What I notice is that most of the advanced countries are in the green shades indicating more equality. That fits my prejudice that democracy, equality, respect for human rights are a bundle of values that generally go together.
In the under-developed and dysfunctional part of the world you see blues and purples. That fits my prejudice that when the rich squeeze the poor, block off access to better education, and rig the system against the average person, then things stagnate.
Funny how the US stands out like a sore thumb. A splotch of purple in a sea of green. The US advertises itself as "the land of opportunity" but the Gini index is telling a different story.
The US Gini index hit 38.6, its lowest level, in 1968. That was the end of the golden era in the US, the end of three decades of working and middle class people getting a better shot at "the good life", three decades of improving incomes, rising standards of living, and better access to education.
The US Gini index in 2008 was 46.69, which is two points higher than that of 1929. The high of 1929 was followed by the Great Depression. The high of 2008 was followed by the Great Recession. Coincidence? I don't think so.
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