When most Americans were asked what the ideal distribution of wealth/income should be researchers were shocked at just how far removed from reality the average citizen is when it comes to how little they are worth compared to those at the top of the economic ladder.
This great info graphic video puts the stark reality of American wealth (income) inequality into perspective and the end result is truly sobering. The facts and figures highlight both the inequality and the difference between our perception of inequality and the actual numbers. The reality is often not what we think it is.
This must not be allowed to continue.
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About Stew Steve
Beautifully done, but largely distortion. Just google “wealth inequality video critique” to find excellent explanations of how it’s distorted. I’ll summarize:
1) Conflates wealth and income. Let’s say I’m a recent med school graduate with 100k in loans and a high income. I would appear in the segment that’s shown below the poverty line. Wealth (net worth) is not unimportant, but income is a much more important factor affecting lifestyle across the spectrum.
2) Ignores current redistribution. Taxes at all levels redistribute wealth in a very big way. More than a quarter of all income is shifted across these groups.
3) Ignores mobility. Almost all young adults are in the bottom end of the wealth spectrum. Almost all of them move steadily upward — certainly some faster than others, based mostly on educational attainment.
The reason this is “surprising” is that it’s basically not true.
No doubt it’s “distorted” by those who have money.
It’s ridiculous to deny the facts of income inequality in America when the proof stares us in the face each day — unless you’re wealthy and can cushion yourself from the realities of life in America.
If one wishes to look only at income inequality, I would refer you to http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R42400.pdf
Specifically, look at Table 1 for quick reference.
“Almost all of them [young adults] move steadily upward — certainly some faster than others, based mostly on educational attainment.” Here I would refer you to the same document above, page 14: “…empirical analyses suggest that children born into low-income families have not become more likely and may have become less likely to surpass their parents’ position at the bottom of the income distribution.”
Apparently you are unaware of how many young Americans graduate college and are still unable to find a job – any job, much less one in their chosen field – as well as how many work for minimum wage or slightly above it for most of their adult lives. Or how many people get laid off, even after many years’ loyalty to their employer, and end up taking a huge pay cut simply to secure new employment. Or that even when the dollar amount of wages rise, they still don’t keep up with the rise in prices of what your dollars purchase.
REAL wages have fallen over the last 30 years. Heck, gas is 4 times what it cost in 2000 – did your salary quadruple in those same 12-13 years? Milk has doubled in the last few years – did you salary double in the same amount of time? Even for those with Masters and Doctorate degrees it is rare for real wages and purchasing power to have increased since 1980. Despite rising productivity, wages are stagnant – unless you are a CEO. My generation – those with children who are in college – is the first that will see their children with fewer opportunities than we had at their age. And in part it is because of the stagnation of wages. Even if our children follow the same profession we did or a better one, they will not have the same mobility or the same possibilities.
That is tragic.