Bling Bling
Let's say we took the wealth of the top 4 richest men in America and added that up. If we started with the poorest American and added their wealth to the next poorest American, and theirs to the next poorest and so on, until the wealth of those poorest Americans = the wealth of those four richest men. What # of Americans would it take to equal the combined wealth of those four men?
Surprised?
How accurate was your prediction?
Explain how it happens that in one country 4 people are worth as much as 40% of the entire population:
Is that good news or bad news for America, for those four men, for you?
What is a consequence of this concentration of wealth?
How does this concentration of wealth impact American politics and government?
How would a libertarian and a socialist differ on their views of this chart?
If you were to create a chart comparing 128 million Americans on one side and 4 Americans on the other, what would be a creative and accurate way to illustrate this:
Describe one policy the US government could undertake to lower the disparity between the richest and the poorest Americans.
Explain whether you believe the Trump administration will enact policies that will decrease or increase wealth equality?
In many countries, it would be unacceptable for someone to have as much wealth as the four richest Americans. In others it is not only acceptable, it is considered good and righteous. Which of these two viewpoints is more prevalent in the US?
What about American history explains that viewpoint and that general political culture?
What would Thomas Jefferson say about this concentration of wealth?
What do you think the odds are of ending up as rich as those 4 men?
Explain whether you would rather live in a county where wealth was more evenly distributed.
