Most Americans Prefer A More Equitable Distribution Of Wealth

The figure above is from a study done in 2005 by Michael I Norton of the Harvard Business School, and Dan Ariely of Duke University's Department of Psychology. It was printed in the journal of the Association for Psychological Science. I have posted before about this study, but it deserves repeating because it shows that the vast majority of the American people would prefer a much more equitable distribution of wealth than currently exists in the United States.

The survey contained a rather large randomly selected national sample of 5,522 people (51% female), so the margin of error is very small. That sample was asked to choose between the above pie charts as to which they would prefer. The charts were not labeled at the time, so the respondents did not know that the bottom pie chart represented the current distribution of wealth in the United States, or that the pie chart on the upper left represented the same in Sweden.

Note that a huge majority of respondents chose the Swedish distribution of wealth as preferable to that of the United States -- by about 92% to 8%. And this preference cut across both gender and income lines. About 92.7% of women and 90.6% of men preferred the Swedish distribution of wealth. Here is the breakdown by income:
Under $50,000...............92.1%
$50,000 to $10,000...............91.7%
Over $100,000...............89.1%

Another aspect of the study showed that most Americans don't realize just how unequal the distribution of wealth is in this country. When asked to estimate the distribution of wealth in the United States, most respondents indicated a distribution much closer to that of Sweden (although a bit worse) than the actual distribution in the United States. They knew the wealth distribution in this country was unequal, but they vastly underestimated just how unequal it really is.

Now this does not mean that Americans want some kind of system where everyone gets the same amount of wealth. Far from it. Americans like the free enterprise system, and they realize (and accept) that it will result in a certain amount of unequal distribution of wealth. They just think that everyone should be able to get at least a portion of the economic pie, and that a tiny part of the population should not be able to hog most of the country's economic wealth (such as the current situation where the top 20% control about 84% of all wealth in the country, and the top 1% control nearly half of the country's wealth).

The sad fact is that the economic rules have been tilted to favor the rich at the expense of all other Americans (largely through the imposition of Republican trickle-down economic policy) -- and that has resulted in a vast (and still growing) gap in income and wealth in the United States. When this vast gap existed in the 1920's, it resulted in the Great Depression. It's current existence has resulted in the Great Recession we are now experiencing. It must be rectified to get the country back to a strong economy that benefits everyone.

While Americans are scared by the term "income redistribution" (thanks to corporate propaganda), they do want this country to have a more equitable distribution of wealth -- and that cannot happen until there is at least some mild forms of that redistribution (through such things as higher taxes for the rich, stronger unions, raising the minimum wage, social programs for the poor and disadvantaged, universal health care, etc.).

Initiative and investment should be rewarded, but so should labor (hard work). A healthy economy is one in which everyone gets a piece of the economic pie, and shares in the wealth created by a growth in productivity. Free enterprise (capitalism) does not have to equal unfairness. With just a few common sense regulations (and good social and educational programs), it can be beneficial to all citizens.