No. of Recommendations: 5
I’d hazard a guess that France doesn’t have as much a problem with wealth disparity as we do in the US.
from the net sifter:
The US has a significantly higher Gini coefficient than France, indicating greater income inequality. Recent World Bank data shows the US with a Gini index of 41.8, whereas France measures 31.8
United States (41.8): The US features one of the highest levels of income inequality among developed, high-income nations. This is driven by high concentrations of wealth and wages at the top end of the spectrum and a relatively larger population of lower-income earners compared to Europe
France (31.8): France exhibits a much more egalitarian distribution of income. This lower score is primarily a result of the country's robust welfare state, including extensive progressive taxation, social security benefits, and public services that actively redistribute wealth
Of course, to the "supply side" advocates, the US' high Gini coefficient is a feature, not a bug. The claim is that concentrating wealth in the hands of the few is necessary for "capital formation", from which all the goodies will flow. As Mark Russell explained it "that means, if David Rockefeller prospers, that prosperity will trickle down, down, down, all the way to Jay Rockefeller."
Steve
