Income inequality, the anthemic phrase coming out of the Left, championed by President Obama, and echoed by Moveon.org, is at once compelling, and yet, upon closer examination, completely misleading, if not absolutely erroneous. Recent research by Equality of Opportunity Project at Harvard and Berkeley, however, points us in a more rational and constructive direction. The principal researchers,
Scott Winship and Donald Schneider, instead argue that three primary factors give the poor opportunity to rise above their current economic station:
- Per-capita income growth
- Prevalence of single mothers (where correlation is strong, but negative)
- Per-capita local government spending
Notice that Federal spending and intervention is glaringly absent, which is because, quite frankly, this type of aid is often not only inefficient and ineffective, but sometimes counterproductive.
Any argument or policy proposal that does not encapsulate these three data sets is going to miss its mark. I encourage you to read the summary of the article below and to visit the many internal links provided.
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/01/if-you-really-care-about-ending-poverty-stop-talking-about-inequality/282906/
Best wishes,
Gary
