Inequality and the Deficit

Abstract:     
The enormous increase in economic inequality in the United States should play a central role in public discourse about the federal deficit. This essay reviews statistical evidence of trends in the distribution of income and wealth in the United States. The evidence demonstrates a dramatic increase in economic inequality. The gap between the rich and poor, and between the rich and the middle class, is today wider than at any other time in the past four decades.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 24

Keywords: federal deficit, economic inequality

JEL Classification: K00, K10, K30, I30, J30, J60, H5

Accepted Paper Series