Economic inequality is growing in the world's richest countries, particularly in the United States, jeopardizing the American Dream of social mobility just as the world tilts toward recession, a 30-nation report said Tuesday.

Two oddities about this BusinessWeek article:

1) No mention of whether those mired in poverty are the same people from one year to the next, or if the poor move up to be replaced by those who have just become old enough to join the workforce.

2) "In the United States [...] the poorest 10 percent earn an average of $5,800". I guess "earn" is the key word. NOBODY can live on $5800 a year. They're obviously also getting income in the form of food stamps, subsidized housing, or direct welfare payments that - for some reason - "doesn't count", and makes this whole study worthless. Money is fungible folks, so there's NO excuse not to count everything that the "poor" get.

Finally, allow me to quote myself, circa 1996:

I see nothing to lament about. America's capitialist society is extrememly just. The reason the "haves" have so much is that they plan their lives long-term, make a habit of keeping their promises, and spend a portion of their leisure hours fine-tuning their job skills.

The "have-nots", by contrast, are usually also the can-nots, will-nots, plan-nots, and think-nots. Were they to put forth the same kinds and degrees of effort that the "haves" do, they would reap similar rewards.

A growing "gap" between the two groups means only that the rich are working more diligently, the poor are still sitting on their butts with their brains shut down, and both groups are getting exactly what they've earned.

Posted by: Harvey at 07:26 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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