Is inequality Real?
Inequality has been a big issue and there are lot of questions and perspectives around it.
Are we focusing on income (annual earnings) or wealth (net worth) inequality?
Pre tax or after tax?
Do the stats factor all sorts of other variables?
On this issue there are several camps:
Camp #1 - inequality hurts social cohesion and creates imbalances of political power that must be corrected by government action.
Camp #2 - inequality is good, income differences are what provides the incentive for people to invest more time and money into specialization in a world more reliant on specialized skills.
Camp #3 - Some inequality is good (market incentives) some of it is bad. The bad inequality has been created by government increasing the costs to start business, invest, and attain skills making opportunity less available for the poor and more available for those who can afford these costs from taxes and Regulation.
Camp #4 - Inequality doesn't exist, the data is measuring the wrong things the wrong way.
So read this article and leave a comment with your thoughts on this issue!
I believe I fall more in the Camp#3. However the Camp#4 idea, gives some food for thought, haven't considered this perspecitve.
I'm probably between 2 and 3 myself.
I think giving the government the power to pick winners and losers (or the power to punish those in the name of equality/inequality) always has bad outcomes.
Either those who are politically connected are benefitted (cronyism) or second- and third-order effects begin to occur.
Agreed. Great post, keep us thinking!