We hear a lot these days about cutting taxes for the wealthy, falling wages for the working classes, and wealth disparity. But what exactly is wealth disparity? Who has it? Should I be worried about wealth disparity?
I've written this small quiz as a fun way to learn about and test your knowledge of wealth disparity in the United States. Take the quiz and find out what you need to know about wealth disparity. The answers are posted at the bottom (no peeking!!).
1) Which of these statements best defines the term wealth disparity?
a) the unequal distribution of financial assets, including money, property, businesses, and investments, among individuals
b) what socialists talk about when they want to destroy Mom, apple pie, and the American way of life.
c) the natural results of what happens when lazy people sit around waiting for the government to give them things and take care of them
d) how losers in life explain to themselves why they have less than those who have worked hard and taken risks to earn all they have
2) Since the beginning of the 20th century (1900), the disparity of wealth has
a) been reduced
b) remained about the same
c) gotten bigger, but the rate of change of this growth in disparity has been constant
d) gotten bigger, and with an increasing rate of growth in the disparity.
3) Which of the following statements about the distribution of American net worth (meaning the sum of all assets) in 2007 is/are most correct (according to NYU economist Edward N. Wolff)?
a) the nation's wealthiest 1% of the population own 34% of the nation's net worth.
b) the nation's wealthiest 20% of the populations own over 80% of the nation's net worth
c) the nation's poorest 80% of the populations owns less than 15% of the nation's net worth
d) all are correct
4) Which of the following statements about the distribution of employment income in 2006 is/are correct (according to NYU economist Edward N. Wolff)?
a) the nation's wealthiest 1% of the population receives over 21% of the total of American employment income.
b) the nation's wealthiest 20% of the populations receives over 60% of the total of American employment income.
c) the nation's poorest 80% of the populations receives less than 40% of the total of American employment income
d) all are correct
5) Which of the following statements about the distribution of personal debt in 2010 is/are correct (according to NYU economist Edward N. Wolff)?
a) the nation's wealthiest 1% of the population owes 5.4% of all personal debt in the US.
b) the nation's wealthiest 20% of the population owes 26.6% of all personal debt in the US.
c) the nation's poorest 80% of the populations owes 73.6% of all personal debt in the US.
d) all are correct
6) Which figure correct describes the change in the pay of America's Fortune 500 CEOs between the years 1990 and 2005?
a) an increase of 290%
b) an increase of 190%
c) an increase of 100%
d) an increase of 10%
e) a decrease of 10%
7) Which figure correct describes the change in pay of the average American production worker between the years 1990 and 2005?
a) an increase of 12%
b) an increase of 8%
c) an increase of 4%
d) no change
e) a decrease of 4%
8) Which of these statements about the role of education in explaining wealth disparities in the US is correct?
a) the only reason some people don't earn as much as others is because they goofed off in school and never studied hard
b) education has nothing to do with wealth disparities in the US
c) disparities in education are one explanation for why wages and income are distributed unequally, but do not explain the increase over time in the inequalities in wealth
d) teachers' unions make wealth disparities worse by telling teachers to not educate poor children
9) In America, wealth can buy goods and services, property, businesses, and even political power. Which of the following legislative activities best demonstrates the political power bought by wealth disparity in the US?
a) reductions of the tax rate for the highest tax brackets that are far greater than the reductions of the tax rates for all of the lower tax brackets.
b) the swift rescue using public money to save businesses in danger of failing from bad management decisions what many call ?elfare for the wealthy”
c) a financial reform bill that resulted in the ?oo-big-to-failbanks becoming even larger
d) law-makers' rejection of the public desire for windfall-profits tax or a tax on financial transactions to help re-build the economy at a time when 29 million American are unemployed
e) all of the above
10) If the current American economy was a standard Monopoly game (8 property groups along with the railroads and utility companies), being played by 10 people, which statement correctly describes the holdings of the strongest player relative to the combined holdings of the weakest five players?
a) the strongest player has 6 monopolies and one of the railroads with the weakest 5 players combining to own 1 property.
a) the strongest player has 4 monopolies and the utility companies with the weakest 5 players combining to own 2 properties.
a) the strongest player has 3 monopolies and all the railroads with the weakest 5 players combining to own 3 properties.
a) the strongest player has 2 monopolies and the utility companies with the weakest 5 players combining to own 5 properties.
11) Which presidency marked the period of the most egalitarian distribution of US wealth?
a) Franklin Roosevelt
b) Dwight Eisenhower
c) Lyndon Johnson
d) Jimmie Carter
e) Ronald Reagan
12) What steps have conservative politicians advocated as needed to address wealth disparity in the United States?
a) Lowering taxes on the highest income earners so they can keep more of their money, while eliminating educational and job training opportunities for lower income earners.
b) Pass laws in many states to allow trusts created in those states to exist in perpetuity, allowing those "dynasty trusts" to own new property and business for the descendants of the wealthy while avoiding taxes.
c) Eliminate programs such as Medicaid and WIC to end "social slavery" and foster greater self-reliance among less wealthy citizens.
d) All of the above.
1 a; 2 d; 3 d; 4 d; 5 d; 6 a; 7 e; 8 c; 9 e; 10 a; 11 d; 12 d