Gini ratio
jeff
jefflist at whitebuddha.com
Tue May 13 06:29:41 CDT 2003
[I'm continuing this thread here in hopes of remaining on the main
topic. See "Re: US IT jobs going overseas creating 'IT Rust Belt'."]
The main point of my post was the Gini ratio. The Gini ratio slices
through all the economics b.s. giving a very useful perspective.
Economics seems a lot like psychology: it can explain a lot of things
but predicts poorly. Its a myth that you need to have a deep
understanding of economics to understand why people are losing jobs. It
seems to me an interdisciplinary approach is far more valuable. People
who try to explain our present economic situation in this country with
just economic theory and no history, psychology, or political science
are clueless. In my opinion economics is useful, but not by itself.
Can anyone challenge my information on the Gini ratio? I'm not here to
win an argument. I'm here to learn. I'm also here to spread dissenting
ideas to independent thinkers. Bill Gates is probably the most benign
fascist.
I do use Linux ... have been using it since 1998. I've enjoyed watching
it squash fascism and promote equality. Linux and free software are
helping level the playing field between rich and poor. Without free
software we would all be less rich.
I'll mention this one more time: Someone challenge my info on the Gini
ratio if you can!
[repost:]
There is one really easy way to measure the result of their actions
called the Gini ratio. With this metric (I'm pretty sure this is an
international metric) you can assess the damage caused in a society by
the rich. Be sure to take a look at the graph on this web page to get
an idea of the damage done by reagonomics.
http://arts.bev.net/roperldavid/politics/inequality.htm
---------------------------
There is a measure of income inequality called the Gini index or Gini
ratio. "The Gini ratio (or index of income concentration) is a
statistical measure of income equality ranging from 0 to 1. A measure of
1 indicates perfect inequality; i.e., one person has all the income and
the rest have none. A measure of 0 indicates perfect equality; i.e. all
people having equal shares of income."-from
http://blue.census.gov/hhes/income/defs/alldef.html. (Also, see
http://www.iadb.org/exr/IDB/stories/1998/eng/e1198i.htm.) The Gini
ratios for the U.S. are available at:
http://www.census.gov/hhes/income/histinc/f04.html (See table at bottom.)
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