The Swiss campaign to limit executive pay fell short, but are there good solutions to the problem of income inequality?
We know that people’s frustrations run deeper than these most recent political battles. … They experience in a very personal way the relentless, decades-long trend. … And that is a dangerous and growing inequality and lack of upward mobility that has jeopardized middle-class America’s basic bargain — that if you work hard, you have a chance to get ahead. .I believe this is the defining challenge of our time: making sure our economy works for every working American. It’s why I ran for President. It was at the center of last year’s campaign. It drives everything I do in this office. — President Obama
Economic inequality is a politically potent issue. Vanderbilt University professor Larry Bartels believes that it was a critical one in the 2012 Presidential race, adding 2 to 3 percentage points to President Obama’s share of the vote and 1 percent in battleground states. The President’s advantage on this issue, Bartels says, was largely symbolic, having more to do with the perception that his opponent’s great wealth had detached him from the concerns of ordinary voters. People motivated to vote for the President because of this issue did so more because of who they believed Mitt Romney was than because of what the President proposed to do. Continue reading
