The Rich get Richer: Neo-liberalism and Soaring Inequality in the United States

Koechlin argues that the transformation of the US economy – rising inequality, and the economy’s increasing failure to meet the needs of the human beings it ought to serve – is in large part the consequence of thirty years of neo-liberal economic policies. These policies have failed to promote strong, reliable growth and have failed to enhance the well-being of most Americans. They have, on the other hand, brought enormous benefits to the economic elite. Koechlin chronicles the excessive and growing inequality that has come to characterize the US economy, contrasting this recent experience with the shared prosperity of the early post World War II era. He then address the question of why inequality should concern us, and shows the evidence for linking increases in inequality to thirty years of neo-liberal policy.