Tesco
Rising Income Inequality and the Role of Shifting Market-Income Distribution, Tax Burdens and Tax Rates
Report

Rising Income Inequality and the Role of Shifting Market-Income Distribution, Tax Burdens and Tax Rates

Andrew Fieldhouse
EPI, 2013
Get the Report

Read or listen offline

автоматическое преобразование текста в аудио
  • 0.5×
  • 0.75×
  • 1×
  • 1.25×
  • 1.5×
  • 1.75×
1×
автоматическое преобразование текста в аудио

Editorial Rating

7

Qualities

  • Scientific

Recommendation

US income inequality “has surpassed Gilded Age levels.” Federal budget policy analyst Andrew Fieldhouse looks at how the US tax regime exacerbated this disparity. He offers a new policy direction to reverse this trend and to generate revenue to reduce deficits. Though statistics-heavy, this paper is cogent and comprehensive. getAbstract recommends it to experts and laypeople interested in the relationship between tax policy and income inequality.

Take-Aways

  • Inequality in the United States has mushroomed in recent decades. Market forces are the main culprit, but US tax policy has also played a significant role.
  • Since 1979, the majority of income gains have accrued to those at the top of the earnings scale, leading to a sharp rise in the Gini index, a measure of income inequality.
  • Falling tax rates on capital gains and some dividend income have encouraged “rent seeking” behavior by the richest individuals.

About the Author

Andrew Fieldhouse is a federal budget policy analyst and a fellow at the Century Foundation.

Comment on this summary or Начать обсуждение