Want to upset your conservative friends who deny there's an inequality problem in America? This is the graph for you. Of course, they're also partly right… As Derek Thompson of The Atlantic recently published, the income inequality in America isn't a myth, as some on the right think it is. As Thompson points out about our current income inequalities, "The upshot is that the average 99th percenter makes more in a year than somebody in the bottom quintile would make in 150 years." His chart reflects an uncomfortable reality most conservatives would rather ignore.
Of course, as Thompson also notes, the top one percent pays four time mores than the bottom forty percent in federal income taxes - something that tends to upset some on the left.
Thompson isn't the only one who's been debating whether economic inequality even exists lately. Jonathan Chait in New York magazine points out several blowhards and experts from different sides who've been battling over this issue lately.
Chait gets the last word in this debate, however, as he also points out that even if you're right, "[debunking] some blowhard isn’t going to make the blowhard admit he’s wrong."
It's still good to know you're right though, isn't it?
Courtesy Randi Rhodes:
http://www.randirhodes.com/pages/rrnews.html?feed=393046&article=9331495
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