Income Inequality is Overstated

From today's NY Times, George Mason economist Tyler Cowen explains why income inequality is overstated:

"While there is little doubt that the gap between the wealthy and everybody else has widened in recent years, the situation is not as unfair as some of the numbers seem to imply.

Much of the measured growth in income inequality has resulted from natural demographic trends. Furthermore, more-educated groups show greater income inequality than less-educated groups.

What matters most is how well people are doing in absolute terms. We should continue to improve opportunities for lower-income people, but inequality as a major and chronic American problem has been overstated."