Amazingly, the differences between the top fifth – the richest – and the bottom fifth – the poorest – is almost equal to what it was during the Great Depression, with no New Deal in sight! This discrepancy was made painfully apparent during the Hurricane Katrina disaster when the poorest of New Orleans’ inhabitants, the bottom fifth, suffered the lack of nearly all life-sustaining resources, as Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) head Michael Browne consistently ignored urgent updates from his staff at the scene.

The Gini Coefficient, which we’ve previously used to compare nations on a world basis, also reflects increasing inequity within the U.S. (0 corresponds to everyone having the same income, and 1 corresponds with one person having all the income. The U.S. Gini Coefficient (Figure 2) is now at the highest level since records began to be kept!

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The U.S. the world sees is a country that is below average in generosity, and much above average in inequality and military might. In this country, however the U.S. media regularly refers to our generosity and to the lack of gratitude from other nations for our largesse. Surveys show that most U.S. citizens think that our government’s contributions are in double digit percentages of the national income. Yet the $65 per person in aid given annually represents just 1/5th of 1 percent of the income of the average American.

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To round out the picture, we are the only G7 nation that does not provide health care as a right to its citizenry. Higher education is increasingly becoming too expensive for average families in the U.S. Protection of our environment is under continuous attack. And, while tax cuts make the rich even richer, Congress seeks cuts in domestic programs to pay for an oil war. If these are our priorities at home, there is little wonder that we are dimming as a “shining light” of freedom and democracy in the world…

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