US wealth gap among world's highest
Thu, 23 Oct 2008 08:26:00 GMT
A UN report has warned that the high rate of inequality in American cities could cause widespread social unrest and increased mortality.

The annual State of the World's cities report from UN-Habitat, found that New York was the ninth most unequal city in world, the Guardian reported on Thursday.

Atlanta, New Orleans, Washington, and Miami were not far behind, with rankings similar to those of the Kenyan capital Nairobi, and Ivory Coast's Abidjan. Other US cities did not fare any better, as their inequality levels were higher than the internationally recognized acceptable 'alert' line.

"High levels of inequality can lead to negative social, economic and political consequences that have a destabilizing effect on societiesā?¦ [They] create social and political fractures that can develop into social unrest and insecurity." said the report.

The report also showed that race is one of the most determining factors that impacts inequality in the United States and Canada.

"In western New York state nearly 40 % of the black, Hispanic and mixed-race households earned less than USD 15,000 compared with 15% of white households. The life expectancy of African-Americans in the US is about the same as that of people living in China and some states of India, despite the fact that the US is far richer than the other two countries," it said.

Disparities of wealth were measured according to an internationally recognized measure called the "Gini co-efficient."

The report indicated that the in richer countries a fewer percentage of people controlled the larger portion of wealth.

"It is clear that social tension comes from inequality. The trickle down theory [that wealth starts with the rich] has not delivered. Inequality is not good for anybody," head of UN-Habitat Anna Tibaijuka said in London on Wednesday.

The report also showed that equality levels were the highest in Beijing, just ahead of cities such the Indonesian capital Jakarta and Dire Dawa in Ethiopia.
texas grass Reviewed by texas grass on . US wealth gap among world's highest US wealth gap among world's highest Thu, 23 Oct 2008 08:26:00 GMT A UN report has warned that the high rate of inequality in American cities could cause widespread social unrest and increased mortality. The annual State of the World's cities report from UN-Habitat, found that New York was the ninth most unequal city in world, the Guardian reported on Thursday. Atlanta, New Orleans, Washington, and Miami were not far behind, with rankings similar to those of the Kenyan capital Nairobi, Rating: 5