Income inequality is an issue that has been around for a long time.  Economists and American citizens have questioned what approach will effectively solve the issue or at least improve it.  The typical fix would be to equalize income distribution, to supply for the poor and to reduce payment for the more affluent.  However, given that income inequality is still prominent after several decades it is questionable whether there is truly a solution to reducing the income gap.  To counteract the growth of income inequality, many have settled for socialistic views, supporting the redistribution of wealth of those in the upper class in order to benefit society.  In response to the rich becoming richer and the poor becoming poorer, citizens supporting socialism believe they must allow government intervention to redistribute money as needed.  However, to attempt to solve income inequality from a socialistic standpoint would be nearly impossible, as equalizing income distribution is too broad of a task to complete at once.  The most effective approach would be to put into practice the ideas of capitalism by encouraging people to act as a community in a free-enterprise market, independent from government intervention.  Apart from socialism, a capitalist society does not rely on the government to reconstruct economic instability.  According to Political Science professor C. Bradley Thompson in his article Socialism vs. Capitalism: Which is the Moral System, "the free enterprise system is not possible without the sanctity of...free trade" (Thompson).  To effectively begin improving income inequality, one must disregard the idea that income can become evenly distributed with dependence on the government, and instead act as a community in a free market to work towards improving income inequality as a long-term goal.  One must accept the fact that income inequality is a result of interrelated issues and it can only be improved if one starts small in hopes of reaching the larger goal.  The accumulation of waste in America must be acknowledged, as well as how that waste can be overturned in order to save money.  Implementing the power of community in a free market will also contribute to saving money.  In the end, a determined and profitable community practicing capitalism in a free enterprise market will see a more stable economy.

Income inequality, simply stated, is the state of an economy in which income earned by the rich and the poor is unequal.  Measuring income inequality is a standard for the welfare of a society.  Dr. Anne Bradley, Vice President of Economic Initiatives says income inequality is also known as a measurement of distribution of wealth across households.  "It is a relative comparison of the gap in household incomes across a given region, country or the world" (Bradley).  CNN Opinion contributor John D. Sutter says income inequality exists because the "very richest people take home a large share of the economic pie" (Sutter).  Sutter confirms the existence of income inequality by stating that "there is a relatively large gap between them [rich people] and some of the poorest people in America" (Stutter).  Furthermore according to The Vicious Circle of Income Inequality, a recent article in NY Times written by Cornell University economics professor Robert Frank, income inequality in the United States has been "increasing sharply for more than four decades and shows no signs of retreat" and America has become "one of the world's most rigidly stratified industrial democracies" (Frank).

To even begin improving the economic instability, Americans should take into consideration how often goods are wasted and to become aware of how the minimization of waste could in turn benefit the economy.  It is shown that Americans unconsciously waste billions of dollars every year by throwing away reusable goods and foods to landfills.  Tara Burrows, a contributor to a magazine of student essays at Delta College, says in her article An Overpopulating Nation Unconscious of Waste that "the thought of waste is beyond the consciousness of most Americans" (Burrows).  Millions of dollars can be saved by rerouting the movement of items going from landfills into peoples' hands through community reuse, which presents an opportunity for the power of community to act to stabilize the economy.  Both issues of income inequality and waste in the United States are undoubtedly becoming increasingly significant.  The commonality between the two is that money is not being distributed where it is needed most, while landfills are continuously receiving input.  The solution to the most pressing issue of saving money and reducing income inequality is within people as organized communities to reuse rather than throw out, to buy and sell from one another, thus contributing to a more eco-friendly environment, and saving a large amount of money.

Ultimately, 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.  More Americans are on food stamps than at almost any other time in the past decade according to The Christian Science Monitor staff writer Elizabeth Barber.  "Working age people are now the majority recipients of food stamps, replacing children and seniors as the traditional primary beneficiaries" (Barber).  That includes more college graduates over the past three decades.  Federal spending on food assistance programs is evidence of flourishing need or of abuse and waste in a socialistic society which depends on government intervention.  While it is shown 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.  Food products make up 63% of supermarkets' disposed waste according to freelance reporter Tina Mather on How the Top 5 Supermarkets Waste Food.  Although food safety must always be a consideration when allowing foods to stay on the shelves, it is without a doubt that there are still foods and goods thrown out that people would otherwise benefit from.  Organizations and volunteer groups do in fact exist to transport food from stores to people that need it most.  However accomplishing such a task is not that simple.  Food retailers will not always donate perishable food due to liability and bad press.  The big idea 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.  Money can be saved and ultimately have a slow but sure impact on the imbalance of income among citizens.

Americans, through the power of community, have great potential to leverage the income inequality and, as a byproduct, save the environment from waste.  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.  As an example, college students working on a group project each are stakeholders in a given situation.  Participation and effort of each student will affect the group's grade as a whole.  In order to receive a good grade, the students must be interested enough to work diligently as a small community.  On a much broader scale, Americans are willing to save money without it being wasted or contributing to the income gap.  American citizens are part of a broad community.  They have a stake in the issue of income inequality 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.

Anarcho-syndicalism is 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, people 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, citizens 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.  According to libcom.org administrator Joseph Kay, anarcho-syndicalism is based on the principle of "from each according to ability, to each according to need" (Kay).  The community of anarcho-syndicalists seems powerless to higher officials, but when they act collectively, it is a different story.  The community of Americans can act collectively to encourage utilization of the resale industry.  If Americans buy from one another instead of the marketplace, they will put money into one another's pockets, which creates a chance for people to benefit from items that might otherwise be thrown out into landfills.

To demonstrate what a realistic community might look like which aims to benefit from unwanted items is shown in a Facebook group "Free & For Sale", created by students for students at the University of South Carolina.  Students are able to exchange items which they are selling, buying, or giving away.  In any other situation, 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 minimally buying from businesses and instead buying and selling as much as possible amongst other people in the community.  Furthermore, a recently developed company Dust2Pearl exists to serve as a platform for people to buy and sell from one another online, a place for online shopping, auctioning, and bartering (Dust2Pearl.com).  Such movements could raise awareness to non-student networks, thus promoting solidarity through self-organization and direct action, reflecting those very principles of anarcho-syndicalism and further representing a capitalist and free-enterprise society.

Due to different economic forces, the income inequality seen for decades is feeding on itself, which further demonstrates the urgent need of a community to take action in a capitalist free market.  Because the wealthy citizens have more money, they are more likely to spend their money on more elite practitioners.  Tighter budgets in middle-class families make it difficult to afford expenses that allow students to get admitted into exclusive universities, which typically will affect the rest of their careers.  Typically, students from wealthier families graduate debt free and move quickly into high paying jobs, while the others face loads of student debt.  Economics professor Robert Frank describes it as a continual trend in The Vicious Circle of Income Inequality.  Economic Populist contributor Robert Oak describes America to be the "land of the Overlords and serfs...of the executives and their employees" in his article America's Growing Income Inequality Problem (Oak).  The ugly truth 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.  Due to the economic forces causing income inequality to continue there is a greater need of community to take action.  By not appealing to higher authorities (government and businesses), citizens can take on the problem themselves through direct action by promoting resale and becoming more aware of the accumulation of waste.

Reuse instead of retail 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 available.  A trend seen among many Americans is the accumulation of goods that will likely end up in dumpsters.  Lifehacker.com contributor Tessa Miller states in her article College Move Out: What to Do with All That Perfectly Good Stuff that accumulation of waste is especially prominent among college students.  "Students have...accumulated a lot of stuff; stuff that many of them won't take with them" (Miller).  Excess items end up in dumpsters and landfills too often, which people could otherwise benefit from.  Indeed, recycling efforts are being made as paper and plastic disposals are not uncommon in public areas.  Communities aiming to keep the planet healthy use terms such as "going green" and "eco-friendly" to describe efforts to maintain a healthy environment.   Recycling efforts include conserving water and energy resources, as well as preventing contributions to land pollution.  Although such efforts exist to maintain health of the planet, there are still plenty of resources being wasted every day.  Efforts have yet to reach the consciousness of every able American.  In the long run, a less wasteful society will have more money to spare.  People will benefit from foods, goods, and resources that would otherwise be wasted.  Saving the environment is only a by-product.  A new ideal habit would be to buy from one another before making purchases at the store.  One can benefit from community reuse and resale, rather than paying for new products and resources.  Income inequality cannot be fixed right away but initiating new habits of community reuse in a capitalist society independent of government intervention are small steps to reaching a long term goal of economic stability.

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 difference in resale and retail 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" (Industry Statistics and Trends). Once again, recycling bins are often placed in public places to discourage people from throwing recyclable items in the trash to promote an "eco-friendly" environment and and ultimately reduce landfill input.  Efforts are made to reuse items seen in communities that already exist such as thrift stores, Facebook groups, and online businesses.  Fully progressing to a recycling society will indeed have tremendous market potential for the resale industry as a whole.  Communities will see that money can accumulate as a result of their own potential, rather than of the government.

Waste is a prominent issue in America, as is income inequality.  And while government should not be depended on to fix the economy, a community of American citizens striving to save money should persist in a free market.  Americans should not spend money to buy things in stores; they should instead buy and sell from one another.  By doing so, Americans will put money into the pockets of citizens, rather than business shareholders, potentially reducing income inequality and, as a by-product, save the planet by reducing landfill input.  All of which are related issues that can be approached to solve the issue of income inequality in the long-run.  Through community reuse and awareness of the benefits of capitalism, income inequality will be improved.
