Look at the graph – in terms of income inequality the UK is getting closer to the United States and to Chile, the table leader whose neoliberal regime was so admired by Margaret Thatcher. Of course, that country’s economy went belly-up long before ours did; as we can see, it didn’t do much harm to the richest people there.
A similar result here is what the Conservative-led government in the UK is banking on – literally.
The poorest 20 percent of UK households earn just $9,530 annually, a dramatically lower rate than in other countries with a similar average income, according to new research.
Few Britons would probably agree with the observation that “life is much worse (in the UK) than it is for the poorest fifth in virtually every other northwest European country,” but that is exactly the conclusion the High Pay Centre, an independent British think-tank, has made in a newly released study.
Using figures from the OECD Better Life Index, the report shows that average UK household incomes of $53,785, which makes up the wealthiest 20 percent in the UK, ranked third in EU countries, lagging behind Germany and France.
But that is where the economic similarities between the UK and the EU come to a screeching halt.
The OECD estimates the average income of the bottom 20 percent of UK households…
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