Paul Krugman on the Great Wealth Transfer

 A well-reasoned piece in Rolling Stone magazine -- yes, Rolling Stone -- about why Bush isn't getting credit for a recovering economy.

The economic pie is getting bigger -- how can it be true that most Americans are getting smaller slices? The answer, of course, is that a few people are getting much, much bigger slices. Although wages have stagnated since Bush took office, corporate profits have doubled. The gap between the nation's CEOs and average workers is now ten times greater than it was a generation ago. And while Bush's tax cuts shaved only a few hundred dollars off the tax bills of most Americans, they saved the richest one percent more than $44,000 on average. In fact, once all of Bush's tax cuts take effect, it is estimated that those with incomes of more than $200,000 a year -- the richest five percent of the population -- will pocket almost half of the money. Those who make less than $75,000 a year -- eighty percent of America -- will receive barely a quarter of the cuts. In the Bush era, economic inequality is on the rise.

Some would argue that economic inequality shouldn't be cause for alarm, so long as everyone's standard of living is improving. But money equals power, and most would agree that concentrated power -- whether from a communist government, fascist dictator or capitalist oligarchy -- is a bad thing.