No use reinventing the wheel. Contributors to the New York Times have pondered every aspect of the decline. I give the floor to them. Nicholas Kristof wrote "An Idiot's Guide to Inequality," July 23, 2014. He makes five points. 1. We suffer from increasing inequality. The top 1 percent own more than the bottom 90 percent. Ninety-five people own half the world's wealth (Oxfam). 2. Economic inequality gets in the way of economic growth. International Monetary Fund research reported more rapid growth in more equitable societies. The three decades after World War II in the United States when we were a more equitable society, confirms this. 3. Economic inequality is not just the result of the "invisible hand" but also because the wealthy have and use their overwhelming power. 4. "Conspicuous consumption" among the rich is a contest to own a bigger house or a more expensive car, a futile race since only one person or family can be the most conspicuous.
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