The problem in this country is we have politicians who are on the take from people who benefit for an unequal distribution of wealth, and there is no indication that, despite there being a Democratic Congress, things will revert to the way it should be and used to be in the three decades following World War II.
Here is a graph which is interesting. Of course readers (both of them) can click on it or on the link provided to get a closer look:
The leading countries in life expectancy, Sweden and Japan, are also among the most equal of the wealthy nations. Interestingly, they have accomplished this relative equality in completely different ways: In Sweden, the tax system redistributes income; in Japan the income is given out relatively equally before any tax adjustments. Combinations of the two methods are also possible.
We in the U.S. are becoming more and more unequal. Our poor showing in life expectancy and quality of life is a direct result. It wasn’t always this way, and it does not need to remain so. Income distribution has varied widely.
In the Gilded Age of the robber barons, income distribution in the U.S. was very unequal (see the graphic below). This was one of the causes of the Great Depression. FDR’s New Deal can be interpreted, in large measure, as a program to reverse income inequality.
Everybody suffers from this sad state of affairs. Except, of course, the rich, who can buy their own health care; they don't need health insurance and the like at all.
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