“In rich countries, the distribution of wealth is more unequal than the distribution of income; wealth will continue to grow faster than income (r>g); and, therefore, a small elite will inherit the wealth of the world with little left over for the many poor.”
“His thesis had its share of nitpickers and weighty detractors, but it succeeded in moving the U.S. debate about the rich and poor from a discussion of income, which is annual, to a discussion of wealth, which is cumulative. This was important.”
“Piketty wasn’t just shining a spotlight on inequality in 2014, but rather turning the lights up on the history of wealth accumulation among the richest sliver of society and showing where things might be headed.”
“In a way, one might say it broadened the popular discussion of inequality by adding a critical dimension: time.”
“The world has its thesis on wealth inequality. But it lacks a comprehensive way to talk about something larger—the myriad forces that exacerbate inequality that have nothing to do with “capital.”
Let’s call it Total Inequality.”
“Total Inequality is not merely income inequality (although it matters) nor merely wealth inequality (although that matters, too). Total Inequality would refer to the sum of the financial, psychological, and cultural disadvantages that come with poverty.”
“Researchers cannot easily count up these disadvantages, and journalists cannot easily graph them. But they might be the most important stories about why poverty persists across time and generations.”
“It’s expensive to be poor—in ways that are often quantitatively invisible. Research on the psychology of poverty suggests that not having enough money changes the way people think about time.”
“It’s hard to prepare for the next decade when you’re worried about making it to next Monday.”
“circumstances are cumulative, catching children in a whirlpool of poverty and preventing them from escaping to the middle class when they grow up (and then catching their own children in the same cycle).”
“The silver lining is that the logic of Total Inequality suggests that interventions should be cumulative, as well.”
“A broader solution begins by seeing this fuller picture of Total Inequality.”
“There are inequities that one cannot account for with income tables no matter how far back they go. There are biases and disadvantages that are so deeply embedded in the culture that some people cannot even see them until they show up in the next generation’s income. Culture is harder to measure than money.”