Concentrated Wealth

Extreme inequality undermines democracy, the economy, public health and culture. Concentrated wealth translates into political power to further shape elections, legislative priorities and rules in favor of global corporations and the already wealthy. This in turn leads to the kind of economic distortions that caused the 2008 financial collapse. In the lead up to the collapse, the bottom 70 percent of the U.S. population responded to stagnant wages by borrowing beyond their means, while the top 1 percent engaged in reckless speculation on highly rated but essentially worthless securities in financial markets freed from essential regulation and public oversight.

Inequality is a disaster for public health. It leads to a breakdown in the social solidarity required for healthy communities.  Social epidemiologist Richard Wilkinson observes that among the 30 richest countries, "the USA has the highest homicide rates, the highest teenage pregnancy rates, the highest rates of imprisonment, and comes about 28th in the international league table of life expectancy,...because it also has the biggest income differences." The resulting competition for income and status erodes democracy and community, creates extreme physical and psychological stress harmful to human health, and drives excessive consumption and environmental abuse.

In high income countries like the United States, increasing economic equality through redistribution is far more important to increasing general well-being than growing aggregate economic output.