UN: Inequality in NYC, other US cities threatens social instabilty

UN report classifies New York City, Atlanta, New Orleans, Washington, and Miami as having a high level of social inequality, on the level of cities, such as Nairobi, Kenya and Abidjan, Ivory Coast, in Third World, developing countries.
The study of 120 cities places New York City as being the ninth most unequal.

"High levels of inequality can lead to negative social, economic and political consequences that have a destabilising effect on societies," said the report. "(They) create social and political fractures that can develop into social unrest and insecurity."

According to the annual State of the World's cities report from UN-Habitat, race is one of the most important factors determining levels of inequality in the US and Canada.
. . . .
Disparities of wealth were measured on the "Gini co-efficient", an internationally recognised measure usually only applied to the wealth of countries. The higher the level, the more wealth is concentrated in the hands of fewer people.

--from "Wealth gap creating a social time bomb," referencing the UN report, in "Guardian" of the UK, Oct. 23, 2008.

* * *
See the list of countries, by Gini coefficient, and see where the US ranks in wealth distribution. Data were from the United Nations and the US Central Intelligence Agency.