Head Of U.S. Chamber Of Commerce Doesn't Think Income Inequality Is A Real Thing

The head of the U.S. Chamber of Congress doesn't think income inequality is a real thing. "Thomas J. Donohue, the longtime chief executive of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, sounded like an income inequality skeptic at his annual State of American Business address in Washington on Wednesday. When a reporter observed at a news conference after his 36-minute talk that he seemed to be calling the whole concept of income inequality into question, he responded with a non sequitur, applauding what the Obama administration is doing in pushing trade agreements. "If there is inequality,'' Donohue said, well then, the White House is addressing it all wrong...Martin Regalia, the chamber's chief economist, said income inequality is "not as bad as many of the statistics show -- you have to use the right numbers."" Melinda Henneberger in The Washington Post.

'Great Society' agenda led to great -- and lasting -- philosophical divide. "On the 50th anniversary of President Lyndon B. Johnson's declaration of a War on Poverty, Republicans and Democrats are engaged in a battle over whether its 40 government programs have succeeded in lifting people from privation or worsened the situation by trapping the poor in dependency...With battles underway over extending long-term unemployment benefits and raising the minimum wage, leaders of both parties are feeling a new urgency to address the issue of rising income inequality, as well as the economic insecurity that many in the middle class are feeling. But to a large degree, that means coming to terms with a political legacy that reaches back to the 1960s." Karen Tumulty in The Washington Post.

Two classic reads from that fight, via Dylan Matthews: "The Other America," by Michael Harrington; "Our Invisible Poor," by Dwight Macdonald. The New Yorker.

Why progress against poverty has slowed. "Low wages should be a national concern, as globalization and technology have tag-teamed to devastate the buying power of families who struggle annually to pay the bills and raise their children. But the pesky poverty rate isn't just a measure of low wages. It's sticky high partly because the government's best efforts to get cash to working families have been offset by the fact that Americans are--for a variety of reasons--working less." Derek Thompson in The Atlantic.