In an NPR piece on the debate surrounding income inequality and economic mobility, Sheldon Danziger explains that in the current U.S. economy minimum wage and middle-income earners cannot keep pace with top earners.
He notes that, while there was a time when an improved economy helped all workers, we are not in a position to expect "a return to the golden age, when a rising tide lifted all boats."
In the article, Danziger contends that the widening income gap between top earners and those at the bottom is becoming self-perpetuating, as lower earners can not keep up with the rich who continue to improve their status through investments in financial markets and better educations for their children. Describing the current reality in the United States, he states "the American dream is less robust than the Canadian dream."
Widening income gap becoming self-perpetuating, says Danziger
January 25, 2014