Mind the (Income) Gap
In "The Conscience of a Liberal," economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman investigates why income inequality has risen so sharply over the last 30 years, and he points to a culprit: "movement conservatives," a cadre of antitax, small-government activists who dominate Republican politics, defending policies that serve the wealthy at the expense of the middle class. He spoke with NEWESWEEK's Daniel Gross.
What do you mean when you say we're in a new Gilded Age?
Income inequality in 2005 was exactly the same as it was in the 1920s. And a lot of behavior is the same. The giant private philanthropies, the exhibitionist display of wealth, and the malefactors of great wealth insisting that they're doing great things for us all.
You look back fondly on the 1950s, when economic gains were more broadly shared. But we also had segregation, and women were excluded from many professions.
If I had to choose between the America of 1955 and the America of 2007, I'd choose the America of 2007. But the progress we've made on racism and sexism is marred by the fact that, along the way, we lost the middle-class society.
If Al Gore had been elected in 2000, would the income gap be as great?
I'm kind of a fatalist. Gore would not have had enough political clout to really change the direction.
Why did President Bush veto a bill to expand SCHIP, a children's insurance program that would have been a boon for the working class?
The trouble with SCHIP from Bush's point of view is that it works too well. In providing necessary health care for kids, it would lead people to say, "Why not more?" You can see where that line goes. So he's chosen to fight it out over 12-year-old kids.
Bush has been good to you—providing endless material for you to write about. Would you rather have the material, or your pre-Bush peace of mind?
Bush-bashing draws less adu lation than it did a few years ago, because he's on the ropes. I'll take it, but I'll be relieved when this guy is no longer sitting in the White House.
© 2007
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Member Comments
Posted By: polecolaw @ 10/23/2007 11:36:19 AM
Comment: Dear Mr. Gross,
Several weeks ago I penned an article about wall street competitiveness and fees charged by wall street firms. After I published this article on my blog, I was watching CNBC and they aired an interview with you during which you discussed your upcoming article in NYT Magazine about the loss of competitiveness of Wall Street to international firms. You specifically said that the big secret nobody talks about is the high fees charged by Wall Street firms. I was very excited, and was probably one of the first people to read your article. To my surprise, however, there was no mention of the fee issue in the article. I don???t know if that is because you found some other evidence over night about fees or discovered the fee issue after you penned the piece. I tried for over an hour to email you, but just could not get an active email. That is why I am posting this here. Here is a link to my original post if you would like to read it. I appreciate your reply on this as I am genuinely curious about this issue and may want to study it further. http://polecolaw.blogspot.com/2007/10/tale-of-two-cities-new-york-and-detroit.html
Best regards,
Mark Palermo
Posted By: polecolaw @ 10/23/2007 11:35:47 AM
Comment: Dear Mr. Gross,
Several weeks ago I penned an article about wall street competitiveness and fees charged by wall street firms. After I published this article on my blog, I was watching CNBC and they aired an interview with you during which you discussed your upcoming article in NYT Magazine about the loss of competitiveness of Wall Street to international firms. You specifically said that the big secret nobody talks about is the high fees charged by Wall Street firms. I was very excited, and was probably one of the first people to read your article. To my surprise, however, there was no mention of the fee issue in the article. I don???t know if that is because you found some other evidence over night about fees or discovered the fee issue after you penned the piece. I tried for over an hour to email you, but just could not get an active email. That is why I am posting this here. Here is a link to my original post if you would like to read it. I appreciate your reply on this as I am genuinely curious about this issue and may want to study it further. http://polecolaw.blogspot.com/2007/10/tale-of-two-cities-new-york-and-detroit.html
Best regards,
Mark Palermo