Santa Monica College Carruthers and Babb Discussion Questions

I’m working on a sociology question and need guidance to help me learn.

Questions for Carruthers and Babb (2013) in Economy/Society, pp. 121-159:
1. What are income and wealth? How are they distinct?
2. How has the level of income inequality changed over time in the U.S.? How does the
level of income inequality in the U.S. in recent decades compare to income inequality in
other countries? (In your answer, refer to specific evidence or statistics that the authors
presented.)
3. How does the level of wealth inequality in the U.S. compare to the level of income
inequality? (In other words, which one is distributed more unequally, wealth or income)?
How has the level of wealth inequality in the U.S. changed over time?
4. According to Carruthers and Babb (2013:129), “some economists and politicians assert
that economic inequality serves a useful purpose.” How do Carruthers and Babb
challenge this argument?
5. According to Carruthers and Babb (2013), what are some of the reasons (or explanations)
for recent trends in income inequality in the U.S.?
6. Why do some social scientists argue that competitive markets reduce gender and racial
discrimination? Why do Carruthers and Babb, on the other hand, argue that markets can
reinforce gender and racial discrimination?
7. What are some of the reasons that women that are working full-time make only 80% as
much as men working full-time in the U.S. in recent decades?
8. How big is the income gap (the difference in median income) between White people and
Black people in the U.S. in recent decades? What are some of the reasons why Black
households tend to earn less than White households?