Apr
21
Blog Post #16: Technology and Entrepreneurship
April 21, 2015 | Leave a Comment
As Joseph Stieglitz mentions in his book “The Price of Inequality,” income inequality is a growing concern. It is “responsible for all manner of political instability, as well as for the slowing of economic growth worldwide.” The causes of income inequality have been controversial, but what we need to focus upon more importantly are the solutions. The New York Times and NYC future article present interesting and creative solutions to this issue: technology and entrepreneurship.
We are in the age of technology and information. Even though technology has been a part of the problem, it may also be a practical way to tackle income inequality. Buying a computer or a cell phone is relatively cheap compared to how much it was 10 years ago. It’s has become affordable for a low-income families to purchase at least one computer per family. As the NY Times article states, our generation has become more adapt with the knowledge of computers and computer-human interfaces have become easier to manage. This means that computers can do the harder and more skilled work which can make room for less-skilled jobs.
Technology can be very advantageous for the poor since it’s always progressing. It has been advancing to where data can be easily stored in the cloud/online which makes more space for living. There are also new apps and websites developing to make health care services more adorable. What I found the most interesting in the NY Times article was how immerging innovations may benefit low-income Americans. For instance, India is testing techniques for cheap and high quality heart surgery while China has the potential to find a way to produce cheaper/safer cars or workable battery storage for solar energy. We should open ourselves to more innovation and we might be able to find ways to reduce income inequality in the future.
The NYC Future article presents increasing entrepreneurship as a way to help low-income families out of poverty. It didn’t know that this was true until I read that majority of self-employed businesses are run by foreign-born while the lowest are run by low-income minorities. A speculation for why this is true is that for immigrants there is a language and cultural barrier. It’s harder to fit into the workplace, and therefore; it’s easier for them to start their own businesses. I think increasing entrepreneurship can help combat income inequality since it increases productivity and helps out the local economy. With technology and innovation, entrepreneurship and exposure can be easily achieved.
Technology and entrepreneurship has potential to reduce income inequality in the long term. My question is, “what are the sacrifices in the short term to achieve goals in the long term?” This may help level the playing field to compete with larger corporations, but the governments still plays a larger role in this as a whole.
-JanYing He
