The Evidence of Growing Economic Inequality cond'

1

• The Evidence of Growing Economic Inequality
  (cond.)
• Causes of Increasing Economic Inequality
• A. The Neoliberal Answer technological change
  and globalization
• B. Collins Yeskels Answer
• 1. Power Shift
• 2. Changes in Rules Governing the Economy

2
Evidence of Growing Economic InequalityReview
the tables in Chapter 2 to explore

• Growing income inequality
• income shares
• real income growth
• the CEO pay gap
• 1947-1979 vs. 1979-today

• Growing concentration of wealth
• why wealth matters more than income
• net worth
• the color of wealth
• wealth shares
• routes to wealth

Collins and Yeskels baseball analogy
3

• Chapter 3 Explaining Growing Inequality
• Why do Collins and Yeskel reject the neoliberal
  argument that technological change and
  globalization are to blame?

4

• Chapter 3 Explaining Growing Inequality
• What is Collins and Yeskels basic argument
  about how to explain growing inequality in the
  United States?
• What are the two sets of changes they identify
  as the primary explanation of increased
  inequality?

5
I. A Power Shift
Discuss do Collins and Yeskel mean by this?
6

• The Key Shifts
• Increased money power
• Increased corporate power
• Declining power of workers
• Declining influence of the civic sector
• Declining independence of politics
• You should be familiar with what is involved in
  each of these

7
II. Changes in the Rules Governing the
Economy Discuss What sorts of factors of this
sort do Collins and Yeskel cite as contributing
to increasing inequality?
8

• Rule Changes Worsening Inequality
• Global trade and investment practices
• Taxation and starving the beast
• Restructuring of work and the breakdown of the
  social contract
• Deregulation
• The dominance of monetary policy
• The erosion of the safety net and the increase of
  corporate welfare
• You should be familiar withwhat is involved in
  each of these

9
Another Cause of Increasing Inequality Winner
Take All Markets

• Video Clip from Jim Lehrers PBS News Hour

10

• Winner Take All Markets
• What are they?
• How do they work?
• Why do they produce extreme inequality?
• How prevalent are they?
• What is problematic about them?