Timothy Noah: “[According to the CIA …] income distribution in the United States is more unequal than in Guyana, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, and roughly on par with Uruguay, Argentina, and Ecuador. Income inequality is actually declining in Latin America even as it continues to increase in the United States. Economically speaking, the richest nation on earth is starting to resemble a banana republic.”

This is easily one of the most fascinating series I’ve read recently, complete with a set of compelling visuals that illustrate the problem. Maybe the real reason people are so upset lately is there really is a lot less wealth to go around. However, it’s not really because the government is hoovering up the money and giving it to the poor or funding earmarks, but that the top 1% of earners consumed more than 18% of all of the money earned (that’s up from 8% in 1973).