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VERY fascinating!! I am sure that at least of few are following what is happening in the middle east. If not the short story is that people are in the streets protesting unemployment - financial inequity etc. In Tunisia the protesters took over the government. It is spreading to Egypt now to Yemen. One of the reasons the middle eastern people are overthrowing the government is because of so much of the money is in the hands of so few people. The dictatorship just toppled Tunisia by the people are true heros.
Living in The States it is very hard to imagine the conditions that would cause Mohamed Bouazizi on Dec 17, 2010 -- in Tunisia, to set himself on fire in the middle his town. Well, did an started a protest. He died Jan 4th, 2011 adding momentum to protests against unemployment and repression. In the following weeks all shit breaks loose and the government topples.
Again one of the factors causing the people to go to the streets was the financial inequity. To many rich folks compared to poor folks.
Being a US patriot I care deeply about the country that I love and never want this type of financial inequity to happen here. I have read statistics in the past about how here in the US the ratio of rich to poor in increasing. So, I though I would do a little research.
This chart shows how here in The States the middle and the poor are flat but the rich, well you can see.
Interesting, I thought I could use this to project, if things continue at this rate how many years it would take before we in the US reach the point where Egypt is with regards to financial inequity. Not surprised to find that statisticians have all types of models to compare what they call income inequality metrics. The most used seemed to be the Gini ratio which was developed about 100 years ago.
So, armed with this I looked for information about how the US compared, and how long 'til we get to the ratio of these hot spots.
I really was shocked to find that I will not have to wait at all. We are there now. As a matter of fact Egypt fairs a little better than the US.
The correct order is: going from best to worst . Egypt, Thailand, USA, and Brazil.
Interesting links
The Gini Coefficient: Income Inequality Around The Globe
List of countries by income equality
2004: income down, poverty up
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