(in)equitable distribution of wealth

[melm00se]

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-norton-wealth-inequality-20101108,0,1887934.story

Spreading the wealth
The gap between rich and poor in the U.S. is bigger than at any time since the 1920s. Is that really what most Americans want?
By Michael I. Norton and Dan Ariely

The gap between the wealthiest Americans and the poorest is bigger than at any time since the 1920s — just before the Depression. According to an analysis this year by Edward Wolff of New York University, the top 20% of wealthy individuals own about 85% of the wealth, while the bottom 40% own very near 0%. Many in that bottom 40% not only have no assets, they have negative net wealth

the most interesting excerpts is here:

While liberals and the poor favored slightly more equal distributions than conservatives and the wealthy, a large majority of every group we surveyed — from the poorest to the richest, from the most conservative to the most liberal — agreed that the current level of wealth inequality was too high and wanted a more equitable distribution of wealth. In fact, Americans reported wanting to live in a country that looks more like Sweden than the United States.

This begs the question: how is it, if this survey is accurate, that higher tax rates on upper incomes hasn't come to pass?

[SammyWinstonJack]

1. I think the answer to that, is obvious.