The States With The Worst Income Inequality

[cali]

There was never any chance that in America income would be distributed like it was supposedly done in the Soviet Union – to each according to his ability and his needs. If capitalism is the key to the rise of the US economy, then the concept that some people can be richer than others is near the heart of the system. Americans worship self-made billionaires such as Bill Gates and Warren Buffett because they believe that it’s possible for them to be that wealthy too.

Unfortunately, there are far more poor people than wealthy ones. America is the world’s most visible case of that. A small number of people in the US control most of the income, wealth, and property. More than one in eight people live below the poverty level and that number has grown recently. No matter what the government has done to bridge the difference between the groups, it has been ineffective, and that situation is not likely to change given the current tax laws. The wealthy have a higher tax rate, but even what they keep after taxes is far in excess of what most other Americans have.

24/7 Wall St. looked at the wealth gap by state to find those where the gulf between the rich and poor is the greatest. The formula used to reach this conclusion is a mathematical one called the Gini coefficient. It is a complex calculation which has on the one end of its measurement a world in which everyone makes exactly the same amount of money and on the other a collection of people where the gulf between the haves and have nots is high. The Marxian ideal is a “zero,” and a state in which one group possesses all the wealth and another has none would be “one.” The state in which the inequality is greatest in America, New York, is 0.5. Global statistics show that in come countries, the figure is as high as 0.7.

Read more: The States With The Worst Income Inequality - 24/7 Wall St. http://247wallst.com/2011/04/21/the-states-with-the-worst-income-inequality/#ixzz1KOM9pg4u

[NutmegYankee]

1. It doesn't surprise me that Conn. is #2.

We may be one of the wealthiest states, with the 4th lowest poverty rate, but I see a a sickening level of income inequality. Seeing million dollar homes in elite suburbs versus crumbling city blocks is all too common.

[QED]

2. Interesting that most of the states are RED and southern

whose citizens vote against their own interests.

1 New York
2 Connecticut
3 Texas
4 Louisiana
5 Alabama
6 Mississippi
7 Florida
8 Georgia
9 Illinois
10 Massachusetts

[NJCher]

3. that is some site!

Thanks for introducing it to me.

Many in-depth, insightful pieces to read.


Cher

[franzia99]

4. I knew it'd be NY. All those bankers with their ill gotten gains + low paid service workers.