<http://r20.rs6.net/on.jsp?ca=9a2fa109-645d-44d0-88d7-b00fbd9405df&a=1109020606174&d=1118185256656&r=3&o=http://ui.constantcontact.com/images/p1x1.gif&c=4b973610-7e19-11e3-9448-d4ae52843d28&ch=4d1ac8d0-7e19-11e3-94b9-d4ae52843d28>
<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001ezZL9yWIprTkjEBABfnRK7vQPsb9QsJFTfyJpBNAHqP_Upq2nf9g11p9cZRlCPJN3gBmmuT7YmETMG3Q134wO7uh_f6vQPugelYdviiAfnDMTf9CI-CiDKVYx_iDS1Un9B6-AoMew2F_ptj1_PqTt4mqV2XHOlqOduQXMUC5ngl2EOXQKkDobw==&c=5FdtHXwyTA7gFR5OQGgxeUlbt9q3WdwxVXZvI9UeN9rwvVTbtKVDtw==&ch=mRnH2L7g_ZO7SxhmnFqknPsAhv76Ymm3_9g3afU9ZbqPmflcYsHYxQ==> August 12, 2014 The Inequality Problem Ah, the Paul Krugman Problem! How does Nobel Laureate economist-cum-New York Times progressive-blogger come to his conclusions? The other day, the eminent Scott Sumner noted — in "The power of wishful thinking? <http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001ezZL9yWIprTkjEBABfnRK7vQPsb9QsJFTfyJpBNAHqP_Upq2nf9g1-TNtaJAei5bN7kGWDqWhHH8f3qH87kbSLhsgeKaB43zBrHKzchZCTe2AxyYs4DtEm_mRJY6jVZAZSJ-l2vkVBWqNOhLqJYYmePzi16uTMe6pWmArVNCyXoQmohySfRGcjQo3AmLlmRpFWsKEJfehUjEg-LzJ3qucVvoEWnG_E8c0ah4sKKdb3k=&c=5FdtHXwyTA7gFR5OQGgxeUlbt9q3WdwxVXZvI9UeN9rwvVTbtKVDtw==&ch=mRnH2L7g_ZO7SxhmnFqknPsAhv76Ymm3_9g3afU9ZbqPmflcYsHYxQ==> " — that in the space of one year Krugman seemed to gain a great deal of certainty about how vital it is to reduce inequality. Sumner quotes Krugman from a year ago, when he frankly admitted that he'd like to agree with Joe Stiglitz's thesis about inequality, but just wasn't able to persuade himself. <http://thisiscommonsense.com/images/doesnotequal.png> Unfortunately, Krugman hasn't given us a lot of reason to follow his "lead," his new-found faith in Stiglitzian equality. Sumner cites a possible "inspiration" for Krugman's new tune: Krugman's employer, the New York Times, has, as editorial policy, shifted leftward on such issues. And then Sumner waxes philosophical: Sometimes an economist will change his view on a single issue because of some new empirical study (although that actually doesn't happen as much as you'd think, or as much as you might like). But what about when an economist suddenly swings sharply to the left or right on a whole range of unrelated issues? Many people do go through radical conversions; you can find interesting conversion testimonies of a religious nature, if not so many in political economy. As for me, the subject of inequality continues to fascinate, like picking at a scab. I suspect that rising inequality is caused by the very institutions that Paul Krugman regards as bedrock: institutions that redistribute money from one group to another; institutions that regulate behavior for the benefit (we're told) of the worse off; institutions altogether "progressive." Surely there would be more downward mobility for the rich and upward mobility for the poor in a freer society than in a more Krugman-approved society. This is Common Sense. I'm Paul Jacob. Comment on this episode <http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001ezZL9yWIprTkjEBABfnRK7vQPsb9QsJFTfyJpBNAHqP_Upq2nf9g1-TNtaJAei5bznLm-VuJUl2vov1Q8kaZcecRyMKzW8D7Gnwh6vErjPzuQy6lJrzv9qBSu1ph8drTrD31uEQs_VFJvm7yZe270tGSjQBRf48YJxF6n4-_jBbNILfiamrsqy5lCVPJvzjT&c=5FdtHXwyTA7gFR5OQGgxeUlbt9q3WdwxVXZvI9UeN9rwvVTbtKVDtw==&ch=mRnH2L7g_ZO7SxhmnFqknPsAhv76Ymm3_9g3afU9ZbqPmflcYsHYxQ==> | View/Print the PDF <http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001ezZL9yWIprTkjEBABfnRK7vQPsb9QsJFTfyJpBNAHqP_Upq2nf9g1-TNtaJAei5bse1oVrjrtXJwEUiRBMxn6UCQbjekQRNiPahg5vH1GayNNeJEVaQF1jyh-SmUOd4KmKKkDeQ-4YY-W1oDyqzre8aZrt5unWsK6Te1NQZ2Ln15-HAuFc4t6aEPAQwQnc173-i0r2hPGB8=&c=5FdtHXwyTA7gFR5OQGgxeUlbt9q3WdwxVXZvI9UeN9rwvVTbtKVDtw==&ch=mRnH2L7g_ZO7SxhmnFqknPsAhv76Ymm3_9g3afU9ZbqPmflcYsHYxQ==> Today On August 12, 30 BC, Queen Cleopatra commited suicide, ending the Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt and providing grist for literary works such as Shakespeare's great tragedy, "Antony and Cleopatra." On this day in 1898, an Armistice ended the Spanish-American War, a war commemorated best by sociologist and economist William Graham Sumner in his classic essay "The Conquest of the United States by Spain." Thought <http://thisiscommonsense.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/wgsumner.png> Certain ills belong to the hardships of human life. They are natural. They are part of the struggle with Nature for existence. We cannot blame our fellow-men for our share of these. My neighbor and I are both struggling to free ourselves from these ills. The fact that my neighbor has succeeded in this struggle better than I constitutes no grievance for me. —William Graham Sumner Video Click HERE <http://thisiscommonsense.com/2014/02/15/video-our-pension-problem/> to see Paul's latest! <http://thisiscommonsense.com/images/TFM-logo-220square.png> Common Sense is sponsored by Think Freely Media, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that assists other nonprofits in promoting freedom in a persuasive manner. Paul Jacob is President of the Liberty Initiative Fund <http://libertyifund.org/> (LIFe) as well as Citizens in Charge and Citizens in Charge Foundation. The opinions expressed in Common Sense (and at Townhall.com <http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001ezZL9yWIprTkjEBABfnRK7vQPsb9QsJFTfyJpBNAHqP_Upq2nf9g16vmX_UhQgIX8U-A2zKHNng2zKqmXmlLqn1DJj4Rq3VHx9li0m90G_ysxLmoyC4QOgUuRZvV3uF-NPNJ9i_65UqkSTkxyIE8BuHPcAGXrfX0SwCHhqqDwDk=&c=5FdtHXwyTA7gFR5OQGgxeUlbt9q3WdwxVXZvI9UeN9rwvVTbtKVDtw==&ch=mRnH2L7g_ZO7SxhmnFqknPsAhv76Ymm3_9g3afU9ZbqPmflcYsHYxQ==> , where Paul has written weekend columns since 2003) are his own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Think Freely Media, Liberty Initiative Fund or Citizens in Charge. Make Common Sense <http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001ezZL9yWIprTkjEBABfnRK7vQPsb9QsJFTfyJpBNAHqP_Upq2nf9g11p9cZRlCPJNMS39kktGQ7N3frBKVj-JpP4UmlHHIEgZxtDzlMQzLUtM7W_XOzVBhdYSqlcFnrf3GKxb5Q4eu0_eazBO5zLRiKJSdTbKXc7zfflyjCTgU11NwjnIUA0J3g==&c=5FdtHXwyTA7gFR5OQGgxeUlbt9q3WdwxVXZvI9UeN9rwvVTbtKVDtw==&ch=mRnH2L7g_ZO7SxhmnFqknPsAhv76Ymm3_9g3afU9ZbqPmflcYsHYxQ==> your daily stop on the Web! <http://thisiscommonsense.com/images/TFM-horizongal-logo-550w.png> Forward email <http://ui.constantcontact.com/sa/fwtf.jsp?llr=5w4om8iab&m=1109020606174&ea=redactor%40wirkman.com&a=1118185256656> <http://www.constantcontact.com/index.jsp?cc=custom01> Think Freely Media | 180 West Adams Street | 6th floor | Chicago | IL | 60603 -- -- This is a Free Speech forum. The owner of this list assumes no responsibility for the intellectual or emotional maturity of its members. If you do not like what is being said here, filter it to trash, ignore it or leave. If you leave, learn how to do this for yourself. 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