April 22, 2013
Ilyana Kuziemko and Stefanie Stantcheva seem determined to win the contest for greatest out to lunch op-ed column of all time. They note the huge rise in inequality in wealth and income over the last three decades. They tell readers that the public is aware of this increase. However they say that the public doesn’t trust the government to do anything to address inequality:
“Whether or not the rise in inequality has itself lowered Americans’ faith in government, the low opinion in which Americans hold their government may well limit their willingness to connect concern with inequality to government action.”
Sorry folks, but the public is way ahead of our researchers here. The public recognizes that inequality did not just happen, as the our oped authors seem to believe. Inequality was the result of deliberate government policies. For example, we have high unemployment now because of government policies that are reducing demand in the economy. Manufacturing workers lost jobs and have lower wages because of trade policy designed to put them in competition with low-paid workers in the developing world while protecting our doctors and lawyers.
Maybe if social scientists who did surveys understood a bit more economics, they would ask better questions.
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