Income Inequality and how the middle class has been screwed
Obviously, our country is not the only one that has screwed the middle class but the fact that our wage gap continues to widen is alarming. I think it worthwhile to see how we stack up when compared to other industrialized countries that operate within a democratic system:
UN and CIA list – income ratios and Gini indices
Key:
R/P 10%: The ratio of the average income of the richest 10% to the poorest 10%.
R/P 20%: The ratio of the average income of the richest 20% to the poorest 20%.
Gini: Gini index, a quantified representation of a nation’s Lorenz curve. A Gini index of 0% expresses perfect equality, while index of 100% expresses maximal inequality.
UN: Data from the United Nations Development Programme.
CIA: Data from the Central Intelligence Agency‘s The World Factbook.
| Country | UN R/P | World Bank Gini [3] | CIA R/P [4] | CIA Gini[5] | ||||
| 10%[6] | 20%[7] | % | Year | 10% | Year | % | Year | |
| Australia | 12.5 | 5.8 | 34.7 | 2010 | 12.7 | 1994 | 30.3 | 2008 |
| Austria | 6.9 | 4.9 | 30.5 | 2014 | 6.8 | 2004 | 26.3 | 2007 |
| Belgium | 8.2 | 4.2 | 28.1 | 2014 | 8.3 | 2000 | 25.9 | 2013 est. |
| Canada | 9.4 | 6.2 | 34 | 2013 | 9.5 | 2000 | 32.1 | 2005 |
| Denmark | 8.1 | 4 | 28.5 | 2014 | 12 | 2000 est. | 24.8 | 2011 est. |
| Finland | 5.6 | 3.9 | 26.8 | 2014 | 5.7 | 2000 | 26.8 | 2008 |
| France | 9.1 | 5.2 | 32.3 | 2014 | 8.3 | 2004 | 30.1 | 2013 |
| Greece | 10.2 | 7.1 | 35.8 | 2014 | 10.4 | 2000 est. | 34.4 | 2013 est. |
| Hungary | 5.5 | 4.9 | 30.9 | 2014 | 5.6 | 2002 | 24.7 | 2009 |
| Iceland | 3.6 | 25.6 | 2014 | 28 | 2006 | |||
| Ireland | 9.4 | 5.1 | 31.9 | 2014 | 9.4 | 2000 | 33.9 | 2010 |
| Israel | 13.4 | 9.8 | 41.4 | 2012 | 11.8 | 2005 | 37.6 | 2012 |
| Italy | 11.6 | 6.6 | 34.7 | 2014 | 11.7 | 2000 | 31.9 | 2012 est. |
| Japan | 4.5 | 5.4 | 32.1 | 2008 | 4.5 | 1993 | 37.9 | 2011 |
| Netherlands | 9.2 | 4.4 | 28.6 | 2014 | 9.2 | 1999 | 25.1 | 2013 |
| New Zealand | 12.4 | 36.2 | 1997 | |||||
| Norway | 6.1 | 4.1 | 26.8 | 2014 | 6 | 2000 | 26.8 | 2010 |
| Poland | 8.8 | 5 | 32.1 | 2014 | 8.7 | 2002 | 34.1 | 2009 |
| Portugal | 15 | 6.4 | 35.6 | 2014 | 9.2 | 1995 est. | 34.2 | 2013 est. |
| Slovakia | 6.7 | 4.1 | 26.1 | 2014 | 6.7 | 1996 | 25.3 | 2012 |
| Slovenia | 5.9 | 3.7 | 25.7 | 2014 | 5.9 | 1998 | 23.7 | 2012 |
| South Africa | 33.1 | 28.4 | 63 | 2014 | 31.9 | 2000 | 62.5 | 2013 est. |
| Spain | 10.3 | 7.3 | 36 | 2014 | 10.2 | 2000 | 34 | 2011 |
| Sweden | 6.2 | 4.6 | 27.2 | 2014 | 6.2 | 2000 | 24.9 | 2013 |
| Switzerland | 9 | 5.2 | 32.5 | 2013 | 8.9 | 2000 | 28.7 | 2012 est. |
| United Kingdom | 13.8 | 5.4 | 34.1 | 2014 | 13.6 | 1999 | 32.4 | 2012 |
| United States | 18.5 | 9.4 | 41.5 | 2016 | 14 | 2014 est. | 47 | 2014 |
| World | 12 | 2002 est. | 38 | 2007 |
The US ranks highest in terms of unequal distribution of income among all of the above countries! =