July 24th, 2011 → 7:33 am @ Lea // No Comments

“Distribution should undo excess, and each man have enough.”

I’m not a socialist.  For god’s sake, I’m a professor of economics at the University of Missouri, but I am starting to worry about inequality in the U.S.  We haven’t had such skewed levels of wealth distribution since the 1920s.  And skewed levels of wealth don’t just seem unfair, they are actually harmful by exhibiting downward pressure on consumer demand, which hurts the economy for everyone.  Those who are worried about the tax aspects of the current budget negotiations shouldn’t be; redistribution to maintain a basic quality of life for the majority of the population is not just decent, it’s good economics.