It Must Be a Sign

Last night, as I was making my last round of the internet, I came across the map below at one of the places I visit. (As always, you can click on the picture to enlarge it.)



Immediately afterward, I went to bed, where I picked up the book I’m currently reading -- Lies My Teacher Told Me -- by James W. Loewen. Incredibly (it seemed to me), I started reading exactly the same thing the map was showing me. It must be a sign.

I read:

”Stressing how middle-class we all are is increasingly problematic today, because the proportion of households earning between 75 percent and 125 percent of the median income has fallen steadily since 1967. The Reagan-Bush administrations accelerated this shrinking of the middle class, and most families who left its ranks fell rather than rose. As late as 1970, family incomes in the United States were only slightly less equal than Canada. By 2000, inequality here was much greater than Canada’s; the Untied States was becoming more like Mexico, a very stratified society. The Bush II administration, with its tax cuts aimed at the openly wealthy, continued to increase the gap between the haves and have-nots.“

The key phrase in all that is the U.S. is looking more like Mexico than Canada. If you look at the map, you’ll see the same thing. The map is a representation of the Gini Coefficient. The Gini Coefficient is a mathematical model of wealth/income distribution. You can read more than you ever wanted to know about it at Wikipedia. In short, it shows how much richer the rich are in comparison to the poor in a particular county.

I find it most telling to look at Europe. Their income/wealth inequality is low (very low in Denmark, the little bit of yellow) throughout the continent until you get to the “U.S.A Blue” in Turkey and Iran. I hope you find those comparisons as uncomfortable as I do.

Lies My Teacher Told Me is a criticism of the way we teach history in America. It is a very uncomfortable book to read. The section I’m currently reading is about labor history in America. There’s plenty of history -- it just isn’t taught. I think I’ve made that point before. It’s always uncomfortable to find out your values and outlook on life have been shaped by ignorance. Ignorance is curable. Pick up a good book and read.

We could delve into all sorts of areas to explain the colors on that map -- unions, health care, taxes, public education -- the list is endless. I think I’ll just leave you with a quotation that Mr. Loewen used to start this chapter.

Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration.

Abraham Lincoln

Don Brown
July 24, 2008