The trouble with blaming economic inequality for many of our economic ills is that the theory doesn’t fit the facts. One theory is that growing inequality caused many low- and middle-income Americans to over-borrow so they could keep up with wealthier Americans.
This borrowing allegedly led to the credit bubble and the Great Recession. The recovery has been plodding — the theory continues — because so many strapped households don’t earn enough to dig their way out of debt. A skewed income distribution is at the core of our problems.
Unable to view this article?
This could be due to a conflict with your ad-blocking or security software.
Please add japantimes.co.jp and piano.io to your list of allowed sites.
If this does not resolve the issue or you are unable to add the domains to your allowlist, please see out this support page.
We humbly apologize for the inconvenience.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.