Don’t Just Tax the Rich — Attack Inequality at the Root
To address the US’s severe inequality, we can and should raise taxes on the rich. But we can also restructure markets so that they don’t produce such unequal incomes in the first place, by reining in corporate power and our predatory financial sector.
Many discussions of US income inequality propose to solve the problem by taxing the rich more heavily. That would be a good start. But we can also reshape markets so that they don’t generate so much pretax inequality. (Scott Olson / Getty Images)
Economic inequality in the United States has risen dramatically over the last sixty years. Indeed, the degree of inequality today is probably greater than at any point in the country’s history. This severe inequality is a severe social malady. So, what should we do about it?
Consider the following analogy. Suppose that, in response to the high rate of fatalities from automobile accidents, the United States had undertaken major investments in hospital trauma centers, improving the medical system’s means of caring for people who had been injured in such accidents. These investments would have included funds for the extensive training of doctors and for emergency room equipment.
In fact, over the last several decades, there has been a dramatic decline in fatalities from automobile accidents. Perhaps some of the decline has come from improved trauma care. However, the really important changes that account for this decline have been seat belts and airbags (and, most recently, safety technology built into cars), improved road design and traffic control, and campaigns (and laws) against drunk driving.
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