Income inequality. Stagnant wages. We are bedeviled simultaneously by these twin problems. ?
As we now explore solutions, we must acknowledge that there is no single magic solution. One remedy, the only one we shall discuss here, is general and is, in fact, tied to the problem as a cause. The other solutions are partial, incremental, and too complex to discuss here.
First, we must acknowledge that the problem of stagnant wages fuels the debate over income inequality. Stagnant wages make the income distribution seem like a zero-sum game. My? position on the income ladder doesn't matter so much when we are all climbing up the ladder. But when no one seems to be moving up – when our wages are stagnant -- then my position both matters and rankles.
Americans historically don't care nearly as much about the income distribution as people do in many other countries. A basic reason for the absence of class struggle here is the steady economic growth we have enjoyed over the years. But history reveals that, when economies stagnate, then bitter class divisions emerge.
Too many Americans have not regained their pre-Great Recession standard of living. Genuine broad-based economic growth that created broad-based income growth would soften the shrill cries over the income distribution and permit us to address ?more calmly and rationally the problem of income inequality.
That will be a difficult, but necessary, conversation for us to conduct.
I'm Bob Evans, and that's my perspective.
