Economic Inequality is Hurting Our Well-Being

Richard Wilkinson: How economic inequality harms societies

When the rich and poor are too far apart, it affects health, lifespan, stress and the overall quality of life for everyone. Not just poor people. And even at the top, there seems to be a small benefit to being in an equal society.

Do you care about the well-being of others more than your own wealth?

You would want to be taxed higher? :lol:

So easy to say when you're not the rich guy.

There's a reason why countries in Northern Europe always top the happiness rankings.

No ****. OF COURSE the median quality of life is going to be lower when a higher proportion of the wealth is concentrated in a smaller proportion of the population.

Everything would be so much more fair if they took the money away from the people who earned it and gave it to those who didn't.

You would want to be taxed higher? :lol:

So easy to say when you're not the rich guy.

LongZhiZi

You would want to be taxed higher? :lol:

So easy to say when you're not the rich guy.

LongZhiZi

Everything would be so much more fair if they took the money away from the people who earned it and gave it to those who didn't.

Jackc8

It doesn't have to be like that. In Japan, people start out more equal before taxes. The difference in what people earn in the first place is not as extreme as it is in the US.

Japan's CEOs are badass.

The CEO of Japan Airlines cut his own salary so he didn't have to fire anyone.

Japan's CEOs are badass.

The CEO of Japan Airlines cut his own salary so he didn't have to fire anyone.

Rikusaki

[QUOTE="Jackc8"]

Everything would be so much more fair if they took the money away from the people who earned it and gave it to those who didn't.

Rikusaki

It doesn't have to be like that. In Japan, people start out more equal before taxes. The difference in what people earn in the first place is not as extreme as it is in the US.

I don't know how much we could possibly change the tax code to help the lower and middle classes. 1/3 of American's pay no income tax. The bottom 50% only pay 3% of the total income tax, while the top 10% pay over 70% of the income tax. It's obviously not a problem with taxes but a problem with an overall structure on how those income taxes are being used. We need a serious re-organization of national agencies and tax spendings if we are ever going to get this country back on track. ferrari2001

[QUOTE="Jackc8"]

Everything would be so much more fair if they took the money away from the people who earned it and gave it to those who didn't.

Rikusaki

It doesn't have to be like that. In Japan, people start out more equal before taxes. The difference in what people earn in the first place is not as extreme as it is in the US.

Exactly I don't know why people assume that when someone talks badly about wealth distribution they mean just to raise taxes. There are many ways to redistribute wealth. For starters stop the ridiculous difference in salaries.

[QUOTE="LongZhiZi"]

You would want to be taxed higher? :lol:

So easy to say when you're not the rich guy.

DroidPhysX

I love this whole "they earned it" excuse people come up with. You guys do know how the top 0.1% of the country's income earners make their money, right? It's not by working. A lot of them even don't work at all. Rather they just collect obscene amounts of money off of annual stock dividends. And thanks to the tax rates on marginal gains, they also get taxed less than you do if you make $35,000 or more a year, even if they're pulling in hundreds of millions of dollars that year. But that's not the best part. The best part is that they can then use their extraordinary wealth to bribe congressmen (in the form of campaign contributions) to introduce legislation that benefits only them at the cost of everyone else. Hence why the tax rate on the top bracket has plummeted in the last few decades while no other class saw noticeable differences in their taxes (funny enough, the average income for the top 1% has risen steadily since the 1970s whereas the average income for the other 99% has remained frozen since the mid 70s; and yes, that's all adjusting for inflation). Really the only reason that this extreme wealth disparity exists in the US (and yes it is extreme, it's on par with third world African countries) is because our culture has done a great job at brainwashing people into thinking that they're DEFINITELY going to be millionaires (or even billionaires!) one day. People think that it's just the matter of opening the right business or making the right invention or making your big break in hollywood or winning the lottery (probably the most likely of all these options to actually work). In reality, you're stuck in the middle class. Even if you get into the top 1% by being a doctor or lawyer (or even most businessmen), you're actually STILL not part of the wealthy everyone is upset about. You're at the border between the 98th and 99th percentiles. The real wealthy are concentrated the top 0.1%, and it's not until you get to the top 0.05% that you reach the Bill Gates and Rupert Murdochs of the country.gameguy6700

No ****. OF COURSE the median quality of life is going to be lower when a higher proportion of the wealth is concentrated in a smaller proportion of the population.

Barbariser

[QUOTE="gameguy6700"]I love this whole "they earned it" excuse people come up with. You guys do know how the top 0.1% of the country's income earners make their money, right? It's not by working. A lot of them even don't work at all. Rather they just collect obscene amounts of money off of annual stock dividends. And thanks to the tax rates on marginal gains, they also get taxed less than you do if you make $35,000 or more a year, even if they're pulling in hundreds of millions of dollars that year. But that's not the best part. The best part is that they can then use their extraordinary wealth to bribe congressmen (in the form of campaign contributions) to introduce legislation that benefits only them at the cost of everyone else. Hence why the tax rate on the top bracket has plummeted in the last few decades while no other class saw noticeable differences in their taxes (funny enough, the average income for the top 1% has risen steadily since the 1970s whereas the average income for the other 99% has remained frozen since the mid 70s; and yes, that's all adjusting for inflation). Really the only reason that this extreme wealth disparity exists in the US (and yes it is extreme, it's on par with third world African countries) is because our culture has done a great job at brainwashing people into thinking that they're DEFINITELY going to be millionaires (or even billionaires!) one day. People think that it's just the matter of opening the right business or making the right invention or making your big break in hollywood or winning the lottery (probably the most likely of all these options to actually work). In reality, you're stuck in the middle class. Even if you get into the top 1% by being a doctor or lawyer (or even most businessmen), you're actually STILL not part of the wealthy everyone is upset about. You're at the border between the 98th and 99th percentiles. The real wealthy are concentrated the top 0.1%, and it's not until you get to the top 0.05% that you reach the Bill Gates and Rupert Murdochs of the country.BossPerson

Yes I care more about my wealth than other peoples well being

by a lot

a looooooooott

No, I most certainly do not. When it comes right down to it, no one else will care about you except yourself. May as well be in a position where you can take care of yourself.

[QUOTE="BossPerson"]

[QUOTE="gameguy6700"]I love this whole "they earned it" excuse people come up with. You guys do know how the top 0.1% of the country's income earners make their money, right? It's not by working. A lot of them even don't work at all. Rather they just collect obscene amounts of money off of annual stock dividends. And thanks to the tax rates on marginal gains, they also get taxed less than you do if you make $35,000 or more a year, even if they're pulling in hundreds of millions of dollars that year. But that's not the best part. The best part is that they can then use their extraordinary wealth to bribe congressmen (in the form of campaign contributions) to introduce legislation that benefits only them at the cost of everyone else. Hence why the tax rate on the top bracket has plummeted in the last few decades while no other class saw noticeable differences in their taxes (funny enough, the average income for the top 1% has risen steadily since the 1970s whereas the average income for the other 99% has remained frozen since the mid 70s; and yes, that's all adjusting for inflation). Really the only reason that this extreme wealth disparity exists in the US (and yes it is extreme, it's on par with third world African countries) is because our culture has done a great job at brainwashing people into thinking that they're DEFINITELY going to be millionaires (or even billionaires!) one day. People think that it's just the matter of opening the right business or making the right invention or making your big break in hollywood or winning the lottery (probably the most likely of all these options to actually work). In reality, you're stuck in the middle class. Even if you get into the top 1% by being a doctor or lawyer (or even most businessmen), you're actually STILL not part of the wealthy everyone is upset about. You're at the border between the 98th and 99th percentiles. The real wealthy are concentrated the top 0.1%, and it's not until you get to the top 0.05% that you reach the Bill Gates and Rupert Murdochs of the country.kuraimen

No, I most certainly do not. When it comes right down to it, no one else will care about you except yourself. May as well be in a position where you can take care of yourself.

airshocker

I have a problem with nearly half the country not paying taxes and then turning to the other half that does and wanting them to pay more so we can expand social welfare programs.

There is always going to be some inequality, because let's face it, some of us are just better. Like me. But the scope of inequality does lead to problems. Too much concentration of wealth is not a good thing, although I dont think that weatlh, itslelf, is a constant. So simpy viewing that because one person has more money means that another person will have less as a consequence is not entirely true.

[QUOTE="DroidPhysX"]

[QUOTE="LongZhiZi"]

You would want to be taxed higher? :lol:

So easy to say when you're not the rich guy.

BossPerson

68% want more taxes

I have a problem with nearly half the country not paying taxes and then turning to the other half that does and wanting them to pay more so we can expand social welfare programs.

Wasdie

Yeah, that greedy 40% with all their wealth. They must have like, what, at least a quarter in the wealth in the country right?

Oh no wait, their combined amount of wealth is so tiny that it in practice it may as well not even exist

Interestingly the only place the bottom 40% show up is when looking at debt. There the bottom 90% hold 75% of the country's debt, the next 9% hold 20% of the debt, and the remaining one percent hold 5% of the debt

But yeah, let's make the people who LITERALLY HAVE NO WEALTH pay just as much in taxes as the people WHO HAVE ALL THE WEALTH.

My sources btw. You should read them, there's a lot more that I didn't bother going into.

http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/02/income-inequality-in-america-chart-graph

http://www2.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/wealth.html

[QUOTE="wellbigd"][QUOTE="airshocker"]

No, I most certainly do not. When it comes right down to it, no one else will care about you except yourself. May as well be in a position where you can take care of yourself.

Vuurk

[QUOTE="Wasdie"]

I have a problem with nearly half the country not paying taxes and then turning to the other half that does and wanting them to pay more so we can expand social welfare programs.

gameguy6700

Yeah, that greedy 40% with all their wealth. They must have like, what, at least a quarter in the wealth in the country right?

Oh no wait, they actually control 1% of it combined

Interestingly the only place the bottom 40% show up is when looking at debt. There the bottom 90% hold 75% of the country's debt, the next 9% hold 20% of the debt, and the remaining one percent hold 5% of the debt

But yeah, let's make the people who LITERALLY HAVE NO WEALTH pay just as much in taxes as the people WHO HAVE ALL THE WEALTH.

My sources btw. You should read them, there's a lot more that I didn't bother going into.

http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/02/income-inequality-in-america-chart-graph

http://www2.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/wealth.html

I don't know how that has anything to do with me paying taxes while a huge chunk doesn't.

I have a problem with nearly half the country not paying taxes and then turning to the other half that does and wanting them to pay more so we can expand social welfare programs.

Wasdie

[QUOTE="Wasdie"]

I have a problem with nearly half the country not paying taxes and then turning to the other half that does and wanting them to pay more so we can expand social welfare programs.

shadowchronicle

This country collects a massive amount of tax money already which gets squandered. It's crap.

Social security, medicare, and war spending waste most of it.

[QUOTE="Wasdie"]

I have a problem with nearly half the country not paying taxes and then turning to the other half that does and wanting them to pay more so we can expand social welfare programs.

shadowchronicle

[QUOTE="gameguy6700"]

[QUOTE="Wasdie"]

I have a problem with nearly half the country not paying taxes and then turning to the other half that does and wanting them to pay more so we can expand social welfare programs.

Wasdie

Yeah, that greedy 40% with all their wealth. They must have like, what, at least a quarter in the wealth in the country right?

Oh no wait, they actually control 1% of it combined

Interestingly the only place the bottom 40% show up is when looking at debt. There the bottom 90% hold 75% of the country's debt, the next 9% hold 20% of the debt, and the remaining one percent hold 5% of the debt

But yeah, let's make the people who LITERALLY HAVE NO WEALTH pay just as much in taxes as the people WHO HAVE ALL THE WEALTH.

My sources btw. You should read them, there's a lot more that I didn't bother going into.

http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/02/income-inequality-in-america-chart-graph

http://www2.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/wealth.html

I don't know how that has anything to do with me paying taxes while a huge chunk doesn't.

20% of the country controls 80% of the wealth. Hence why they pay taxes.

Does it make sense now? I really can't figure out how to dumb this down any more than I already have.

I have a problem with nearly half the country not paying taxes and then turning to the other half that does and wanting them to pay more so we can expand social welfare programs.

Wasdie

[QUOTE="Wasdie"]

[QUOTE="gameguy6700"]

Yeah, that greedy 40% with all their wealth. They must have like, what, at least a quarter in the wealth in the country right?

Oh no wait, they actually control 1% of it combined

Interestingly the only place the bottom 40% show up is when looking at debt. There the bottom 90% hold 75% of the country's debt, the next 9% hold 20% of the debt, and the remaining one percent hold 5% of the debt

But yeah, let's make the people who LITERALLY HAVE NO WEALTH pay just as much in taxes as the people WHO HAVE ALL THE WEALTH.

My sources btw. You should read them, there's a lot more that I didn't bother going into.

http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/02/income-inequality-in-america-chart-graph

http://www2.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/wealth.html

gameguy6700

I don't know how that has anything to do with me paying taxes while a huge chunk doesn't.

20% of the country controls 80% of the wealth. Hence why they pay taxes.

Does it make sense now? I really can't figure out how to dumb this down any more than I already have.

Yeah, and I pay more taxes. Unless you FORCE businesses to pay more to their employees or have the state controls the businesses to distribute the wealth, I'll still be paying the taxes and people will still not be paying the taxes adn they'll want more social welfare benifits.

The ideas that most people have put forward to distribute the wealth bascially tax our rich and corproations into oblivion and make them unable to compete.

You want to redistribute the wealth we get that. How would you do that? By taxing everything to oblivion? By stopping people from making money by putting up salary caps? By drastically increasing the minimum wage?

There are 6+ million companies in America that pay employees. Whatever you do on a business level effects them all. You could permanently ruin small business with good intentions.

I'm all for closing tax loopholes and stopping some of the major companies from not paying taxes, but that isn't redistributing the wealth at all.

There is also a difference between our version of poverty and the rest of the world. Our version includes vacations, TV, cars, housing, clean water, food, warmth, air condition, nice clothing, cellphones, internet... Not saying that everybody living in poverty has these things, but as a consumerist society we don't view poverty like we should. There is a difference between somebody being able to not feed themselves and somebody who can't afford the latest iPhone because they don't have enough money.

Our distribution of wealth sucks in this country becasue since the 80s the amount of wealth our country has made has been exponentially higher than before. Wages have stagnated because cost of living has stagnated over the past 30 years and is only now, in this crappy economy, starting to go back up. Thus people are now seeing the effects of having to low of wages for standard of living.

The real problems is that we've been taught that we can live outside of our means. People getting into massive debt over nothing and then getting into a lot of trouble because of that. Why do we import more than we export? Simply because people feel the need that stuff = wealth. Why did our housing market crash? Prices were inflated with all of the people buying houses way out of their means. Part of the problem was the banks lending them the stupidly high amount of money then using that for crap investments and the other factor was people were getting houses outside fo their means. They flooded the market with cash and prices went up. Now that burst and housing prices are coming back down to where they should have been all along. This all is because people during the 80s, 90s, and 2000s all decided that living on credit and having stuff is the way to live. Blend in the deregulation of banks and that spelled economic nightmare for everybody else.

Of course that system wasn't going to surive and it's falling. However a redistribution of the wealth isn't the solution like people make it out to be. Insta redistribution would hike inflation to levels unseen and make our dollar worthless in the market.

What we need to do is to continue to teach people to stop living out of their means as well as stop businesses from screwing over their employees and getting out of taxes. If everybody contributed their share things would be different. We still have a problem with the ability to easily export low-income jobs to china, so we need to take a look at what to do about forgien investments.

All people have been doing is pointing to the rich and saying it is their fault. This damn blame culture is causing us more harm than our own selfish and wasteful ways. People need to learn to accept responsibity for their actions on ALL levels. CEOs who run their comapny to the ground shouldn't be getting massive bonsues and an 18 year old with a 12k credit card limit should think of it as free money. Everybody is equally responsible for the mess we have. The solution isn't to pin it on a small group and use them as a scape goat while you parade around making terrible decisions.