Americans think things are more equal than they actually are...
And say they want them to be even more equal than that!
(But, what they say they want would require very heavy taxation...more than Sweden or Norway).
And say they want them to be even more equal than that!
(But, what they say they want would require very heavy taxation...more than Sweden or Norway).
Next: Inequality must be justified by ideology
The chart shows the results of a 2010 study by Norton and Ariely. The middle band shows people's average estimate of the level of inequality in the US. The bottom band shows the average of what people say the distribution of income should be. The top shows the distribution of income as it existed at the time of the study. It would be even larger today.