Cherishing All Equally: Economic Inequality in Ireland Income bands The European societies had somewhat less than 10% of their population in poverty. In the USA the proportion was closer to 20%. One way to summarise the shape of the society is to simply examine the proportion of the population in different income groups, defining income groups as income bands in relation to the median (mid-point) of the income distribution. This is in fact how poverty is defined – those who are defined as at ‘risk of poverty’ are those with an income of less than 60% of the median. Equally those who are ‘privileged’ could be defined as those with an income of more than double the median. Although these measures are relative, they do not suggest that poverty (or privilege) is always with us: it is perfectly possible that nobody has income less than 60% of the median, just as it is possible for nobody to have an income above 200% of the median. Chart 1.3 shows several societies in these terms using data from the 1980s, when the increase in inequality had only recently begun. In this chart the lowest income group is those whose income is 50% or less of the median. Given that this is more restrictive than the normal 60% line poverty definition, this group can certainly be considered in poverty. The chart shows that in these terms all the societies had some people in poverty, but there is a crucial difference. While the European societies had somewhat less than 10% of their population in poverty, in the USA the proportion was closer to 20%. Turning to the privileged group, Chart 1.3 shows that all of these societies had broadly similar proportions of their population in this category, with the crucial exception of Sweden, where top incomes were suppressed far more than in other countries. Partly for this reason, Sweden also stands out as the country with the largest proportion of its population in the middle income group (those with incomes from 20% below to 20% above the median). In these terms, 1980s Sweden was the ultimate middle class society; Chart 1.3 Income groups and income bands 1980s Proportion of Population in Income Bands <50 USA <80 UK <120 <150 Sweden <200 Ireland <50 <80 Italy <120 <150 Germany <200 France >200 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% Source: Wickham (2016: 96) derived from Atkinson et al (1995) 22 70% 80% 90% 100%