Social Class

One passage in Ragtime that is related to social class:
pp130: "So that was it, the strike would be won. But then what? heard the clacking of the looms. A salary of six dollars and change. Would that transform their lives? They would still live in that wretched room, in that terrible dark street. Tateh shook his head. this country will not let me breathe."

In this passage Doctorow depicted a situation that is very common in the United States and other capitalist countries: The unequal distribution of wealth among the upper class and the working class. 
"By 1990 the top 10 percent of the population owned 70 percent of all wealth; the top 1 percent owned 45 percent. Income from rents, dividends, and interest surpassed income from wages and salaries for the first time ever."-From the PDF Social Class. This phenomenon is occurring in almost all societies, and the uneven distribution of wealth is usually ascribed to different levels of productivity in a particular country. Economists have debated over and over again regarding this topic because for me if we somehow manage to make the people in a country all have the same level of productivity, it is rare that people will end up with the same financial and social statues. As it has always been suggested, the total equal distribution of wealth and income will diminish productivity and development. There should be a better solution to this issue, but I couldn't came up with one since I am not an economist. The working class, who often seeks higher wages and other rights, form groups--voluntary associations among each other to have more power against the executives. Like Teteh said the amount raised is insignificant, but it does provide closure and companionship for the working class people.