One area of comparison is the growth of income inequality between the rich and the poor. Today, the richest people in the United States are worth billions while those who work for them often live paycheck to paycheck. While politics can be argued as being less corrupt than they were during the Gilded Age, big business still controls both major parties through campaign contributions.

One major area of contrast is that today businesses cannot form monopolies, such as that formed by John Rockefeller with Standard Oil. Government closely scrutinizes every business merger to ensure that there is some level of competition in an industry. While only a handful of businesses control many major industries, there is still room for start-ups to grow and flourish. Another contrast is the protection granted both the consumer and worker against business owners who would put out unsafe products. There are federal consumer watchdog agencies who protect the public against unsafe food and drugs. Workman's...

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