Evening Must-Read: Justin Fox: Income and Wealth Inequality and Immobility Are a Matter for the Moral Philosophers

Justin Fox: We Can’t Afford to Leave Inequality to the Economists:

That’s the thing about this rise in ‘extreme upper tail inequality/…. It is one of the most dramatic economic developments of the past quarter century. And it seems like it might be bad thing. But conclusive economic evidence for its badness is hard to find. Yes, there are theories: All that wealth sloshing around in the top 1% leads to more bubbles and crashes. Extreme wealth corrupts the political process.  Income inequality may be slowing overall economic growth. And… ‘given the diminishing marginal utility of income, it’s hugely wasteful for the super rich to have so much income.’… There’s some truth to all four of those. But there are also lots of counterarguments and some counterevidence…. Which leads me to another theory: I think we’re eventually going to have to figure out what if anything to do about exploding high-end incomes without clear guidance from the economists. This is a discussion where political and moral considerations may end up predominating.