Dec 25, 2019
People tend to talk about income inequality as if it were
necessarily a bad thing. In so doing, they often confuse inequality
and poverty and, in the process, run the risk of justifying what is
really envy. This week, James and Ant discuss the fact that poverty
is a bad thing, whether inequality could be a bad thing, and that
politicians use voters’ envy to expand the government’s
power.
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Quick hits
HELPER
How much Americans have in 401k plans, by age
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/23/how-much-money-americans-have-in-their-401ks-at-every-age.html
401k returns
https://money.usnews.com/money/retirement/401ks/articles/what-is-the-average-401-k-return
Student loan interest rates
https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/loans/student-loans/student-loan-interest-rates/
Bernie’s now a millionaire
Foolishness of the week
A national smoking age
https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/20/health/tobacco-age-21-trump-spending-bill-bn/index.html
https://disrn.com/news/congress-votes-to-raise-age-to-buy-tobacco-to-21
Topic of the week
US poverty rate
https://poverty.ucdavis.edu/faq/what-current-poverty-rate-united-states
Facts about income mobility
Inequality after taxes and transfers
https://voxeu.org/article/income-redistribution-through-taxes-and-transfers
Inheriting wealth
Intergenerational income
https://www.pewtrusts.org/~/media/legacy/uploadedfiles/pcs_assets/2012/pursuingamericandreampdf.pdf
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