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5 Reasons to Care About America's Income Gap

How the Divide Between Rich & Poor Affects Us All

Or Maybe There's Nothing to Worry About After All

There are some people who don't believe there is an income inequality problem at all. 

Today, more than in the past, low-income earners are compensated with non-taxable benefits such as health insurance and the numbers that show stagnant wages among the lowest earners fail to capture the value of these benefits, argues Michael Tanner, a fellow at the conservative Cato Institute in a recent article. Furthermore, he writes, changes in the tax code may be making it seem as if top-tier incomes are rising faster than they actually are. So the "growing income gap" may be overstated, Tanner contends. 

To the extent that income inequality exists, it should be seen as a good thing, motivating and rewarding those who work hard to improve their economic standing, he said. 

"We need people who are ambitious, skilled risk-takers. We need people to be ever striving for more," Tanner writes. "That means that they must be rewarded for their efforts, their skills, their ambitions, and their risks. Such rewards inevitably lead to greater inequality."

 

  • Sarah Shemkus

    Sarah Shemkus is an award-winning freelance journalist, marketing enthusiast, accomplished baker, occasional globetrotter and total nerd (with a particular fondness for spreadsheets). Most recently, she reported on business and real estate … Read more...