Relevant and even prescient commentary on news, politics and the economy.

The mayors report in on Income Inequality (and miss the conclusion).

(lightly edited for ease of reading) Yesterday the Conference of Mayors and the Council on Metro Economies and the New American City released a report prepared by IHS Global Insight that is a repeat and thus update of a similar study performed after the 2001 – 2002 recession.  Income and Wage Gaps Across the US. I […]

Capital in the 21st Century Discussion at The Graduate Center, CUNY

Last week there was an 1.5 hr discussion with the following participants:  Joseph Stiglitz (Columbia University), Paul Krugman (Princeton University), and Steven Durlauf (University of Wisconsin–Madison) participated in a panel moderated by LIS Senior Scholar Branko Milanovic. The Center just posted it yesterday on their youtube channel.

Seattle University Symposium on Inequality, Nick Hanauer

The following video was posted in Ed’s Post by Marko.  I thought it deserved a wider audience. The symposium included a discussion regarding raising the minimum wage to $15.  Mr. Hanauer, being an honest to goodness real billionaire talked about what that would mean for his situation.  I like the way he put it.  He […]

Inequality: Obama’s Speech, Detroit’s Bankruptcy, Taxes

by Linda Beale Inequality: Obama’s Speech, Detroit’s Bankruptcy, Taxes Was Obama’s speech on inequality really what Michael Lind claims in “The Day the Right Lost the Economic Argument” Salon.com (July 25, 2013)? The right, both here and internationally, has been pushing for austerity for most while those at the top reap unparalleled rewards from upward-moving […]

Defining Rich VII: Explaining Income inequality in pictures

I had my hair cut last week.  It’s a big event as it happens about twice per year.  While there I always get into political conversations with the lady cutting my hair.  This time, as often it was the economy.  Her position still is that the individual citizens collecting welfare are effecting her income.  We’ve […]

Mark Thoma presses the issue of increasing income inequality

Mark Thoma  presses the issue of increasing income inequality: Via an email from Lane Kenworthy, here’s more research contradicting the claim made by Kevin Hassett and Aparna Mathur in the WSJ that consumption inequality has not increased (here’s my response summarizing additional work contradicting their claim, a claim that is really an attempt to blunt […]

Growing inequality calls for both "predistribution" and (rightly directed) redistribution

by Linda Beale Growing inequality calls for both “predistribution” and (rightly directed) redistribution In putting forward my theme of democratic egalitarianism, I have often noted that there is no such thing as an economically egalitarian society–there will always be differentials among people, those differences often relate to social class and the education, privileged upbringing, and […]

Plutocracy Rising

Via reader rjs news and Naked Capitalism comes this excerpt on income inequality and programs to address the issue: Bill Moyers: Plutocracy Rising – via Yves Smith – Bill Moyer’s latest show, with Matt Taibbi and and Chrystia Freeland, focuses on how the super rich have established a yawning chasm between themselves and ordinary Americans, both […]