Paul Krugman: On Inequality

Dr. Krugman reports on the latest developments of the ongoing American Class War that the GOP wants to frame as no cause for concern.

--The New York Times, August 18, 2006

Recently, Henry Paulson, the Treasury secretary, acknowledged that economic inequality is rising in America. In a break with previous administration pronouncements, he also conceded that this might be cause for concern.

But he quickly reverted to form, falsely implying that rising inequality is mainly a story about rising wages for the highly educated. And he argued that nothing can be done about this trend, that “it is simply an economic reality, and it is neither fair nor useful to blame any political party.”