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Inequality in the US is the worst it’s ever been, but it looks like people are still unaware of just how bad it really is. However, it’s understandable. The human brain has a hard time putting billions and trillions into perspective. We need comprehensive references to fully grasp such high numbers. Luckily, CBS This Morning decided to do this for us. A couple of days ago, they aired a segment that illustrated American inequality by using slices of pie. And it went viral.
The creative approach, presented by the show’s co-host Tony Dokoupil, allowed people to visualize how Americans are sharing $98 trillion of wealth they collectively possess.
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Image credits: AnandWrites
Image credits: CBS This Morning
Image credits: AnandWrites
Nine pieces (90% of the pie) went to the wealthiest 20% in the country, according to a National Bureau Of Economic Research study of household wealth trends in States from 1962 to 2016. What makes it sound even worse, four of those nine slices belong to just the top 1%.
The upper-middle-class and the middle class shared one piece (about 10%), and the lower middle class got a few crumbs (.3%). The poorest people, Americans in the bottom 20%, didn’t even get anything since on average, they are more than $6,000 in debt.
The sad news is that America’s humongous wealth gap keeps widening. And while a steady economic expansion and historically low jobless rate masks problems in income and wealth, in reality, families live in very different financial situations.
Image credits: AnandWrites
Image credits: tonydokoupil
People were shocked to see how bad inequality has gotten after visualizing it
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What do you think ?
Eirik Johnsbråten 5 years ago
If wealth is the result of hard work, how come a single mom working three jobs is still poor?
Thomas Martin 5 years ago
Easy, the main point everybody seems to miss is that it gets easier to amass money the more you have. Companies like Amazon pay little taxes and can borrow money at prime or less. The average person is lucky if they can get a loan at 10%.
Load More Replies...
Death Metal Kitty 5 years ago
I always thought that expanding the pie made no sense. An increase of 10% of 0.00001% (of the the pie) is a pittance, whereas a 10% increase in 90% (of the pie) would be an absurd amount. Whenever I raised this point in Economics, I always get manplained the "expand the pie argument" (and I'm a guy). The richest have brained-washed the intelligentsia to keep us peons in line, and they're doing a damned fine job of it.
Alban Bizet 5 years ago
Le last bit on this video is where the problem really is, he says the American are optimistics, they overestimate their capacity to get rich, so they tend to be against taxes for the rich on case they get rich.
Dynein 5 years ago
As a European, I always wondered about that! I'd wager the inequality is still huge here in Germany, but still. From over here, it's really weird how US Americans seem to vote based on where they MIGHT be financially, one day, if they're lucky - very VERY lucky... instead of, y'know, voting based on where they actually are. It's mind-boggling.
Load More Replies...
Geoff Eby 5 years ago
This is not about hard work. You don't understand hard work until you see a single mother trying to raise her child while working two jobs to make ends meet. The idea that some investment banker thinks he works harder than people struggling to survive on minimum wage is laughable. America's labor laws and social safety net are among the worst of all advanced nations, and it shows in the level of wealth inequality. Taxes are higher elsewhere? Perhaps... but why does having low taxes matter when giving birth can cost your entire life savings? The US is going down a very dark path... and they don't even realize it... or care.
Kurisurin Sutaringu 5 years ago
Some of us do realize it, mainly the younger generation. But we're too young, what can we do about it? We have little to no choice but to just sit back as adults drive into hell and complain we "Don't know what we're talking about."
Load More Replies...
Peter Kelly 5 years ago
This is the inevitable consequence of the endlessly repeated lie called 'the American Dream'. The nonsense that everyone can succeed if only they try hard enough leads inexorably to those few ruthless and greedy People amassing a vast share. Truly loathsome.
Bunzilla 5 years ago
Let's bring back those 90% taxes for the disgustingly wealthy. Like Eisenhower enacted. The economy thrived, the average person had enough money to actually live comfortably, buy a house, a car, go on vacation... The ultra-rich do NOT need the amounts of money that they're hoarding. That money should go back into the economy, not sit in off-shore, tax-free savings accounts.
Ivy Ruonakoski 5 years ago
Exactly. No one NEEDS 200 million at their disposal.
Load More Replies...
John Louis 5 years ago
The wealthiest one percent control the flow of money to political campaigns thereby insuring that there never will be any real efforts on the part of state or federal legislators to address the problem of economic inequality. A problem that defines who we are as a nation!
Random Panda 5 years ago
I like how that one rich dude says the only alternative to stopping people from being able to hoard absurd amounts of money they don't need and will never spend is "everyone gets the same amount". Nice brainwashing there.
Ivy Ruonakoski 5 years ago
It always annoys me when the super rich make it seem like there's only two options: the status quo or you have to divide everything equally. No, sis, my Nordic country has an accumulative tax rate (the more you earn the more tax you pay) but that doesn't mean we don't have poor people and rich people. What we do have is you get free healthcare (paid by said taxes), free education including kindergarten and university (also paid by said taxes) and other social benefits. We are a socialist country but we're not a communist country. There's a difference. At least the poor have a chance to have an education without killing themselves with dept. And then people (mostly from the States) rag on about how we give up half of our income away to the taxman (inaccurate, my rate is about 13%). The whole thing is infuriating. Rant over.
Eirik Johnsbråten 5 years ago
If wealth is the result of hard work, how come a single mom working three jobs is still poor?
Thomas Martin 5 years ago
Easy, the main point everybody seems to miss is that it gets easier to amass money the more you have. Companies like Amazon pay little taxes and can borrow money at prime or less. The average person is lucky if they can get a loan at 10%.
Load More Replies... Death Metal Kitty 5 years ago
I always thought that expanding the pie made no sense. An increase of 10% of 0.00001% (of the the pie) is a pittance, whereas a 10% increase in 90% (of the pie) would be an absurd amount. Whenever I raised this point in Economics, I always get manplained the "expand the pie argument" (and I'm a guy). The richest have brained-washed the intelligentsia to keep us peons in line, and they're doing a damned fine job of it.
Alban Bizet 5 years ago
Le last bit on this video is where the problem really is, he says the American are optimistics, they overestimate their capacity to get rich, so they tend to be against taxes for the rich on case they get rich.
Dynein 5 years ago
As a European, I always wondered about that! I'd wager the inequality is still huge here in Germany, but still. From over here, it's really weird how US Americans seem to vote based on where they MIGHT be financially, one day, if they're lucky - very VERY lucky... instead of, y'know, voting based on where they actually are. It's mind-boggling.
Load More Replies... Geoff Eby 5 years ago
This is not about hard work. You don't understand hard work until you see a single mother trying to raise her child while working two jobs to make ends meet. The idea that some investment banker thinks he works harder than people struggling to survive on minimum wage is laughable. America's labor laws and social safety net are among the worst of all advanced nations, and it shows in the level of wealth inequality. Taxes are higher elsewhere? Perhaps... but why does having low taxes matter when giving birth can cost your entire life savings? The US is going down a very dark path... and they don't even realize it... or care.
Kurisurin Sutaringu 5 years ago
Some of us do realize it, mainly the younger generation. But we're too young, what can we do about it? We have little to no choice but to just sit back as adults drive into hell and complain we "Don't know what we're talking about."
Load More Replies... Peter Kelly 5 years ago
This is the inevitable consequence of the endlessly repeated lie called 'the American Dream'. The nonsense that everyone can succeed if only they try hard enough leads inexorably to those few ruthless and greedy People amassing a vast share. Truly loathsome.
Bunzilla 5 years ago
Let's bring back those 90% taxes for the disgustingly wealthy. Like Eisenhower enacted. The economy thrived, the average person had enough money to actually live comfortably, buy a house, a car, go on vacation... The ultra-rich do NOT need the amounts of money that they're hoarding. That money should go back into the economy, not sit in off-shore, tax-free savings accounts.
Ivy Ruonakoski 5 years ago
Exactly. No one NEEDS 200 million at their disposal.
Load More Replies... John Louis 5 years ago
The wealthiest one percent control the flow of money to political campaigns thereby insuring that there never will be any real efforts on the part of state or federal legislators to address the problem of economic inequality. A problem that defines who we are as a nation!
Random Panda 5 years ago
I like how that one rich dude says the only alternative to stopping people from being able to hoard absurd amounts of money they don't need and will never spend is "everyone gets the same amount". Nice brainwashing there.
Ivy Ruonakoski 5 years ago
It always annoys me when the super rich make it seem like there's only two options: the status quo or you have to divide everything equally. No, sis, my Nordic country has an accumulative tax rate (the more you earn the more tax you pay) but that doesn't mean we don't have poor people and rich people. What we do have is you get free healthcare (paid by said taxes), free education including kindergarten and university (also paid by said taxes) and other social benefits. We are a socialist country but we're not a communist country. There's a difference. At least the poor have a chance to have an education without killing themselves with dept. And then people (mostly from the States) rag on about how we give up half of our income away to the taxman (inaccurate, my rate is about 13%). The whole thing is infuriating. Rant over.
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