that it's going to come as an incredible shot
to most americans
that were not the richest
nation in the world on america likes to think of itself is the richest nation on
the planet
in space they considered common knowledge a which countries they
register america cars three or four politicians are school teachers are news
media
and logistically a total combined wealth we are the richest by a lot
granger two thousand levin studied by our lian's
the united states has over forty one trillion dollars in ca mine well second
as japan
with far less than half the wealthy united states just over fourteen
trillion sort number one right
well not exactly
our nations combined wealth is astronomically high bit that's only
because there are a heck of a lot of billionaires living here
in fact i third of the world's billionaires live right here in the
united states four hundred and twelve upnp second melissa's china with a
hundred and fifteen
so our total wealth is inflated by all the billionaires
who live here
if you want a truly measure
and i'm just sayin images there
joint really measure
how wealthy the united states actually is
they have to look at median while
or how much americans in the middle are making where half a making more hafer
making less or that criteria has his assuming crack the top ten in the world
according a report by credits sweets
fifteen always cd nations have higher median wealth in the united states
includes australia japan israel
includes european nations that are in a crisis right now like spain italy and
ireland
they're middle class is still doing ok
that's because over the thirty year since we embraced reaganomics our middle
class has been devastated
and the country's iraq at a bus even the ones that are in the middle of the debt
crisis in europe
they haven't sold out their middle class
one of these countries with higher median wealth have in common
universal health care
strong labor unions
generous social safety nets and height income taxes
all the things the we used to have here in the united states aside from
universal health care until reagan came along in the eighties declared war on
organized labor and went to work undoing the new deal
so the today were not the wealthiest nation on the planet in war we just have
the most were on the level rich
and that in my opinion is
the problem
i mean this is this is a serious crisis when you look at the consequences of the
inequality like this
is pretty much modeling
about one-third of the annual deaths in our states according to happening
illogical researchers
and you could by the way you get this information overt inequality dot order
status tix are right there you can you could try to write back to the source
about a third of the annual dozen estates
are credited to
inequality
it's really quite remarkable a huge sure the nation's economic growth over the
last thirty years has gone to the top of one hundred of one percent to make an
average of twenty seven million dollars per household
the average income for the bottom ninety percent
thirty one thousand two hundred forty four and that's the average the median
is is around twenty five thousand
and united states twenty two percent of all kids are in poverty
we are
second only to that of mexico
in countries in some countries only five or ten percent of the adult population
have suffered any kind of mental illness in the past year in united states is
twenty five percent
there's a link between inequality and homicide rates
u_s_a_ in prisons people at fourteen times the rate of japan
louisiana m prisons people at six times the rate of minnesota
chris louisiana privatize the prisons that might have something to do with
that
but the but the bottom line is according to an article published in journal
social science and medicine
the more equal u_s_ states have lower homicide rates are less likely to use
the death penalty
the most important obstacle to achieving sustainability is consumerism
and bend and people in more unequal societies are working harder and harder
and harder to keep up appearances
and it's devastating
trust communities are more cohesive people trust each more and more equal
societies
so ineffective here's the list of things where when a society is more equal
australia
which tops the chart in median income in the world
and societies are more equal when they have those higher top tax brackets and
they do have national health care and they do have a strong safety social
safety net you get better results
and in countries like the united city in the united states the united kingdom in
singapore the most unequal countries that want to get worse results
here's the list this is from equality trust you can read is a rare quality
trust dot or dot u_k_
physical health
people more equal society's live longer
smaller percentage of children children die proportion
mental health
people in unequal societies are more likely to be experience mental illness
people more equal society's less likely
drug abuse
people in more equal society's less likely become drug addicts or use drugs
illegally
education kids do better at school more equal society's imprisoned month unequal
societies are harsher the imprison a higher proportion of people in quicken
quoting from a quality trust dot or dot u_k_
obesity obesity is less common in more equal societies more common and more
unequal societies
in fact if you look at the individual states the united states filled the
states where the obesity levels of the highest by the states we have the
highest inequality
social mobility the egg the opportunity the ability to move out of the class the
economic class into which you were born
and move up
united states ranks
dead last or next to dead last among all the developed countries in the world
we are eight crummy place
now now was in that case there was no eighty-four reagan became president but
now in the united states
we are one of the hardest asians
in the developed world to become a self-made person
trust in community life
good communities are more cohesive in people trust each morin at each other
more and more equal societies
violence
equal societies have lower homicide rates
laura and uh... was child abuse teenage births teenage motherhood has less
connie more equal societies
child well-being unicef measures a child will be
better and more equal society's worsen unequal societies like the united states
this is a kid there's even a link between inequality and
contributing to global warming greenhouse gases
so is it time for us to say that this thirty two-year experiment with
reaganomics and dropping taxes on rich people
has failed
natalie has failed but has harmed us terribly
i mean yet wherever fifteen really is that what you want and that's in health
care anyway and get our city that city in that