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Article:

5 Reasons to Care About America's Income Gap

How the Divide Between Rich & Poor Affects Us All

It Causes Social Problems

Though intuition might suggest that rich countries would have fewer social problems than poor ones, work by public health researcher Richard Wilkinson indicates that it is in fact the nations with higher economic inequality that face more social challenges. 

In a recent TED talk, Wilkinson presented analysis that showed countries with higher levels of income inequality had lower levels of child well-being, higher levels of mental illness, lower levels of trust among their citizens, and higher levels of social and health problems such as obesity, teenage pregnancy, alcohol and drug addiction, and infant mortality.  

"The more unequal countries are doing worse on all these kinds of social problems," Wilkinson concluded.

 

  • Sarah Shemkus

    Sarah Shemkus is an award-winning freelance journalist, marketing enthusiast, accomplished baker, occasional globetrotter and total nerd (with a particular fondness for spreadsheets). Most recently, she reported on business and real estate … Read more...