( CNN ) -- Journalism sometimes has a bit of a short-term memory problem . If something did n't happen , or was n't written , this day , this hour , this minute , then it 's easy for us Internet writers to pretend it did n't happen . Or to forget about it and move on to the next post . The problem with this myopia , of course , is that history is a wise teacher , and all good reporting should build on a thoughtful understanding of the past and the present . That 's why I 'm asking for your help in creating a list of `` must-reads '' on the subject of income inequality . That topic , which you voted for me to cover as part of the Change the List project , has been examined thoughtfully by countless writers , philosophers , historians , politicians , journalists , Web designers and documentarians . As I embark on a series about inequality in the United States , it makes sense to survey the smart , exciting works already out there . Why not make the creation of this must-read list a collective , public experiment ? Hopefully , we all can benefit from the process , and the list will be public so others can learn from it , too . Submit your top picks via these Facebook or Google+ posts -- and make the case for why your favorite book , doc or website should be included . You can also leave a comment at the bottom of the page here if you prefer . My plan is to compile a list of 99 ( or so ) must-reads from your submissions . * I 'm using the term `` must-read '' loosely . I think the list should include books and articles as well as thoughtful websites , charts , videos or documentaries . To get things started , here are 10 of my picks , in no particular order : . 1 . `` Inequality.Is '' - This website from the Economic Policy Institute is the best online primer I 've found . It explains why inequality is a problem , how it was created and what might fix it . 2 . `` A Theory of Justice '' - The 1971 book by the late John Rawls is often cited as the philosophical basis for opposing income inequality . It 's a dense book , but thought-provoking . 3 . `` Park Avenue '' - A documentary by Oscar winner Alex Gibney . It uses the famous New York avenue as a metaphor for American inequality ; Park Avenue is home to both extreme wealth , in Manhattan , and extreme poverty , in the Bronx . 4 . `` The Great Divergence '' - Journalist Timothy Noah argues , as his book 's description says , that growing inequality `` may be the most important change in this country during our lifetimes -- a drastic , elemental change in the character of American society , and not at all for the better . '' 5 . `` Wealth Inequality in America '' - Chances are you 're one of the 6.8 million people who has viewed this YouTube video . It 's based on the work of Harvard 's Mike Norton . 6 . `` Inequality and New York 's Subway '' - A New Yorker interactive , which maps median income levels by subway stops in New York . The power is in its minimalism . Take a look at the 2 train map . It passes through neighborhoods with median incomes of $ 205,192 and $ 13,750 . 7 . `` Nickel and Dimed '' - A first-person journey by writer Barbara Ehrenreich , who agreed to try to make a living doing jobs that required no higher education or specialized skills . 8 . `` Born Rich '' - Jamie Johnson , from the wealthy Johnson & Johnson family , directed this documentary about his own life and the lives of his super-rich friends and acquaintances . It reveals a fascinating and complicated picture of wealth in modern America . 9 . [ Untitled letter ] - In March 2013 , 90 `` economists , academics and development experts '' sent a letter to a panel tasked by the United Nations with creating a post-2015 development agenda . The experts argue income inequality should be a global priority , in part , because `` inequalities threaten our ability to pursue fair and sustainable development as much as they threaten eradication of extreme poverty . '' 10 . `` The Spirit Level '' - Written by two epidemiologists , Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett , this book makes a strong , statistics-based argument that ugly social problems -- from obesity to incarceration rates -- are associated with unequal societies . Better health and well-being would follow , they argue , if our societies were made to be more equal . This quickly thrown-together list has plenty of limitations . It focuses almost entirely on the United States , particularly New York . All these works were published in 1971 or later , which is a huge weakness of my list . Most of them presuppose inequality is a problem , or set out to prove that it is . So , conservatives , skeptics , historians , literary types and international readers : Help me get some diversity going here ! I look forward to your submissions , and thanks in advance for the help with this project . *Readers of The Atlantic may notice that this concept of a crowdsourced must-read list is based on Alexis Madrigal 's `` Tech Canon , '' which he compiled in a similar manner in 2010 . The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of John D. Sutter .
John Sutter is covering income inequality for the Change the List project . Help him compile a list of 99 `` must-reads '' on income inequality . Submit your top picks on Facebook , Google+ or in the comments below . TL;DR The average American family earns about $24,000 per year, but only one out of every four dollars goes to pay taxes.