Tag Archives: inequality

Chris Rock may be right. Still, Americans are well aware that economic inequalityin their country is obscene, even though they often underestimate the growing gap between the poor and the rich. But it’s Frank Rich, who conducted the interview with the American comedian, who made the more perceptive observation: For all the current conversation about income inequality, class is still sort of the elephant in the room. Occasional Links & Commentary“If poor people knew how rich rich...

Globalization has led to a rise in global income inequality, not a reduction.Income doesn’t trickle down.Policy – not trade or technology – is most responsible for inequality. Demand lagging capability to supply due to hoarding at the top end. Contrary to the assumptions of neoclassical economics, distribution counts. This should be obvious since in a capitalistic system distribution is through markets where goods are rationed by price and ability to pay. But the "laws of economics" seem to...

I’ve written a blog post about this year’s Alternative Federal Budget (AFB). Points raised in the blog post include the following: -This year’s AFB would create 470,000 (full-time equivalent) jobs in its first year alone. By year 2 of the plan, 600,000 new (full-time equivalent) jobs will exist. -This year’s AFB will also bring in universal pharmacare, address involuntary part-time employment among women, eliminate tuition fees for all post-secondary students in Canada, speed up...

Bill answers the main questions about MMT and a progressive agenda to address wealth inequality. There is no need for a currency issuer to tax to obtain the funds it issues itself. The reasons that a currency issuer should tax excessive wealth is political, in that wealth conveys political power. Neoliberalism differs from classical liberalism (laissez-faire) by harnessing government to promoting the interests of capital rather than reducing government involvement in the economy as...

Occasional Links & CommentaryWhat, us worry? David F. Ruccio | Professor of Economics, University of Notre Dame

In anticipation of tomorrow’s provincial budget in British Columbia (BC), I’ve written a blog post about the state of homelessness in that province. Points raised in the blog post include the following: -Public operating spending by BC’s provincial government has decreased over the past 20 years. -Even after controlling for inflation, average rent levels across the province increased by 24% between 1990 and 2016. -Over the past several decades, various reforms to BC’s social assistance...

Yesterday I spoke on a panel discussion on economic inequality, along with Andrew Jackson and Armine Yalnizyan. We were guests at the federal NDP’s policy convention in Ottawa. The panel was moderated by Guy Caron. Topics covered included the minimum wage, basic income, affordable housing, the future of jobs, gender budgeting, poverty among seniors, Canadian fiscal policy in historical perspective, and Canadian fiscal policy in comparison with other OECD countries. The discussion was 30...

These new facts are particularly puzzling from the point of view of the standard neoclassical economic model, in which markets are perfectly competitive. In this view, profits should not persist over the long run, let alone enable the owners of corporations to increase their share of income over time. The standard model, however, cannot address many of the fundamental changes that have occurred in the U.S. economy over the past 40 years.In order to explain these new trends, I and my...

In an interview with ProMarket, Nobel Prize-winning economist Angus Deaton talks about the connection of rent-seeking and monopolization to rising inequality. ProMarket — The blog of the Stigler Center at the University of Chicago Booth School of BusinessAngus Deaton on the Under-Discussed Driver of Inequality in America: “It’s Easier for Rent-Seekers to Affect Policy Here Than In Much of Europe” Asher Schechter

 The bottom line – and the fundamental problem – seems to be clear: inequality rose because the labour movement lost out. Today’s lacking investment means that technology does not substitute for labour – the normal trajectory in capitalism, instead cheap labour substitutes for technology. As a result, productivity stalls. After decades of right-wing policies, stripping away protections for workers, the flexibilisation of labour markets, destroying ‘government rigidities’ and waging wars...