A new report indicates that the average Swedish workweek hit an historic high – 26.2 hours. Yet, they have one of the lowest gaps in the rich and the poor in the world. So here in the United States, which has one of the highest income gaps in the world, most of us are working way more hours than the Swedes just to send our money up the hierarchy to the wealthy.
Viewed comparatively, U.S. income inequality is severe. Income inequality can be measured and compared using the Gini coefficient, a century-old formula that measures national economies on a scale from 0.00 to 0.50, with 0.50 being the most unequal. The U.S., with a Gini coefficient of 0.450, ranks near the extreme end of the inequality scale. China, for example, is significantly more equal than the U.S. with a Gini coefficient of 0.415. Sweden has a Gini coefficient of 0.25.
http://now.msn.com/money/0618-sweden-workweek
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/09/map-us-ranks-near-bottom-on-income-inequality/245315/
