I recently finished reading The Spirit Level, a book which presents statistical evidence that more equal societies nearly always do better in every measure of social cohesion and human well-being. Check out this table on infant mortality. The vertical axis represents the level of infant mortality in developed countries; the horizontal axis represents levels of inequality. The correlation is abundantly clear – and the country in upper right field, indicating tragically high rates of infant mortality and corresponding rates of income inequality? That’s right, the USA. More at Equality Trust.
Source: The Equality Trust