Policy Under False Pretenses

from Mark Perry at Carpe Diem,  New BLS data show that for all ‘chief executives,’ the ‘average CEO-to-average worker pay ratio’ is less than 5-to-1 For the sample of 20,620 CEOs reported by the BLS, their average pay increased only 2.1% in 2015, from $216,100 in 2014...

The Hidden Assets of the 99%

from the Wall Street Journal, The Uncounted Trillions in the Inequality Debate by Martin Feldstein: excerpts: These data seem to show a country whose wealth is highly concentrated. But the true picture is hardly as stark as critics of inequality claim, because it...

Jaded at Tax Reform

From Robert Samuelson at The Washington Post, The coming middle-class tax increase There is a broader message here. Both parties have constructed rationales for avoiding middle-class tax increases, which would be highly unpopular. It’s not that these rationales are...

Lifestyle Equality

from Mark Perry in his blog Carpe Diem, John Tamny on ‘surging lifestyle equality’ and the source of the Clintons’ wealth excerpts: The ‘wealth inequality’ decried by clueless economists and opportunistic politicians has been mis-named. What’s a pejorative is...

The Dynamic Household

Economist Mark Perry writes in his blog, Carpe Diem, US middle class has disappeared into higher-income groups; recent stagnation explained by changing household demographics? Excerpts:  Here’s another way to understand the dynamic income shift over the last half...