This document discusses inequality through several charts and data sources. It shows that while the percentage of people living on less than $1 per day has declined globally, income inequality has increased in the United States with the top 10% earning a larger share of income. However, while inequality exists, consumption and technology ownership has increased even for low-income households in recent decades.

1. Inequality

2. Percent of world population
living on less than $1 per day
SOURCE: Maxim Pinkovskiy and Xavier Sala‐i‐Martin . “Parametric Estimations of the World Distribution of
Income.” NBER Working Paper #15433. October 2009.

3. World Distribution of Income
SOURCE: Xavier Sala‐i‐Martin. “The World Distribution of Income: Falling Poverty and…
Convergence, Period.” Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol.121, Issue 2. May 2006.

4. Top Decile Income Share
in the United States
SOURCE: Emmanuel Saez, “Striking it Richer: The Evolution of Top Incomes in the United States (Updated with
2007 estimates),” Institute for Research on Labor and Employment Working Paper. August 5, 2009.

5. Per Capita Real Consumption by
Income Quintile (2005=100)
SOURCE: Author’s calculations based on data from BLS's CES, BEA's NIPA tables , and IMF’s
US population statistics.

6. Amenities Owned and Used by
Low‐Income Households
SOURCE: U.S. EIA Residential Energy Consumption Survey

7. Technology Owned and Used
by Low‐Income Households
SOURCE: U.S. EIA Residential Energy Consumption Survey