Wealth Inequality: Americans want a more level playing field.
We think we know about wealth inequality in the U.S., but according to a new study, many of us don't. The top 20% of Americans have about 85% of the wealth, according to the latest estimates. But most Americans think that we have a much more level playing field. And even with that misconception, we want an even more level playing field--one that looks a lot like Sweden!
Scott County KFTC member Dallas Ratliff wanted to share this NPR story from Friday, which reports on a new study out of the Harvard School of Business about our perception of the distribution of wealth in the U.S. Turns out, most Americans--more than 90% of the study's participants--would prefer that we have a distribution of wealth that is similar to Sweden's.
This graph (which comes from the study, but we found on United For a Fair
Economy's website) shows the percentage of people that chose each of these three models of wealth distribution. The U.S. model (which was decidedly unpopular, with only 10% (and who are these people?) choosing it), a model in which wealth is divided equally (43%), and a model that comes close to Sweden's.
And what do we make of the significant gap between our perception of wealth and the reality? Dallas had this reaction when he suggested we shared the story:
I consider myself a relative intelligent person. I try to keep up on social issues. I know about the inequality of wealth in this country but I was shocked to learn from this story that most people's perceptions are very different from the reality. I feel like I'm a roman standing outside the coliseum trying to warn those entering that Caesar is seizing complete power over Rome while they are enjoying the carnage he has offered them for entertainment.
What do you think? Only 10% of us approve of our current distribution of wealth. Clearly, it isn't working for the vast majority of us. What do you think it's going to take to turn it around?
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