theblackalchemist Posted October 22, 2008 Report Posted October 22, 2008 Feeling low? Switch off celebrity news Media coverage of the rich makes the middle classes feel the wealth gap is widening, says the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). According to the Paris-based body of the world's 30 wealthiest countries, news coverage of the luxurious lives led by celebrities causes the middle classes to feel poorer than they are. In a report launched Tuesday, the OECD said Labour-led Britain has seen the biggest drop in inequality in the developed world since 2000 - but the wealth gap remains one of the highest among rich nations. "Although poverty rates and inequality have fallen since the start of the decade, the UK remains an extremely unequal country compared with other OECD members," the report said - the richest 10 percent of the British population earn nearly nine times the income of the poorest 10 percent. The report found that poverty has fallen significantly in Britain, with income poverty - the number of households on less than half the average income - falling from 10 percent to 8 percent between the mid-1990s and 2005. "For the first time since the 1980s, the poverty level is well below the OECD average," said the authors of the report. However, although Britain's wealth gap has narrowed significantly, the report said many people have a different perception - because of media coverage of billionaires and celebrities. [/Quote] More HereFeeling low? Switch off celebrity news-Health/Sci-The Times of India Quote
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