Understanding Our ‘Dreadful Misfortunes’
Two veteran economists help us comprehend how our economy became so unequal and what we can do to turn that economy — and our lives — around. Back in the...
Research & Commentary
From academics to activists, thoughtful people worldwide are focusing their attention on economic inequality as never before.
Remembering the Moment Our CEOs Dug In
Forty years ago, U.S. corporate honchos saw their power ebbing away. So they did what corporate honchos always do. They asked for a memo.
On a Rogue Billionaire, the Banging Begins
Investor Warren Buffett last week made an insightful case for higher taxes on America's rich. The reaction to that case, from our wealthy's most ardent defenders, offers insights, too —...
Holy Hieronymus Bosch: Art to the Barricades?
Soaring fortunes are distorting how the art world operates, says a new industry study, and undermining the professionalism of the men and women in it. Want to get some cold...
Look Out, Here Comes the ‘Feral Underclass’
What made last week's London rioting all the more 'achingly sad'? The rioters weren't challenging greed. They were celebrating it. Do we understand why? Oppressed people riot. Oppression and rioting...
Understanding Our National Empathy Deficit
The life experiences of the wealthy, new psychological research suggests, leaves the rich less compassionate and altruistic than people of more modest means. Patriotism, as Samuel Johnson suggested long ago,...
Endless Political Paralysis: The New Normal?
The American political system isn't working for average Americans anymore. Don't blame the Tea Party, new research suggests. Blame inequality. In a sensible republic, democratically elected leaders come together in...
The Unfair Distribution of Workplace Rewards
The private sector's declining union presence, two top sociologists contend, explains a major chunk of America's growing wage inequality. In the 1950s, Sears Roebuck, a nonunion employer, dominated the American...
Doing Debt Ceiling Battle the FDR Way
At times of fiscal crisis, President Franklin Roosevelt believed, you don't give the awesomely affluent a free pass. You pound them — and then you pound some more. Against a...
The Racial Wealth Gap’s Great Recession Surge
New Census survey stats show a substantial widening in the net worth gap between and within white, black, and Hispanic America. Has the Great Recession been an equal opportunity destroyer?...