Quote:
Originally Posted by Rizla
Scratch the UK off the list. Inequality there is as bad as the USA, but without the massive black underclass that exists in the USA....
|
Despite the deep history of class divisions, the UK does have less income inequality. As best I can tell, the difference is largely due to significantly higher government transfers (e.g. NHS) and higher tax rates on the wealthiest percentile.
Also, according to Forbes the wealthiest UK private citizen is Grosvenor, the Duke of Westminster (#57), and there are 21 American billionaires with larger fortunes than his. Grosvenor inherited most of his wealth, while many of the Americans earned their massive fortunes during their own lifetimes. I'd guess something about this is also a factor in this matter.
Thus according to the CIA Factbook, Sweden's GINI is 23 (the highest ranked), UK is 34, US is 45, Brazil 56, South Africa 65.
Oh, and African-Americans are only 12% of the US population. 72% of Americans are white (including white Hispanics).