The explosive growth of companies in the U.S. over the past three decades has led social scientists to research the impact of widening income distribution on our society. At one end of the spectrum, we have billionaires whose wealth is measured by the hundreds of billions, while at the other end of the spectrum, we have single parents who have difficulty paying rent and feeding their children. The effects of income taxes and wealth taxes are even more profound, but the effects on society are reversed. The poor pay taxes on much of their income as they cannot afford the investments that shelter income from tax, while the very wealthy often pay no tax at all. When you add to this the tax and distribution effects of Social Security, the wealthy again benefit more than the poor. Your assignment is to research some of the basics of widening income distribution and taxation, and develop your own ideas about the ethicality of both as the law currently stands. Should there be major changes in the law so that those who need help can benefit? Should the law stay as it currently stands to reward those who show creativity? How are these issues informed by the frameworks you've learned this semester?