Inequality In America Is Worse Than In Egypt, Tunisia Or Yemen

[teacher gal]

No doubt inequality and poverty look different in our contry than in poorer countries. I'm not an economist nor a numbers expert but I am a former special education teacher who witnessed on a daily basis the impact and ravages of poverty on our nation's most vulnerable children. And as I've followed the news about Egypt, it has occurred to me that here in the good 'ole U.S.A., it might just be time to take to the streets, in peaceful protest.

From an article at GlobalResearch.ca:

"Specifically, the 'Gini Coefficient' - the figure economists use to measure inequality - is higher in the U.S." and Americans consistently underestimate the amount of inequality in our nation.

Go here for more: http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=22999

Astonishing, if accurate.

[devils chaplain]

1. Interesting...

According to the stats up on Wikipedia, this is correct.

[RKP5637]

2. In the US we hid it as best we can - not often one hears/sees MSM covering US

poverty. We live in la la land.

[JI7]

3. take to the streets to do what ?

[teacher gal]

8. Bring to attention an issue

that has long been overlooked. Call for change. Poverty in America is an issue rarely addressed in mainstream media.

[NuclearDem]

4. ...

We haven't had this thread three times already...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x304610

[teacher gal]

9. Sorry, didn't know it! Just logged on.

Guess I should have check first! Of course, you can just ignore this thread and hopefully not be too put upon.

[NuclearDem]

10. No problem, happens to the best of us

I just remember having some extremely long late-night arguments in the other two, so I just had a "here we go again" moment. :)

[teacher gal]

11. Yeah, the picture says it all!!

I enjoyed it, despite being a little red-faced.

Thanks for the patient understanding...haha

[IDemo]

5. Robert Reich discusses this here ->

An excellent video, well worth the one hour. Avoid the comments if you have a weak stomach.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCu-XnVxhfk

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. The Gini coefficient is a pretty gross way to look at it

this is why Mexico and the US are in the same category... it is due to a few men.... Gates, Slim, Buffett.

But no, we are not to that point, in any way shape or form.

While American poverty is deep, it is nowhere close to Mexico, let alone Egypt.

Now that does not mean it is not time to take to the streets... it is. But no, we are nowhere close.

What has happened here is the creation of a very effective caste society... where you are born into a social class, you will remain there, unless you win the lottery.

One simple example, we do not have thousands of kids a year die from very preventable diarrhea... here you can go buy the Oral Rehydration formula... in Mexico I carried the damn thing with litters of water (and we still lost people) and in Egypt there is not even access to that.

[whoneedstickets]

7. Inequality is low if everyone has nothing,,,

I'm not trying to be flippant, but the relationship between inequality and economic growth is commonly understood. Before development takes off virtually all citizens are poor, then growth generates inequality. Typically, as is shown by the map, highly advanced economies move to stem this with social program. So the inequality trend is an upside-down U shaped curve.

America is the exception among western states and the growing inequality we see is redefining the norm.

[Fumesucker]

12. Inequality has been the "norm" for millenia..

There has been a very brief period of somewhat more equality in some nations in the last century or so but throughout virtually all of recorded history inequality has been blatantly rampant.

[Hannah Bell]

14. not the exception. japan has gone the same way, as have others.

there is also the entire former soviet union.

on a global scale, growing inequality is indeed the trend as the rich get richer.

[JI7]

13. another thing is that way more people's lives in Egypt sucks, they don't need a Graph

to show that it sucks.