Below are some links and info on Income Inequality, and why tackling it is so important:
A key source on why inequality matters is: Wilkinson. R and K. Pickett, “The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always do Better” Allen Lane Books, 2009. You can also find a lot of information on their Equality Trust website http://www.equalitytrust.org.uk/
‘The Solidarity Factor: Public Responses to Economic Inequality in Ireland’ - A Report from TASC in August 2010
‘The H.E.A.P Report’ - Great report giving the basic facts on Income Inequality, reducing the income gap, and why inequality matters. From TASC 2009.
Social Justice Ireland’s Policy Briefing on Poverty and Income Inequality 2011
Income changes - A 25 year assessment - Why welfare rates should NOT be reduced Social Justice Ireland December 2010
2011-05 - Basic Income Guarantee - a BIG idea for the 21st century Social Justice Ireland May 2011
2023-05-17 - Ireland’s social expenditure in EU context Social Justice Ireland May 2011
http://eapnireland.wordpress.com/2011/01/12/creating-greater-income-equality/
http://www.eapn.org/images/docs/poverty%20explainer_web_en.pdf
http://paulsegal.org/documents/Why_Inequality_Matters.pdf
Richard Wilkinson, co-author of The Spirit Level speaking at an ICTU seminar in Inequality in November 2010:
Lecture by Stephen Kinsella on ‘Income Inequality’ for an ‘Economics for Business’ class. This gives an international context, strongly based on Wilkinson and Pickett, and a discussion of poverty in an Irish context. Also includes explanation of Lorenz curve, wealth and income as ‘stock’ and ‘flow’. About 15 minutes long:
Economics for Business Lecture 13 from Stephen Kinsella on Vimeo.
Lecture by Paul Krugman about the development of income inequality and the creation of a middle class in the US, and persistence of an ‘expectation of income equality’ until about 1980.Talks about the role of ‘politics’ with particularly reference to role of trade unions. About 7 minutes:
Short Video excerpt of lecture by Malcolm Gladwell about how the tax regime in 1950 set a ‘maximum income’ in the US and the consequences of this, and the current loss of proportion:
Carnegie Foundation short video about tension between liberty and equality: