My Friday book is Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898, and I’m currently reading about the start of the republic. It was also the start of laissez-faire capitalism (craftsmen and bakers had it particularly hard), and the recognition of the inequality that comes with it.
The book gave a few numbers (below) for inequality in the first 12 years of the republic. This represent portions of wealth in NYC, not income (the poor proxy normally given). I looked up a report of recent net worth, and the inequality is now far worse.
| Bottom Half | Top 20% | Top 2% | |
| 1789 | 7% | 75% | 25% |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1800 | 5% | 80% | |
| 1999 | .3% | >86% |
How did half the people come to own so little?