The political knifes are drawn

[skysidhe]

great! but that PDF was dated 2002.

According to the link I posted, as well as the link that merc posted, the work to redistribute wealth happened after 2002. There is new data from 2003 to 2009.
True, you can call the weekly standard a blog, but the information's source was from the World Bank statistical study. It gives a percentage's as to the growth.

http://go.worldbank.org/OSLA6RP0G0

Notes a decline of the proportion of Brazilians living in extreme poverty – less than US $1.25 a day – from 17 percent to 8 percent during the period 1981-2005.

Here is a 2009 PDF from the World Bank statistical study site. Source sited by the blog merc posted.

http://www-wds.worldbank.org/externa...DF/WPS5080.pdf


Summary

Summary: Brazil, China and India have seen falling poverty in their reform periods, but to varying degrees and for different reasons. History left China with favorable initial conditions for rapid poverty reduction through market-led economic growth; at the outset of the reform process there were ample distortions to remove and relatively low inequality in access to the opportunities so created, though inequality has risen markedly since. By concentrating such opportunities in the hands of the better off, prior inequalities in various dimensions handicapped poverty reduction in both Brazil and India. Brazil's recent success in complementing market-oriented reforms with progressive social policies has helped it achieve more rapid poverty reduction than India, although Brazil has been less successful in terms of economic growth. In the wake of its steep rise in inequality, China might learn from Brazil's success with such policies. India needs to do more to assure that poor people are able to participate in both the country's growth process and its social policies; here there are lessons from both China and Brazil. All three countries have learned how important macroeconomic stability is to poverty reduction.

Originally Posted by DanaC

Worth also considering that tax rates set and tax collected dont always match up. There are quite a few countries out there which appear to tax heavily in that they set tax rates at a high level; but if the ability of the state to enforce and collect is significantly less than in another country where tax is apparently lower, but more likely to be paid, the actual tax burden is very small in real terms.

That makes sense.