[Peace-discuss] Americans Vastly Underestimate Wealth Inequality, Support More Equal Distribution Of Wealth

[E. Wayne Johnson]

On 9/24/2010 9:05 AM, C. G. Estabrook wrote:
>       William Alden Alden at huffingtonpost.com
>      Americans Vastly Underestimate Wealth Inequality, Support 'More 
> Equal Distribution Of Wealth': Study
>      First Posted: 09-23-10
>
> Americans vastly underestimate the degree of wealth inequality in 
> America, and we believe that the distribution should be far more 
> equitable than it actually is, according to a new study.
>
> Or, as the study's authors put it: "All demographic groups -- even 
> those not usually associated with wealth redistribution such as 
> Republicans and the wealthy -- desired a more equal distribution of 
> wealth than the status quo."
>
> The report (pdf) "Building a Better America -- One Wealth Quintile At 
> A Time" by Dan Ariely of Duke University and Michael I. Norton of 
> Harvard Business School (hat tip to Paul Kedrosky), shows that across 
> ideological, economic and gender groups, Americans thought the richest 
> 20 percent of our society controlled about 59 percent of the wealth, 
> while the real number was closer to 84 percent.
>
> More interesting than that, the report says, is that the respondents 
> (a randomly selected 5,522-person sample, reflecting the country's 
> ideological, economic and gender demographics, surveyed in December 
> 2005) believed the top 20 percent should own only 32 percent of the 
> wealth. Respondents with incomes over $100,000 per year had similar 
> answers to those making less then $50,000. (The report has helpful, 
> multi-colored charts.)
>
> The respondents were presented with unlabeled pie charts representing 
> the wealth distributions of the U.S., where the richest 20 percent 
> controlled about 84 percent of wealth, and Sweden, where the top 20 
> percent only controlled 36 percent of wealth. Without knowing which 
> country they were picking, 92 percent of respondents said they'd 
> rather live in a country with Sweden's wealth distribution.
>
> As the new Forbes billionaires list, released Wednesday, testifies, 
> the richest Americans are getting richer, even as the country as a 
> whole gets poorer. After 2005 income inequality continued to balloon.
>
> READ the study:
>
> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/23/americans-support-wealth-redistribution_n_736132.html 
>
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>

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