Inequality Isn’t the Problem. Uneven Growth Is.
The focus should be less on the gap between rich and poor and more on how to ensure that economic gains are widely shared.
Wages are key.
Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg
Growing economic inequality is either “a major issue of our time” or “a defining challenge of our time,” depending on your taste for hyperbole. Given America’s recent experience, however, I would like to call for a timeout. What matters is not so much the level of inequality as how we narrow the gap: The important thing is to create the conditions for widespread growth.
After years of a widening gap between the rich and poor in the US, income inequality is finally narrowing — and yet few Americans are happy about the state of the economy. Inequality shrank only because middle and high earners experienced real wage drops, while low earners did better.