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Article Artículo

Economic Growth

Inequality

Representative Ryan Tries the Old Generational War Trick to Divert Attention from His Side's Class War

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan drafted a response to the Congressional Budget Office's recent study on inequality. This piece pulls out all the usual tricks. Most notably it:

a) argues that we should be focused on growth rather than inequality, failing to note that the U.S. economy is doing poorly by this metric also;

b) challenges the data showing growing inequality by saying the government data are wrong;

c) tries to divert attention to Medicare and Social Security raising the banner of generational war; and

d) ignores all the ways in which deliberate government policy has been responsible for the upward redistribution of income over the last three decades.

Representative Ryan's first summary bullet point is:

"The question for policymakers is not how best to redistribute a shrinking economic pie.  The focus ought to be on increasing living standards, expanding the pie of economic opportunity, and promoting upward mobility for all."

That sounds great, except the last three decades have not only been a period of rising inequality, they also have been a period of slower growth. According to the Commerce Department, in the 32 years from 1947 to 1979, when most of the population shared the gains from growth, per capita income rose at average annual rate of 2.6 percent. In the 31 years from 1979 to 2010, when most of the gains have gone to the top, growth in per capita income has averaged just 1.8 percent.

CEPR / November 18, 2011

Article Artículo

Regroup, Re-strategize, React: The Two-Month Anniversary of #OWS

The birthplace of the Occupy Wall Street movement was raided and dismantled early Tuesday morning. At 1 a.m., NYPD in riot gear entered Zuccotti Park with an eviction notice in hand, telling protestors they needed to clear the park immediately but temporarily, for cleaning. The protestors resisted eviction, and close to 250 arrests were made (including reporters and a NYC Councilman). The camp’s belongings were seized, including the #OWS library. Unfortunately, most of the library’s possessions are missing or damaged.

Tuesday night, protestors were allowed back into the park after the clearing and cleaning of the grounds. However, few protestors returned. Occupying Zuccotti Park is now prohibited along with tents, generators, and large bags. With these new rules, there is no way Zuccotti Park can transform back into the mini-city of the 99 percent.

CEPR and Alexandra Mitukiewicz / November 17, 2011