House of Eratosthenes

Americans are some of the wealthiest people in the world, with a very high GDP per capita. Americans are top in the world for most material possessions. The numbers of televisions, vehicles, and other such products per person are considerably higher than in any other country. For instance, the United States has some 754 televisions for every thousand people; no other major state is even above 700, with Japan being closest at 680/1000.

So it’s beyond dispute, or pretty much as good as. Material-wise, the United States kicks ass. Got it? Good.

The Economist sounds the alarm bells that — what else? — the wealth gap is increasing between the rich and the poor. Oh, dear!

The rich, the poor and the growing gap between them
The rich are the big gainers in America’s new prosperity
Jun 15th 2006
WASHINGTON, DC
From The Economist print edition

AMERICANS do not go in for envy. The gap between rich and poor is bigger than in any other advanced country, but most people are unconcerned. Whereas Europeans fret about the way the economic pie is divided, Americans want to join the rich, not soak them. Eight out of ten, more than anywhere else, believe that though you may start poor, if you work hard, you can make pots of money. It is a central part of the American Dream.

The political consensus, therefore, has sought to pursue economic growth rather than the redistribution of income, in keeping with John Kennedy’s adage that �a rising tide lifts all boats.� The tide has been rising fast recently. Thanks to a jump in productivity growth after 1995, America’s economy has outpaced other rich countries’ for a decade. Its workers now produce over 30% more each hour they work than ten years ago. In the late 1990s everybody shared in this boom. Though incomes were rising fastest at the top, all workers’ wages far outpaced inflation.

But after 2000 something changed. The pace of productivity growth has been rising again, but now it seems to be lifting fewer boats. After you adjust for inflation, the wages of the typical American worker�the one at the very middle of the income distribution�have risen less than 1% since 2000. In the previous five years, they rose over 6%. If you take into account the value of employee benefits, such as health care, the contrast is a little less stark. But, whatever the measure, it seems clear that only the most skilled workers have seen their pay packets swell much in the current economic expansion. The fruits of productivity gains have been skewed towards the highest earners, and towards companies, whose profits have reached record levels as a share of GDP.

Let’s take those first three paragraphs and condense them down, bearing in mind how the Wikipedia entry summarized the general standard of living in the USA.

Americans generate more wealth, being unconcerned about how it is divided up, than the Europeans do while being obsessed with who-gets-what. But nevermind that, we’re going to ignore the completely freakin’ obvious lesson to be learned here, and be obsessed with who-gets-what anyway.

Over 70% of Americans support the abolition of the estate tax (inheritance tax), even though only one household in 100 pays it.

Good! In other words, Americans have principles. Seventy out of a hundred of us have the balls to say “an unjust tax is an unjust tax, and I don’t give a shit whether I have to pay it or not.”

I expect nothing less from a nation born out of a tax revolt.

If your article had any other messages for me, Mr. Economist egghead socialist guy, I’m afraid they went way over my head. Now, why don’t you take your doom-and-gloom about wealth gaps, and go peddle it in Europe where people are willing to be a bit more receptive. But don’t expect to have any television sets or decent plumbing while you’re there.

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Wealth GapSaturday, June 17th, 2006

Wealth Gap
Saturday, June 17th, 2006