Income Inequality

Re "Level the playing field," Opinion, July 22 Joseph E. Stiglitz places much of the blame for weak economic growth and income inequality on "rent seeking" - activities focused on growing one's share of the pie rather than on growing the size of the pie itself. To the extent he is correct, it is a powerful argument in favor of a complete restructuring of our tax code, including the elimination of subsidies and loopholes. Tax breaks such as the mortgage interest deduction incentivize particular behaviors.

Both Republicans and Democrats say concern about the middle class is at the heart of the ongoing, vituperative debate over taxes, entitlements and fiscal discipline, but the political spat never seems to honestly address the gaping and growing class divide in the United States. As politicians in Washington slam one another over competing budget priorities, most avoid facing up to the disturbing question behind all the numbers: Is the American Dream temporarily stalled or permanently kaput?

Via Kevin Drum , here's a new run at the income inequality fence from the bipartisan Congressional Research Service, and it should bury two shibboleths commonly employed by inequality-deniers: One, that inequality hasn't really increased in recent years, and two, that thanks to broadly held pension fund and mutual fund assets, rising share prices benefit all wage-earners. The report by the CRS, an arm of the Library of Congress, shows that inequality has increased quite smartly, thank you. From 1996 to 2006, total after-tax income in the U.S. rose by more than 20%. How was this gain distributed?

Even a conservative who ordinarily doesn't care much for government regulation of business ought to find the case for a government-mandated minimum wage pretty compelling. In brief: As a conservative, you believe in the dignity of work. And it sends a terrible message about the dignity of work when working full time does not earn you enough to live a decent life. On the other hand, even a committed liberal who is concerned about growing income inequality ought to have some doubts about the minimum wage.

Both Republicans and Democrats say concern about the middle class is at the heart of the ongoing, vituperative debate over taxes, entitlements and fiscal discipline, but the political spat never seems to honestly address the gaping and growing class divide in the United States. As politicians in Washington slam one another over competing budget priorities, most avoid facing up to the disturbing question behind all the numbers: Is the American Dream temporarily stalled or permanently kaput?

Their Occupy-like grievances were familiar as activists staged a day of protests throughout California to oppose income inequality and other issues. Their choice of locations was not. Rather than parks or other public venues, these protesters demonstrated outside the well-tended homes of executives from some of California's largest corporations. The Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, an offshoot of the embattled national group ACORN, organized the protests outside the homes of the well-known, such as Hewlett-Packard chief Meg Whitman in Northern California.

The United States continues to outpace other developed economies globally with one of the biggest divides between rich and poor, according to a new report. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development reported that the average income of the richest 10% in developed nations is nine times that of the poorest 10%, up from five times as large in the 1980s. The difference between the highest and lowest paid is greater in the United States than in most other wealthy countries, while inequality has risen faster in others such as Sweden and Finland, the report says.

President Obama opened his reelection year with a combative State of the Union speech, proposing to require millionaires to pay at least 30% of their income in taxes and to eliminate deductions that save companies money if they move jobs overseas. He also proposed rewards, in the form of lower corporate rates, for businesses that manufacture and create jobs in the U.S. Heavily emphasizing income inequality and its causes, Tuesday's speech included several ideas that have already gotten a cold reception in Congress, including a program to upgrade roads and bridges and a fee on banks to help “responsible” homeowners refinance their mortgages.

The gig: Reich, who was Labor secretary under President Clinton, is a nationally known economist and political commentator. Much of his work focuses on America's rising income inequality. Reich's belief that too much of the nation's wealth is going to the rich at the expense of the middle class and poor has made him a bestselling author while inflaming his critics. Reich, 64, now teaches public policy at UC Berkeley. Not short on ambition: Reich grew up in South Salem, N.Y., near the working-class town of Peekskill, where his father owned a women's clothing store.

U.S. Rep. George E. Brown Jr. (D-Colton), the ranking minority member of the House Science Committee, recently delivered this shocking fact during a speech to the University Research Assn.: In California, "for the first time, the cost of the state corrections system exceeds the combined budget for the University of California and California State College System." Brown went on: "Yearly graduate tuition at Stanford is less than the average yearly cost of incarceration in California."

You might not realize this if you've been listening to all the warnings about "entitlements" emanating from Congress, but Social Security remains the nation's most popular government program -- and the vast majority of Americans want lawmakers to protect it, without cutting benefits. In fact, a sizable majority want Congress to raise benefits. Those conclusions, drawn from a recent opinion poll conducted for the National Academy of Social Insurance, an organization of social insurance experts, are worth keeping in mind as President Obama addresses the state of the union tonight and as budget battles continue in Washington.

Click here to download TV listings for the week Nov. 4 - 10 in PDF format This week's TV Movies       SERIES Richard Hammond's Crash Course:  Richard trains to be one of the crew tasked with changing a wheel in an IndyCar race in Sonoma in an episode that features a drive around the racetrack with legendary driver Mario Andretti (7 and 11 p.m. BBC America). How I Met Your Mother:  Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) decides to take action when Robin (Cobie Smulders)

BEIJING - China's new leaders, set to be unveiled next week at a once-a-decade transition, will soon be handed the keys to the world's second-largest economy. But unlike their predecessors, who embraced growth at all costs to spur the country forward, China's incoming rulers will be tasked with steering the economy toward a more sustainable path. China must boost its private sector, reduce its reliance on low-cost exports and big-ticket public projects, and put more money into the hands of ordinary Chinese, experts said.

You know all that talk about how Superstorm Sandy will revivify efforts in Washington to address climate change? Write it down somewhere, because a few days or weeks from now it will be forgotten. So will concerns about income inequality, and pledges to protect Social Security and Medicare from harm. They may be heading to the back burner after having only momentarily made it to the front. These predictions are based on these issues' weight in the recent presidential campaign, which is barely any weight at all. Both candidates tirelessly reminded us that this election was "important," but the most important issues at stake for individual voters, for business and for the economy at large flitted by in their stump speeches and the three debates faster than you can say "attention span.

The questions asked at Tuesday night's presidential debate will be left to a coterie of undecided voters assembled by Gallup pollsters, so don't be surprised if they invite President Obama and his Republican opponent, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, to pander to address concerns unique to their lines of work, their favorite causes or the problems they face as individuals. For example, that might include questions about whether the government is doing enough about cancer or Alzheimer's disease, or why Washington bailed out the big banks but not a local business whose line of credit dried up. Personally, I like those questions.

A new Census Bureau report confirms that the slowly rising tide of the U.S. economy hasn't lifted all boats. The 20% of Americans with the highest incomes captured an even larger share of the earnings in 2011, while the rest collected the same share or less. The widening income inequality is disturbing, but as the report shows, things could have been considerably worse. Without such safety net programs as unemployment benefits and food stamps, millions more families would have fallen into poverty.

Occupy Wall Street supporters are claiming credit for at least one political accomplishment: elevating the issue of income inequality to the top of the national conversation. The Occupiers are right about American incomes: They've definitely grown more unequal. But this fact presents three inconvenient truths for the Occupy Wall Street movement. First, let's look at the top end of the income ladder. It's true that the rich — especially the top 1% — are getting richer, widening the gap between the top earners and everyone else.

Rapid job growth since President Clinton took office has failed to offset growing wage and income inequality in the United States, as workers lacking advanced education and uneasy with new technology find themselves locked out of the middle class, Labor Secretary Robert B. Reich warned Wednesday.

Like the Republican convention that preceded it, the Democratic National Convention was a combination of infomercial, revival meeting (with former President Clinton in the role of evangelist in chief) and audition for rising political stars. Also like the Republican gathering, it was predictably longer on general pronouncements than on precise policy prescriptions. Still, the convention in Charlotte, N.C., effectively dramatized important differences between the two parties and their candidates.

In accepting the Republican presidential nomination, Mitt Romney represented more than the GOP's best hope for recapturing the White House. In many ways, he also embodied the country's tangled opinions about wealth and the wealthy. Amid a hapless economy and bulging income gap between the upper class and everyone else, the combative presidential race has focused attention on an underlying debate about wealth. Photos: Top of the Ticket cartoons Romney and President Obama have clashed sharply over wealth-related issues.