Extreme Income and Wealth Inequality

It’s a bad sign that income and wealth inequality have become increasingly extreme in our country. In one of his recent Facebook posts, Robert Reich noted that the net worth of the richest 1% of the population is $41.52 trillion and the net worth of least rich 50% is $2.62 trillion. Imagine that the total amount of wealth in our country were the same as it is now, but our tax and subsidy system and social policies had been such that the richest 1% had only $38.9 trillion instead of $41.52 trillion and the least rich had $5.24 trillion instead of $2.62 trillion. The wealth of the least rich 50% would have doubled, making a huge difference in their lives, and the wealth of the richest 1% would have been reduced by an amount that would in no case result in more than a minor, albeit for many of them annoying, inconvenience. Our society would be healthier for it.