Visualizing Wealth In America

Source: Digital Aptitude

Since we integrate financial literacy into our program wherever we can, we keep an eye out for visual resources to aid our students in comprehending complicated ideas. It also helps provide a greater understanding of things they hear about in the news. For months they’ve listened to the constant political fight in Washington over taxes, the fiscal cliff, and sequestration. So it is no surprise that students cannot fully grasp what the wealth distribution in America actual looks like, particularly the top 1% that is so often referred to in these debates.

We recently came across this excellent motion graphic called Wealth Inequality in America from Visually. It highlights the reality in earnings between the rich and the poor as opposed to what most people think. What most Americans perceive is not quite the reality. The visualization begins with percentages comparing the ideal distribution with what people believe. Then it hits the reality of the discrepancy. It reinforces the comparison with multiple charts and images to drive home the point. The actual distribution of wealth is significantly skewed far more in reality. This powerful visualization puts things in perspective for students.


Other motion graphics we’ve used to enrich our students’ awareness of financial issues include the following:

• US Debt Visualized in Physical $100 Bills
• I, Pencil, The Movie