The Growing Inequality in America

Nothing is as simple as it seems. Perhaps the most valuable part of this Economist special report is the great bibliography with direct links to PDF source documents.

“If all Americans were set on a ladder with ten rungs, the gap between the wages of those on the ninth rung and those on the first has risen by a third since 1980. Whether these shifts were good or bad depends on your political persuasion.”

“Whichever explanation you choose for the signs of growing inequality, none of the changes seems transitory. The middle rungs of America’s labour market are likely to become ever more squeezed. And that squeeze feels worse thanks to another change that has hit the middle class most: greater fluctuations in people’s incomes.”

Source: Inequality in America | The rich, the poor and the growing gap between them | Economist.com