Income Distribution

Instead of fighting a phony mommy war over what Hilary Rosen said about Ann Romney, we should face the fact that most families these days cannot afford to have one parent stay home with the kids. This is not about "lifestyle" or "values. " This is an economic struggle highlighting yet again the social costs arising from decades of stagnating or declining wages and growing income inequality. There is a profound class bias in our discussion of what mothers should or should not do. The public debate seems premised on the idea...

ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — This prosperous community is the picture of the good and ever longer life — just what policymakers have in mind when they say that raising the eligibility age for Social Security and Medicare is a fair way to rein in the nation's troublesome debt. The county's plentiful and well-tended golf courses teem with youthful-looking retirees. The same is true on the county's 41 miles of Atlantic Ocean beaches, abundant tennis courts and extensive network of biking and hiking trails.

ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — This prosperous community is the picture of the good and ever longer life — just what policymakers have in mind when they say that raising the eligibility age for Social Security and Medicare is a fair way to rein in the nation's troublesome debt. The county's plentiful and well-tended golf courses teem with youthful-looking retirees. The same is true on the county's 41 miles of Atlantic Ocean beaches, abundant tennis courts and extensive network of biking and hiking trails.

Democrats seeking a deal to avert the year-end "fiscal cliff" are trying to etch into stone the signature economic achievement of Republican President George W. Bush by permanently extending tax cuts enacted during his tenure. President Obama has put the extension of the tax cuts for most Americans at the top of his domestic agenda, a remarkable turnaround for Democrats, who had staunchly opposed the tax breaks when they were written into law about a decade ago. With Obama leaving his Hawaii vacation for Washington...

President Obama, many Democrats and editorial page writers have been working to convince the nation that it is wracked by inequality, a disappearing middle class and a lack of opportunity. The charge of growing inequality is partly correct, mostly because those at the top of the income distribution have pulled away from the rest of us. But the other charges are wrong or misleading. First, consider the claim that the nation's economic growth in the past three decades has gone straight to the richest Americans.

There has been a strong and troubling shift in market rewards for a small minority relative to the rewards available to most citizens. A recent Congressional Budget Office study found that incomes of the top 1 percent of the U.S. population (adjusted for inflation) rose 275 percent from 1979 to 2007, while income for the middle class grew only 40 percent. Even this dismal figure overstates the fortunes of typical Americans. In 1965, only one in 20 men ages 25 to 54 was not working; by the end of this decade, it is likely...

Democrats seeking a deal to avert the year-end "fiscal cliff" are trying to etch into stone the signature economic achievement of Republican President George W. Bush by permanently extending tax cuts enacted during his tenure. President Obama has put the extension of the tax cuts for most Americans at the top of his domestic agenda, a remarkable turnaround for Democrats, who had staunchly opposed the tax breaks when they were written into law about a decade ago. With Obama leaving his Hawaii vacation...

There is no doubt that incomes are unequal in the United States — far more so than in most European nations. This fact is part of the impulse behind the Occupy Wall Street movement , whose members claim to represent the 99 percent of us against the wealthiest 1 percent. It has also sparked a major debate in the Republican presidential race, where former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney has come under fire for his tax rates and his career as the head of a private-equity firm.

Republicans and Democrats don't agree on much, but they do agree on this: the middle class. At their conventions, the two parties will compete fiercely for its support. Republicans will accuse Barack Obama of destroying the middle class through policies perpetuating high joblessness and feeble economic growth. Democrats will portray Mitt Romney as a tool of the rich who doesn't understand the middle class. To the victor may go the election, because "saving the middle class" has arguably become the campaign's...

In his July 6 op-ed , "Economists Out to Lunch," Robert J. Samuelson illustrated why so many of his colleagues missed the approach of the financial mess. Mr. Samuelson asserted, correctly, that "the crisis surprised liberal and conservative economists, Republicans and Democrats alike. " But he was incorrect in asserting that there is any significant difference among the different flavors of economists. As President Obama asserted last year, Ronald Reagan did more to change America than did, say, Bill Clinton.

Republicans and Democrats don't agree on much, but they do agree on this: the middle class. At their conventions, the two parties will compete fiercely for its support. Republicans will accuse Barack Obama of destroying the middle class through policies perpetuating high joblessness and feeble economic growth. Democrats will portray Mitt Romney as a tool of the rich who doesn't understand the middle class. To the victor may go the election, because "saving the middle class" has arguably become the campaign's defining issue.

Instead of fighting a phony mommy war over what Hilary Rosen said about Ann Romney, we should face the fact that most families these days cannot afford to have one parent stay home with the kids. This is not about "lifestyle" or "values. " This is an economic struggle highlighting yet again the social costs arising from decades of stagnating or declining wages and growing income inequality. There is a profound class bias in our discussion of what mothers should or should not do. The public debate seems...

President Obama, many Democrats and editorial page writers have been working to convince the nation that it is wracked by inequality, a disappearing middle class and a lack of opportunity. The charge of growing inequality is partly correct, mostly because those at the top of the income distribution have pulled away from the rest of us. But the other charges are wrong or misleading. First, consider the claim that the nation's economic growth in the past three decades has gone straight to the richest Americans.

Occupy Wall Street is not known for the precision of its economic analysis, but new research on income distribution in the United States shows that the group's sloganeering provides a stunningly accurate picture of the economy. In 2010, according to a study published this month by University of California economist Emmanuel Saez , 93 percent of income growth went to the wealthiest 1 percent of American households, while everyone else divvied up the 7 percent that was left over. Put another way: The most fundamental...

There is no doubt that incomes are unequal in the United States — far more so than in most European nations. This fact is part of the impulse behind the Occupy Wall Street movement , whose members claim to represent the 99 percent of us against the wealthiest 1 percent. It has also sparked a major debate in the Republican presidential race, where former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney has come under fire for his tax rates and his career as the head of a private-equity firm.

There has been a strong and troubling shift in market rewards for a small minority relative to the rewards available to most citizens. A recent Congressional Budget Office study found that incomes of the top 1 percent of the U.S. population (adjusted for inflation) rose 275 percent from 1979 to 2007, while income for the middle class grew only 40 percent. Even this dismal figure overstates the fortunes of typical Americans. In 1965, only one in 20 men ages 25 to 54 was not working; by the end of this decade, it is...

Occupy Wall Street is not known for the precision of its economic analysis, but new research on income distribution in the United States shows that the group's sloganeering provides a stunningly accurate picture of the economy. In 2010, according to a study published this month by University of California economist Emmanuel Saez , 93 percent of income growth went to the wealthiest 1 percent of American households, while everyone else divvied up the 7 percent that was left over. Put another way: The most fundamental characteristic of the...

Regarding the May 3 editorial " Leveling the playing field ": As my mother might say: We've had this discussion before. Montgomery County indeed faces a budget quandary, but it's one that can be resolved with a little leadership and collaboration between elected officials and workers, not by destroying collective bargaining. The Post's editorial condemning us "labor bosses" seems to lack concern for the working people who make Montgomery County work so well for its residents.

Regarding the June 19 front-page story " Income gap widens as executives prosper ": The most convincing evidence of the worsening of U.S. income distribution comes from the historical evolution of the minimum wage, the main source of earning for the poorest of the poor. The minimum wage in 1970 was $1.60 per hour. This was increased in steps to $7.25 today. Adjusted for the inflation rate, the minimum wage in real terms in 2010 was just four-fifths of the level in 1970, down 20 percent.

Regarding the May 3 editorial " Leveling the playing field ": As my mother might say: We've had this discussion before. Montgomery County indeed faces a budget quandary, but it's one that can be resolved with a little leadership and collaboration between elected officials and workers, not by destroying collective bargaining. The Post's editorial condemning us "labor bosses" seems to lack concern for the working people who make Montgomery County work so well for its residents.