I'm not all that impressed with graphs over several decades of certain government-published statistical indices, because they have a nasty habit of redefining them, and those fractures are almost never indicated on the charts.
So when you show me the Gini coefficient over time, the first thing I wonder is if either the methods of calculating it or the methods of collecting the data have changed during that time.
Anecdotally, it is readily apparent to me that inequality is increasing, and not just in wealth or income. It is also increasing with respect to health care, legal processes, job satisfaction, consumer confidence, and trust in institutions.
It feels a lot like the guy trying to figure out what is stuck to the seat of his pants in the instant before the bartender gives him the bum's rush out the door. And the bartender himself doesn't realize that the guy is the only one left in the bar that actually intends to pay for his drinks. So really, just cruel and sad all the way around--America since 1970.
The only people who now have the ability to change the system see absolutely no benefit to themselves in doing so.
So when you show me the Gini coefficient over time, the first thing I wonder is if either the methods of calculating it or the methods of collecting the data have changed during that time.
Anecdotally, it is readily apparent to me that inequality is increasing, and not just in wealth or income. It is also increasing with respect to health care, legal processes, job satisfaction, consumer confidence, and trust in institutions.
It feels a lot like the guy trying to figure out what is stuck to the seat of his pants in the instant before the bartender gives him the bum's rush out the door. And the bartender himself doesn't realize that the guy is the only one left in the bar that actually intends to pay for his drinks. So really, just cruel and sad all the way around--America since 1970.
The only people who now have the ability to change the system see absolutely no benefit to themselves in doing so.