Today we're taking a look at the differences between rich people and poor people, beyond
just money.
For example, how does money affect a person's prospects, their diet, or even their estimated
life span?
Join us as we take a closer look, in this episode of the infographic show: rich vs poor.
First, just how big is the gap between rich and poor here in America?
The truth might be shocking, as several recent studies have shown that the United States
has the largest wealth inequality gap of any First World nation.
In fact, current levels of wealth inequality are comparable to 1920's pre-Great Depression
America- but how did we get there after the decades of middle class growth following World
War II?
One of the biggest factors in re-creating the great American wealth gap has been globalization.
With major industries destroyed around the world following World War II, the US became
a manufacturing powerhouse, leading to the creation of millions of well-paying, blue
collar jobs.
Yet as access to markets overseas expanded and the cost of transporting goods plummeted,
companies began a mass exodus to cheap labor markets around the world- most notably Mexico,
India, Indonesia and China.
Rather than pay the fair wages that took decades of hard work by labor unions and politicians
to enforce, companies instead relocated their manufacturing base overseas and then lobbied
those governments to prevent the creation of the same wage-protection legislation we
have here in the US.
Even today we are seeing a new shift, with some companies already pulling out of India
and China as their workers too fall victim to Globalization after their governments began
to enforce, or threatened to enforce, minimum wage and worker's compensation laws.
The second major factor in the collapse of the American middle class was automation.
First hitting the automobile industry in the mid 60s, more and more advanced robotics are
starting to edge Americans out of the few manufacturing jobs that still remain in the
US.
That effect is now spreading to jobs once thought safe from replacement by robots, with
companies like McDonalds field testing self-service ordering kiosks with the eventual goal of
replacing all staff, from the cashier to the cook.
This slow takeover should be clearly visible even to you in your own life- next time you
go to the grocery store, notice the self-checkout lane and the self-service movie rental kiosk.
Those two machines alone represent 3 shifts, or 9 total workers replaced for a 24 hour
business.
So just how big is the difference between rich and poor now?
Well for starters, the rich are richer than ever.
In 1982 the lowest ranked member of Forbe's annual list of America's richest 400 had a
net worth of $80 million, while the average member on the list had a net worth of $280
million.
In 2016, the poorest member of Forbe's richest 400 Americans needed a net worth of $1.7 billion
just to enter the list, with the average member holding a net worth of $6 billion; after adjusting
for inflation, that's over 10 times the 1982 average.
But inequality is skyrocketing even between the richest Americans, with the richest American
having a value of $2 billion in 1982 vs $81 billion in 2016, outpacing gains at either
the entry point to Forbe's richest 400 or the average.
For the rest of us, our net worth has actually dropped, with only those making over $200,000
actually holding or increasing their net worth since 2000.
The difference between rich and poor is also from where the rich and poor actually get
their wealth from.
For the top 1%, over 49% of their wealth is derived from highly lucrative sources such
as stocks and mutual funds, making it easier to continue to grow that wealth and reinvest
it.
For America's bottom 90%, only 9.1% of their wealth comes from these sources, instead coming
overwhelmingly from the value of their homes and real estate- sources not nearly as lucrative
and thus harder to reinvest with in order to grow wealth, and also the biggest hit asset
category by the recent great recession.
The amount of debt held by the top 1% vs the bottom 90% is even more skewed, with the top
1% only holding 5.4% of all public debt, and the bottom 90% holding 73.5% of debt- yet
another factor that makes it difficult for the bottom 90% to try to increase their wealth.
The wealth gap is also affecting us at the dinner table, with a marked difference in
the diets between rich and poor.
While overall American health and eating habits has improved in the last 25 years, the majority
of these gains have been in higher income households.
Some of the factors thought to be the source of this disparity include better health education
amongst wealthier Americans and the rising cost of fruits, vegetables and nuts vs the
low cost of pre-packaged meals high in saturated fats, sugar and sodium.
Work and quality of life also affect this trend, with richer Americans working better
jobs that provide greater amounts of personal satisfaction, and poorer Americans having
higher levels of stress and job dissatisfaction, or being forced to work multiple jobs to make
full-time hours leading to a preference for quick, easy to make, pre-packaged meals.
Smaller choices have also driven the disparity, with higher income Americans eating more fruits
and replacing sugary fruit juices with whole fruits.
Wealthier Americans are also dropping processed grains with added sugar and sodium for whole
grains and wheat breads, and ditching sugary snacks for things like natural peanut butter
and nuts.
Not surprisingly though, neither wealthy or poor Americans have increased their intake
of vegetables, because vegetables are terrible.
Things like income disparity, differences in total debt, and even diet may be expected
as differences between rich and poor people.
But what about total life expectancy?
What about a life expectancy difference of 21 years- even here in America?
A University of Washington study looking at the differences in American life expectancies
between 1980 and 2014 discovered a shocking 21 year disparity between the most affluent
counties in the US and the poorest.
Researchers discovered that residents of certain affluent counties in Colorado had the highest
life expectancies at 87 years, while people in several counties of North and South Dakota
had a life expectancy of only 66 years.
If this is shocking to you don't worry, it was for the researchers involved as well,
with one commenting that they expected to see such a drastic difference between the
US and a Third World nation, not between different counties here in America.
Yet the disparity is only expected to grow, with the data showing that mortality trends
for individuals aged 25 – 45 years in poorer US counties experienced an increase of 11.5%
since 1980 and shows no sign of slowing down.
And while overall life expectancy has increased by 5 years here in the US, we are actually
at the bottom of life expectancy of nearly any First World nation despite spending more
on healthcare than the rest of the world, just barely beating Romania, Serbia and Macedonia.
Once the US was a beacon to the world with a robust middle class that provided opportunity
to all- today the reality is far different.
In the last 30 years we have reversed every gain achieved by the great post-WWII Middle
Class boom and reverted back to pre-Great Depression levels of wealth disparity and
income inequality.
Yet the cost of living continues to rise, while access to health care and education
shrinks and automation replaces the American blue collar worker.
Where this future will lead us is uncertain, but what is certain is that without some major
changes the great American Dream will at last truly be dead to the majority
of American citizens.
So, do you think the gap between the rich and the poor needs to be narrowed?
Can you see and feel the difference?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
Also, be sure to check out our other video called Ninja vs You - How do you compare in
Fortnite!
Thanks for watching, and, as always, don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe.
See you next time!