Inequality Overview

The Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality has released The Poverty and Inequality Report 2014.  I think I've seen similar data on the trend for share of real income before, but the report goes into other aspects of inequality as well.

Update (February 23):  Thomas Frank says we all need to start talking about class.

Update (March 28):  Matt Bruenig collects a series of graphs depicting the impact of class from childhood to death.

Update (April 2):  Lynn Stuart Parramore describes how the upcoming generational transfer of wealth through inheritance is going to make inequality worse.

Update (April 12):  Anat Shenker-Osorio writes about how to frame the political discussion on inequality. A lot of people don't respond to the fact that there's an income or wealth "gap".  More effective was to talk about how inequality destabilizes the economy.  And I think that does get at a better understanding of the issue.  It's not necessarily the case that someone having more is inherently "unfair", but rather the extremes we're heading toward put all of us at risk.

Update (April 13):  Jason Linkins explains why most Americans are not "making it" after the Great Recession.

Update (April 20):  Could there be a connection between high inequality in the United States and low rankings in the Social Progress Index?

Update (May 4):  David Atkins describes four ways by which the top has disguised the upward transfer of wealth by making the rest of us feel better off than we are.

1) Push people away from defined-benefit pensions and into stocks and 401(k)s. 

2) Push more people into buying real estate, and increase home prices by all means possible. 

3) Democratize consumer debt, especially through credit cards. 

4) Reduce the cost of goods through free trade policies.

Update (July 3, 2016):  Nancy Isenberg describes five myths about class in the U.S.

The working class is white and male. 

Most Americans don’t notice class differences. 

Class mobility is uniquely American. 

With talent and hard work, you can rise above your class. 

Class oppression isn’t as significant as racial oppression.