U.S. Income Inequality Worse Now Than In 1774

• The American colonies were exceptionally egalitarian, compared to both other nations at the time and the U.S. today. And their data even factors in slavery.
• Income inequality today is worse even than it was during the Roman Empire
• Bill Moyers | Chris Hedges on Capitalism's 'Sacrifice Zones'
• The Mismeasure of All Things

Harry Bradford, Huffington Post

Believe it or not, income inequality in the United States is worse today than it was back in 1774.

That’s what a recent report from the National Bureau of Economic Research has found. In “American Incomes 1774 to 1860,” authors Peter H. Lindert and Jeffrey G. Williamson argue that the American colonies were exceptionally egalitarian, compared to both other nations at the time and the U.S. today. And their data even factors in slavery.

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Related:

U.S. Income Inequality Higher Than Roman Empire's Levels, Huffington Post
Income inequality in America is at levels even higher than those in ancient Rome, according to a recent study from two historians, Walter Schiedel and Steven Friesen, cited by Per Square Mile. After analyzing papyri ledgers, biblical passages and other previous scholarly estimates, the researchers found that the top one percent of earners in Ancient Rome controlled 16 percent of the society's wealth. By comparison, the top one percent of American earners control 40 percent of the country's wealth, according to Vanity Fair.

Bill Moyers | Chris Hedges on Capitalism's 'Sacrifice Zones'  Bill Moyers, Moyers and Company

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