Washington Post leading from the back, it looks like. But it all helps.
The literature shows that the distribution of income has been bulging upwards in the US for 30 years. The lower quintiles see little benefit from increased productivity. The benefits of a productive economy have been largely grabbed by the very wealthiest group.
One might argue that sharing wealth around a little bit is a wicked thing, as Republicans do. For them, society is a system designed to make a small number of people happy and rich, with everyone else working for crumbs.
But there's a noticeable correlation between extreme inequality and instability.
Few folks are saying that everyone must be rewarded equally and those that do follow an antiquated ideal. But to suggest that wealthy folks should pay their taxes at higher rates than poorer ones is not obviously immoral. And I think the numbers tend to suggest that an economy in which wealth is spread around a fair bit is more healthy - from an economic perspective - than one in which it is concentrated amongst a small number.
That's just a historical observation, of course, and people tend to prefer their theories to the evidence.
By the ay - clo. I encourage you to read Krugman's blog. He has talked a good deal about this.
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