Is it fair to be rich? And is it fair to be poor?

Background:

Our group’s question is what type of policy should the government impose to help the economy grow the most? In all honesty, I think that the government is cheating millions of workers out of fair wages with cheap foreign labor and minimum wage. So if we somehow force American corporations to stay in the U.S. we can help the workers and the economy bounce back.

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Why I'm interested in Wage Inequality:

Last year in my Expository Writing class, I wrote a paper on the difference of minimum wage in Ireland to the minimum wage in The United States. Ireland's minimum wage was 3 dollars higher than ours, and what I found was that the people in Ireland were happier, and had more utility in their lives. This paper inspired me to research wage inequality and really get down to the bottom of why some people are making 20,000 dollars a year and why some are making 400,000 dollars a year.

Questions I hope to answer:

1. Is wage inequality racist?
2. Can you live on minimum wage?
3. Is it fair to be in the top 1%?
4. What can the government do to help the poor?
5. Why is there such a huge gap in salaries?