[quote=Jazzman]Econprof if you read the commentary, the film maker had to edit down to three minutes, and the video does reference income. One would hope it is a teaser to sequels that flesh out who these super rich are, how they accumulated their wealth, and how a more even distribution is achieved. I think what is unsettling is the notion that concentrations of wealth and its corollary power, are reminiscent of an era we associate with a less evolved society, where access to the political process, education, and opportunity is discriminatory. I don’t think we are devolving in that sense, but the wealth concentration phenomenon needs to be examined in the context of the overall health of a society. Ironically, you might find similarly huge disparities in China and Russia, and if comparing rich and poor countries the divide is very apparent again. Time magazine recently did a study of the Nordic model where societal mores are in lockstep with a consensual process. A hybrid Freidman socialism. It works, but the question of adapting it on a large scale presents challenges.[/quote]
Does the nordic model you refer to take into account that at one point they shipped off their poor to the US? What kind of societal mores allow for that?
And if US were to copy that model, where do you suggest we ship our poor off to? Because, once the bottom 20% is removed, the inequality might not looks as bad as it seems.