Wealth and Equality

The distribution of household wealth in the USA, placed in a historical and international context. The book aims to establish long-term trends of American wealth inequality and compares them with those of the UK, Sweden, and France. The benefits and costs of a wealth tax are then explored.

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Once considered the land of opportunity, it is thought that America now has a gap between the haves and the have-nots that is much wider than in Europe, and that the concentration of wealth is at its highest point since World War II. This book places the distribution of household wealth in the USA in a historical and international context. The book aims to establish long-term trends of American wealth inequality and compares them with those of the UK, Sweden, and France. It then points out that a majority of OECD countries have a wealth tax, and explores the potential benefits and costs of a wealth tax in the US along the lines of levies that many European nations charge.