When peer reviewed scholarly journals publish studies with research results

The findings of such publications rarely lead to outcry or revolts.

Beyond academic circles, they’re considered abstract or obscure
It’s rare that public discussion of any substance will occur

So when Range, Horn, Viryani and Huber, of the National Academy

Describe Inequity Aversion in Canines, What’s that got to do with you or me?
Canis Familiaris, that’s what the rest of us think as hounds
When the authors of this study completed their work, this is what they found:

Well… You can teach a dog all kinds of games, go fetch, roll over, give a paw,
With a pat, or a smile, or a piece of bread, or a bit of sausage, cooked or raw
But if Rover perceives another canine has been getting an unequal share
He’ll scratch, he’ll yawn, he’ll show distress ‘cause he knows that isn’t fair.
Dogs show inequity aversion when confronted with unequal pay
They’ll look away, they’ll refuse to play, they no longer consent or obey.


Now we humans are a different species, less prone to aversion of gaze
We’re less likely to wag or lick or scratch, but there are those who study our ways
In Sociology’s Annual Review published August of 2009

Richard G. Wilkinson and Kate E. Pickett described their research design
Pooling evidence from peer-reviewed sources, like the Census Bureau and the World Bank
Their published distillation of data, led them to conclude pointblank:

There are countries where folks share the wealth, and those where hoarding riches is the norm
And the social health of all these lands is highly related to the form
Of distribution of resources, the condition of a nation reflects
The gap between the uber-rich and the rest, or the Robin Hood Index

For a wide range of social conditions, the degree of inequality

Is strongly related to outcomes, including murder and teen pregnancy
Cancer, heart disease and addiction, and infant mortality
Aggressive anti-social behavior, as well as obesity
And don’t forget school performance and the rate of insanity
Every one of these circumstances in the end all seem to be

(The) results of economic relations that tolerate a widening gap
Between the wealthiest and the rest of us, it seems to make something snap
And when cortisol levels are rising from the stress of these status based threats
A wide-ranging social dysfunction is the body politic (that) we get

(An) unraveling of the social fabric, (‘cause) inequality alienates
And instead of trust we have a way of life which decays and deteriorates.

Now it’s not like God in heaven, or creatures from some far-off sun
Have decreed that that’s the way things are, and there’s no other way things can be done
So if your boss treats you unfairly, and they work you like a dog
You might want to respond like Fido, and refuse to be another cog
In a system that disrespects you, with inadequate percs or pay
Any critter with a dog’s sense, looks away, won’t play, and won’t obey.
So look away, don’t play, and don’t obey! Hey! Hey! Hey!