Episode
$79 Trillion Worth of Income Inequality
- Podcast
- Optimist Economy
- Published
- Jan 27, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 2955
- Processing state
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Summary
Our own optimist economist Kathryn Anne Edwards worked on a research project several years ago to measure income inequality. Its massive headline number has taken on a life of its own in columns, talking points, memes. We explain how Kathryn and co-author Carter Price managed to answer this question: What would have happened to Americans’ incomes if they’d grown at the same rate as the U.S. economy overall? Spoiler alert: 90% of us would be a lot better off. Read the working paper Kathryn co-wrote in 2020: Trends in Income From 1975 to 2018 and Carter Price’s update going through 2023 . Watch video clips from this episode at the Optimist Economy YouTube channel . Follow us on Instagram at @optimist_economy . Follow us on TikTok at @optimist_economy . Read some stuff on our Substack . Consume leisure in an O.E. hat or shirt: https://merch.ambientinks.com/collections/optimisteconomy Support us and our tireless editors and producers by donating at https://optimisteconomy.com Send your economic questions or executive orders to [email protected]