U.S. Wealth Distribution: I Get $38,
You Get 23 Cents -- That's Fair, Right?
Distribution of Our Wealth Is
Terribly Askew
September 4, 2001
Most people have no idea that
the vast bulk of the wealth of the United States is in the hands of a
relative handful of people.
The wealth distribution chart
below shows that the top 1% own 38.1% of the wealth in the country, the next
4% own 21.3%, and the next 5% own 11.5%. That is to say, the top 10%
of the country owns 70.9% of the wealth of this nation!
Ninety percent of the country
owns a mere 29.1%.
[chart from United for a Fair
Economy]
Preview
Click
here for the full Flash Animation
with sound
Another way to
put it: Assume there are 100 people who have $100 to split up. No one
expects it to be divided perfectly evenly at $1 apiece, but everyone
involved expects that some basic fairness will be used in the process that
will split up the money.
Now let's say
the $100 winds up being divided as follows:
|
1
person gets |
$38.10 |
|
4
people get |
|
$5.32 each |
|
5
people get |
|
$2.30 each |
|
10
people get |
|
$1.25 each |
|
20
people get |
|
|
.60
each |
|
20
people get |
|
|
.23
each |
|
40
people get |
|
|
1/2
cent each |
The 40 people
getting 1/2 cent each might be a bit annoyed at the person getting
$38.10. The 20 people getting 23 cents each would probably not be
happy with the 4 people receiving $5.32 each. And so on...
This is how our
economic system has distributed the wealth of our country. It's so far
from any type of fairness as to be laughable, were it not a direct cause of
certain segments of our society lacking adequate resources for food,
clothing, shelter, medical care and other necessities, let alone any
amenities of a beyond-subsistence life.
[see Bogus "Class Warfare" Charge] |
