  Many people unconsciously waste hundreds of billions of dollars every year by throwing away reusable goods and foods to landfills.  If a proactive approach was taken, all this money wasted could be saved by rerouting the movement of items going from landfills into peoples' hands through community reuse.  Both these problems of income inequality and waste in the United States are becoming of increasing significance.  The similarity here is that money is not being distributed where it is needed most, whilst the planet is continually being trashed.  The solution to the most pressing issue of looking for ways to save money is neither in government nor businesses; it is within the people as organized communities to reuse rather than throw out, to buy and sell from one another rather than from stockholders, thus preventing widening of the income gap, contributing to a more eco-friendly environment, and saving a large amount of money that would otherwise be wasted.

American peoples, through the power of community, have great potential to leverage the income inequality and save the planet.  A community, by definition, is a group of people interested in a situation because they have a stake in its outcome; it is where strongest commitments lie.  Likewise, there is no doubt that Americans are willing to save money without it being wasted or contributing to the income gap.  American citizens, as a broad community, have a stake in the issue and the best way to respond is to start with those who are being affected and have a desire to correct it.  The principle of anarcho-syndicalism accurately reflects this idea of community.  Joseph Kay in his article "What is Anarcho-syndicalism?" describes it as a development which seeks to unite workers to fight for their interests at work, while having the freedom to do so.  Anarcho-syndicalists organize with others who agree with their aims and principles.  In other words, they network with a team whose members have a common goal.  The goal of the community of American citizens is to save money, and prevent waste.  As the networks grow in size and influence, they can begin initiating direct action.  In the act of self-organization, these people work for themselves without being led by other officials.  Overall, the purpose is to involve other individuals who are aware of an issue so they can gain control and act on it.  It is based on the principle of "from each according to ability, to each according to need" (Kay).  The impact of community comes into play when its potential for power is shown.  The community of anarcho-syndicalists seems powerless to higher officials, but when they act collectively, it is a different story.  We, as a community, can act collectively to encourage utilization of the resale industry, rather than of the retail industry.  If we, as a community buy from each other before the marketplace, we will put money into one another's pockets rather than those of the more affluent.  Ultimately, this will decrease the income of the more affluent and our expenses, as well as keep goods from going into landfills and contribute to stabilization of the economy.

Taking the approach of community reuse to save money and allow others to benefit from unwanted items will also reduce the growing income gap.  Due to different economic forces the income inequality seen for decades is feeding on itself.  The wealthy are known to spend their extra income on luxuries.  And because they have more money, they are more likely to spend their money on more elite practitioners who in turn receive a higher income, thus adding to the circle of income inequality.  Many blame Congress for continually giving to the rich through the United States tax code.  Tighter budgets in middle-class families make it more difficult to afford expenses that aid students in getting admitted to exclusive universities.   Children from more wealthy families graduate debt free and move quickly into high paying jobs, while the others face loads of student debt.  The trend continues.  In an article on the Economic Populist, Robert Oak described America to be the "land of the Overlords and serfs...of the executives and their employees".  The cold, hard fact is that there will never be an equal income to perfectly stabilize the economy.  However the least American citizens can do is, through the power of community, take a proactive approach on the issue.  By not appealing to higher authorities (the government and businesses which cannot be counted on) citizens can take on the problem themselves through direct action, by promoting resale and becoming more aware of the accumulation of waste.

Since businesses cannot be counted on to create jobs, reuse instead of resale is the beginning of the approach to saving money and living well on less.  The resources needed to begin reusing and selling items pre-owned are at our fingertips.  A trend seen among many Americans is the accumulation of goods that will likely end up in dumpsters.  This is especially prominent among college students.  Excess items end up in dumpsters and landfills too often, which people could otherwise benefit from.  The tendency of Americans to waste is reflected in a publication by Tara Burrows, An Overpopulating Nation Unconscious of Waste.  "Today, the majority of people are wasteful in their daily living.  From the lack of appreciation for our resources, our society is not only inconsiderate and careless but also unaware and ignorant to waste". (Burrows)  Awareness must be raised to change these habits of waste.  The new ideal habit would be to buy from others before making purchases at the store.

To give a real-life picture of what community might look like in an effort to save items from waste, a group of college students may organize with others who agree that resale has a positive impact on the marketplace.  It would start with local groups with a shared vision.  Those groups would advise fellow students and initiate direct action by minimizing buying from businesses and instead buying and selling as much as possible amongst other people in the community.  The movement could be made aware to non-student networks, relatives, friends, and co-workers, thus promoting solidarity through self-organization and direct action, reflecting those very principles of anarcho-syndicalism.

Furthermore, a start-up business is in the first stage of its operation to implement the solution to the very issue discussed here, to save money, save the planet, and ultimately reduce income inequality.  The website (http://www.dust2pearl.com/) demonstrates the need to save money through community reuse, as well as the anarcho-syndicalist principles of self-organization and direct action.  It utilizes social network and ecommerce technology to help people find each other, share resources and live well on less by bringing the power of community into reality.  College students are a target audience of (http://www.dust2pearl.com/) because of the large amount of items students likely will not take with them after the school year comes to a close.  Only the community, not the government or businesses, can help one another in saving money and saving the environment.

There are two phenomena that co-exist: the lack of foods and goods to live by and the huge amount of food and secondhand reusable goods that end up in landfills.  A recent article on Yahoo! News shows that more Americans are on food stamps than at almost any other time in the past decade.  Working age people are now the majority recipients, overtaking children and seniors; that includes more college graduates over the past three decades.  According to the article, two interpretations of the federal spending on food assistance programs are evidence of flourishing need or of abuse and waste.  While it is shown here that many people cannot afford goods and foods and have to depend on food assistance programs, it is unfortunate to say that the food industry is an area where waste is prominent.  According to a recent USDA report, one in seven American households has trouble putting food on the table at some point during the year.  On the contrary, grocery stores have lots of foods that are taken off shelves daily due to a surplus of food and refrigerated items that need to move for new items coming in.  These food products make up 63% of supermarkets' disposed waste.  Organizations and volunteer groups do exist to transport food from stores to people that need it most.  But even accomplishing such an effort is not that simple.  Food retailers will not always donate perishable food because of liability and bad press.  The big idea here is that waste is beyond the consciousness of Americans, as they waste resources on a daily basis.  With the amount of food and goods thrown out by college students, grocery stores, and American citizens, there is no doubt that everything one wants exists somewhere unwanted by someone else.

The good news is that there is potential for the resale industry already.  It is becoming more prominent today in comparison to retail because of value-conscious customers.  The main difference in the two industries is that resale sells high quality goods at lower prices.  Resale is a multi-million dollar industry because people will always be willing to find "treasure" and save money.  According to the Association of Resale Professionals, there has been a growth of 7% per year for the past two years in the resale industry, there being 25,000 resale, consignment, and Not for Profit resale shops.  With a rising awareness of the importance of reducing waste, lifestyles are progressing from a "disposable society to a recycling society". (Association of Resale Professionals)  Such a change will indeed have tremendous market potential for the resale industry as a whole.

As American citizens are always looking for ways to save money, the best way to do so is to reuse within communities.  Americans should not spend money to buy things in stores; they should instead buy and sell from one another.  By doing so, they will be putting money into the pockets of people, rather than business shareholders.  This will potentially reduce income inequality and save the planet by reducing landfill input.  Through community reuse and resale, perhaps the flow of money will be altered and through this awareness of unbalanced money flow and wastefulness of goods and foods, the more affluent citizens will be willing to change their habits of luxury spending, people will not be so quick to throw out items, and the impact of community efforts will pay off in the long run.
