[quote=flyer]Personally, I think the “wealth gap” statistics are pretty much self-explanatory–concerning the ever-widening “Gap Between the Middle Class and the Rich.”
Differing levels of wealth directly translate into many “quality of life” differences between classes (for lack of a better term)–such as–less disposable income, lesser funds for housing, lesser funds for retirement, lesser funds for heirs (if you so choose).
I’m sure there are more examples, but those are the most significant, life-changing issues in my opinion, and, most likely, why it is referred to as the “wealth gap.”[/quote]
Agreed. And note that the things you’ve listed — housing, retirement, and inheritance — are basically types of investments (more disposable income = more income to invest), and that unearned income is taxed at a lower rate than earned income, particularly for high income earners. In other words, the different tax treatment of earned vs. unearned income makes the wealth gap even greater, and this difference grows over time.
Of course, there are multiple reasons for the wealth gap (greater — and growing — political power of those at the top of the economic pyramid; mechanization; globalization; etc.) , just pointing out that our tax policies make the problem even worse. It’s like pouring fuel on the fire.
