The Equal Opportunity in Inequality

We all know that equality is a good idea, but it's more than that. Until I heard of this scientific study I'd never heard the argument for social equality so succinctly made. It's a real eye-opener. An organization called the Equality Trust did a careful examination of many kinds of data to determine the effects of income inequality on society. Here is a video description of their results, in which they found all kinds of effects of income inequality. In it you hear one astonishing fact after another, like that the US is the most unequal developed nation, second only to Singapore. Our mental illness rate consequently is 3 times the level of that in a more egalitarian society like Japan and we have 10 times the violence! (chart) The same results can be seen comparing states to each other.

What this means is that even the RICH would do better in a more egalitarian society! As income inequality increases (the average pay raise for executives of the top 100 companies was 49% this year!!) it's not just their heads they risk as the revolution heats up. It's everything else that holds a society together.

In citing social mobility the presenter says if you want to live the "American dream", go to Denmark! I had the great luxury of living in Austria for a couple years. I'm here to say you can feel the difference. I love my country, which is exactly why I'm so exasperated! God Bless America...with some fast growing up!