The Price of Inequality: How Today's Divided Society Endangers Our Future (70 page)

privatization, 42, 176–77, 226, 228, 316, 364, 365

Progressive Era, xiii

Prokhorov, Aleksandr, 315

property rights, 190, 194, 197, 198, 199, 323, 368

protectionism, 278

psychology, idea-shaping and, 147, 148–62

public goods,
see
investment, public

public schools, 75

quotas, 39

racism, 159

   
see also
discrimination

railroads, 32, 42, 116

Rakoff, Judge, 204–5

ratings agencies, 192, 217, 219

Reagan, Ronald, 5, 65, 71, 114, 175, 221, 246

realpolitik, 292

Reardon, Sean, 75

recession of 1991, 86–87

recession of 2001, 245

regulatory capture, 47–48, 248, 249–50, 253, 264

Reich, Robert, 179

Rent-a-Center, 313–14

rent seeking, 28–51, 95–101, 107, 115, 140, 144, 166, 176, 210, 218, 228, 266, 267, 268, 270, 272, 276, 328, 367

   competition in, 98

   consumer exploitation and, 98, 154, 272

   and economic growth, 39, 100

   forms of, 36–37, 39, 40

   inequality and, 32, 38, 40, 77, 107, 173, 213

   in legal system, 42, 43, 203, 273

   monopolies and, 39, 40, 41–42, 43–47, 95, 97, 140, 213, 270–71, 274

   from natural resources, 39–40, 49–50, 99, 272

   participants in, 41–43, 316

   remedies for, 107, 269–73

   resource waste in, 95, 96, 99, 100

   taxes on, 39, 115, 212–14, 215, 274, 395

Republic, Lost
(Lessig), xxiv

Republican Party, U.S., 65, 130, 207, 351–52, 355, 358

Research in Motion, 203

resources:

   in GDP calculation, 98–99, 185

   government assignment of, 30, 32, 39–40, 49–50, 214, 215, 224, 272, 314, 316

   preservation of, 80, 100, 283, 322

   taxes on, 39–40, 213

   
see also
environment

retirement:

   age for, 227

   choices about, 149–50

   saving for, 12–13, 149–50, 177, 223, 227–28, 244

   
see also
Social Security

retirement benefits, 12–13

Right:

   economic ideas of, xxii, 25–27, 44, 106, 107, 108, 114, 116, 152, 155, 157, 161, 167, 175, 216–17, 220–21, 222, 225, 226, 229, 236, 274, 282, 283, 292, 312, 356

   legal reform agenda of, 273

RIM, 203

risk aversion, 91

risk markets, 34, 108

RMBS, 368

robo-signing, 198, 199

Rockefeller, John D., 42, 44

Rodrik, Dani, 140

Romney, Mitt, 27

Roosevelt, Franklin Delano, 88, 232

Roosevelt, Theodore, 44

Rosenthal, Howard, xxiv

Rubin, Bob, 180

Russia, 42, 123, 200, 316

   
see also
Soviet Union

Ryan, Paul, 116, 207, 228

Saez, Emmanuel, xxiii, 114

sales tax, 74

Samsung, 203

Sarkozy, Nicolas, 185

Saudi Arabia, 280

savings:

   household, 1, 13, 39, 70, 71, 85, 233, 244, 330, 380, 383

   of poor, 224, 275

   retirement, 12–13, 149–50, 177, 223, 244, 330

   of wealthy, 85, 88, 223, 275

Savings and Loan Crisis, 119, 199

Scandinavia, 175, 263, 286

scarcity, 30

Schmittberger, Rolf, 126

Schneiderman, Eric, 374

school lunch programs, 74, 102

schools:

   for-profit, 75, 195, 196, 201, 275, 323, 371

   public, 75

Schwarze, Bernd, 126

science, 41, 78, 93, 100, 112, 140, 202, 263

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), 47, 110, 119, 204–6

Senate, U.S., 247

   Banking Committee of, 250, 319

   
see also
Congress, U.S.; House of Representatives, U.S.

Shafir, Eldar, 103

Shelby, Richard, 319

Sherman Anti-Trust Act, 317

Shiller, Robert, 262

Shockley, William, 41

Simpson, Alan K., 207

Singapore, 19, 141

slavery, 156, 367

Slim, Carlos, 42, 365

Smith, Adam, 33–34, 106, 313, 341, 363, 397

Sobel, Dava, 109

social capital, 122–23, 125, 135

social Darwinism, 292

socialism, 163

social responsibility, 100, 112, 120, 121

Social Security, 17, 74, 176, 177, 226, 227, 229, 261, 266, 277, 306, 355, 380

Social Security Administration, 305

social spending:

   effects of, 2, 5, 10, 14, 15, 16–17, 26, 31, 63, 74, 77, 79, 84, 108, 173, 277

   income distribution and, 30, 77, 79, 299

   in resource-rich countries, 40

Soros, George, 151

Sotheby’s, 360

South, black disenfranchisement in, 129, 367

South Africa, 23

Soviet Union, collapse of, 104, 123

   
see also
Russia

Spain, x, xviii, 16, 214

   financial crisis in, 210, 219, 220, 255

Sprint, 44

Standard & Poor’s, 192

Standard Oil Company, 42, 317

Stantcheva, Stefanie, 114

Stigler, George, 44

stimulus package, 211, 232–34, 236, 382

   value of, 86

stock market, 3, 8, 13, 54, 164, 165–66, 177, 244, 296, 312, 360, 383

stock options, 110, 111

Strauss-Kahn, Dominique, 91–92

student loans, 58, 94–95, 195–96, 201, 265, 271, 275, 323, 338, 370–71

subprime crisis, xvii, 2, 194, 202, 250, 253, 356, 369

   legal settlements of, 70–71

   profit-making in, 77

   
see also
foreclosures; predatory lending

subsidies, 39, 40, 50–51, 64, 81, 99, 179–80, 189, 191, 213, 214, 216, 222, 320, 367, 379

   to financial sector, 222, 223, 240, 247, 387

   hidden, 39, 40, 81, 99, 173, 191, 213, 214, 222, 223, 224, 240, 247, 272–73, 367, 387

   
see also
government, U.S., munificence of

Supreme Court, U.S., 131, 132, 285, 317, 318, 350

Sweden, 366

   economic mobility in, 18

   financial crisis response in, 168, 169, 361

   financial stability in, 220

   GDP of, 183

   inequality in, 23, 127

   labor in, 230

   tax system in, 22

Switzerland, 183

tariffs, 50, 61, 325

taxes:

   alternative minimum, 394

   on capital gains, 71–72, 87, 88, 115, 211, 274, 330, 361, 378, 395

   corporate, 62, 73–74, 95, 115, 142, 179, 214, 215, 221–22, 224, 225, 270, 272, 273–74, 278, 283, 296, 331

   economic growth and, 22–23, 84, 86, 88

   and economic stimulus, 216, 217, 218, 221

   estate, 73, 76, 88, 166, 167, 274, 361, 395

   on financial sector, 213–14, 215, 247, 248

   globalization and, 62, 63, 142, 278

   income distribution and, 30, 31, 72

   loopholes in, 42–43, 72, 115, 212, 214, 215, 221, 222, 272, 273

   market correction through, 34

   middle-class deductions in, 222–24, 379

   and national debt, 207, 376

   on natural resources, 39–40, 213

   on pollution, 213, 215, 224

   on poor, 74, 88, 218

   progressive, 5, 31, 107, 114–16, 142, 212, 218, 273–74, 379, 395

   Reagan’s revision of, 5, 71, 114, 221

   regressive, 38, 74, 77, 79, 157, 208, 214, 237, 251, 299

   on rent seeking, 39, 115, 212–14, 215, 274, 395

   Right’s view of, 216

   state, 74

   on wealthy, 5, 38, 42–43, 62, 71–73, 74, 76, 77, 84, 86, 87–88, 114, 115, 116, 138, 142, 159, 167, 208, 209, 211, 212, 214–15, 218, 221, 223, 224, 225, 226, 256, 274, 275, 294, 312, 335, 344, 360, 383, 394

technology:

   bubble in, 85, 87, 88, 89, 211, 243, 391, 396

   economic impact of, 30, 79, 80

   government investment in, 15, 93, 115, 155, 174, 217, 267, 281, 283

   idea-shaping and, 156

   labor demand and, 53, 54–56, 63, 79, 80, 277, 280, 283, 334

   monopolies in, 42, 44, 45–46, 96

   and stock trading, 165

telecommunications:

   government auction of, 50

   monopolization in, 44, 97, 98

   
see also
technology

TEPCO, 189

Thaler, Richard, 161

Thatcher, Margaret, 316

Thucydides, 29

Tingbergen, 392

T-Mobile, 44, 203

tobacco industry, xviii, 151, 160, 354, 357

Tocqueville, Alexis de, 288

Townes, Charles, 41

Toxic Asset Relief Program (TARP), 362

trade:

   agreements on, 140, 141, 324–25, 326

   austerity and, 231

   globalization of, 61–64, 144, 324–25, 326

   imbalances in, 279–80, 396

Treasury bills, 177, 208, 217, 396

Treasury Department, U.S., 61, 246, 253, 258, 353, 369

Tremonti, Giulio, 389

trust, 115, 120, 121–26, 134, 346

Turing, Alan, 41

Turkey, 22, 23

unemployment, xii, xv, 11–12, 13, 74, 89, 91, 179, 207, 393

   extent of, 1, 10–11, 15, 75, 301, 302

   macroeconomic policies affecting, 38, 61, 62, 64, 82, 85, 86, 230, 231, 236, 237, 238, 239, 240, 241, 242, 251, 259, 260, 261, 262, 263, 379

   in manufacturing, 54, 56, 57, 232–33, 285, 321

   political importance of, 251–52

   stimulus package’s effect on, 232, 236

   underreporting of, 11, 15, 291, 304–5

   of youth, x, xviii–xix, 12, 265

unemployment insurance, xv, 11–12, 16, 23, 74, 210, 211, 218, 229, 242, 276, 291, 301, 355, 381, 384, 385

Unequal Democracy: The Political Economy of the New Gilded Age
(Bartel), xxiv

Union Carbide, 189

United Automobile Workers (UAW), 57

United Kingdom, 21, 129, 214

   austerity in, 220, 231

   economic mobility in, 18, 19

   financial crisis response in, 171, 362–63

   privatization in, 176, 316, 364

United Nations Development Program (UNDP), 22

United States:

   alternative futures of, 289

   average tax rate in, 72–73

   battle of ideas in, 154–55, 157–59, 162–86

   changing social patterns in, 14–15

   class distinctions in, xvi–xvii, 20, 180, 292

   consumption in, 13, 54, 84–85, 86, 89, 104–6, 183, 233, 234, 235, 244, 311, 380, 385

   cost of living in, 366

   crime in, 15

   economic history of, 4–5, 6

   economic mobility in, xv, 4, 5, 18–19, 25, 94, 117, 147, 265, 267, 307

   educational attainment in, 55

   family stresses in, 10, 14, 26, 95, 106, 169–70

   global influence of, xii, 137–38, 143–44, 145, 155, 254, 277–78

   globalization’s effect in, 62, 63, 64, 184

   income inequality in, 2, 3, 4, 7–8, 9, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 29, 30, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 71, 72, 77, 79–80, 81, 85, 86, 127, 153, 178, 183, 202, 233, 240, 241, 267, 294–95, 296, 297, 298, 299, 300, 311, 328, 332, 335

   inequality cycle in, xi, xii, xiv, xx, xxii, 3–4, 18, 31, 76, 77, 82, 86–89, 91, 267

   infant and maternal mortality in, 14, 302, 303

   international comparisons to, 21–24, 25, 52, 73, 97, 98, 183, 309, 366

   labor force polarization in, 8–9, 56, 79, 80, 133, 277

   liberty in, 190

   life expectancy in, 14, 303

   lifetime inequality in, 26, 311

   living standards in, xii, 14–15, 16, 24, 25, 26, 95, 98, 99, 183–84, 240, 266, 267, 268

   median income in, 22, 295–96, 297, 299, 300

   neighborhood segregation in, 75–76

   opportunity in, xv, 3, 4, 17–20, 25, 75–76, 94–95, 108, 116, 117, 126, 127, 160, 265, 266, 268, 273, 275, 282, 287, 290

   poverty in, 16–17, 26, 27, 38, 84, 298, 305, 306, 311, 332;
see also
poor

   value system of, xv, xvii, xx, 144, 187, 266, 288, 289, 292

   wealth distribution in, 2, 3, 7, 8, 13–14, 24, 25, 32, 38, 56, 70, 72, 73, 76, 80, 82, 91, 93, 108, 147, 167, 171, 172, 202, 275, 295, 384

   
see also
economy, U.S.; government, U.S.; politics, U.S.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 289, 323

uranium, 176

Uruguay Round Trade Agreement, 140

U.S. Enrichment Corporation (USEC), 176–77

Uzbekistan, 122–23

Vanity Fair,
xi

Venezuela, 40, 138

Verizon, 44, 203

Volcker, Paul, 248, 314

voting, 119–21, 137, 288, 325, 351, 355

   cost to, 119–20, 350

   disenfranchisement in, 129–31, 133, 134, 135, 345, 349

   mandatory, 135, 286, 352

voting paradox, 119–20, 352

wages, 8, 9, 29, 38, 39, 52, 53–57, 60, 61, 63, 65, 67, 68, 69, 79, 91, 229, 230, 233, 236, 263, 327, 335

   cost of living adjustments to, 393

   discrimination in, 68, 69

   efficiency and, 102–4, 340

   globalization’s effect on, 60, 61, 63, 277

   Great Recession’s effect on, 29, 57, 65, 67, 91, 231, 241, 242, 265, 328, 384

   inflation and, 261

   minimum, 242, 297

   public-sector, 57, 322

   societal factors in, 65, 67, 68, 69

   
see also
incentive pay; inequality, income

Wagner Act, 64

Wallison, Peter J., 357

Wall Street Journal,
201

Walton family, 8

war, economic impact of, 101

Warren, Elizabeth, 193

Watson, James D., 41

wealth, dynamics of, 30–31, 275

wealth transfers, 32

welfare system, 17

Wells Fargo, 70–71, 374

Winner-Take-All Politics
(Hacker and Pierson), xxiv

women:

   discrimination against, 68

   income of, 299, 328

   in labor force, 14

   microcredit loans to, 196

words, 163

World Bank, poverty measure of, 16

World Trade Organization (WTO), 140

World War II, 102

World Wide Web Consortium, 315

Yahoo!, 203