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Lowest 10%
Middle 50%
Top 10%
Top 1%
An
nu
al
inc
om
e (
$)
Inequality of income
0
50,000
100,000
150,000
200,000
250,000
300,000
350,000
400,000
1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2001 2004 2007 2009 2010 2011 2012
"We must make our choice. We may have democracy, or we may have wealth concentrated
in the hands of a few, but we can't have both.“– Louis Brandeis
Inequality and politics
“Actual policy outcomes strongly reflect the preferences of the most affluent but bear
virtually no relationship to the preferences of poor or middle-class
Americans. The vast discrepancy … stands in sharp contrast to the ideal of political equality that Americans hold dear…. representational biases of this magnitude call into question the
very democratic character of our society”– Martin Gilens
Corroding politics
• The Hollow Men• Secret trusts• Owen Glenn donations affair• Donghua Liu
In New Zealand
• Donations of more than $15,000 declared• Parties limited to spending $2.8 million• Third parties limited to $300,000
The current law
• Limits on total donations• Reduce the anonymous limit• Beneficial ownership• Reduce the third party limit• Revisit regulated period• Public funding
Ideas for change
The debate: inequality.org.nz
In bookstores or at www.bwb.co.nz/books/inequality
The books
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