The US middle class: falling behind?

Who's getting ahead, who's falling behind, and why? That's the subject of this weeks WSJ Econoblog, Minding the gap (hat tip: Mark Thoma).

To what extent should we be worried about the distribution of economic gains? The Wall Street Journal Online asked economists Heather Boushey of the Center for Economic and Policy Research and Russell Roberts of George Mason University to debate to what degree inequality exists, and just how much it matters for the economy and society.

Comments

[Blissex]

"what degree inequality exists, and just how much it matters for the economy and society"

Well, it is my impression as to this that lots of current conservatives, e.g. G.W.Bush (never mind A.Greenspan) follow Ayn Rand's orientation, in particular from "Atlas Shrugged".

The argument then is that only the rich are deserving, and the middle classes and the poor are GUILTY twice: guilty of not trying hard enough and thus not being rich, and guilty of holding back the rich with their parasitical existence.

Therefore inequality matters: the less inequality there is the more the middle classes and the poor get rewarded even if they are doubly guilty.

The obvious policy prescription then is to reduce taxes on the rich, both to reward them for their success, and to compensate them for the dragging down effect of being surrounded by the non-rich, and to increase taxes on the middle classes and the poor, to punish them for not trying harder to be rich, and for being in the way of the deserving rich.

Guess what's the policy of the current administration... :-)

[Max]

Ignorance is Blissex.

[Arthur Eckart]

Blissex, do you want everyone to be equal? I think people who are rich good looking and have IQs over 100 would object to that.

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