Progressives Inequality Arguments Reaching the Green Light
06/20/2026
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Mises Wire
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Conner McEleney
Many progressives, such as Robert Reich or Elizabeth Warren, have criticized income inequality. Many of these criticisms stem from arguments such as taxes or poverty. Even though economists such as Phil Gramm, the author of The Myth of American Inequality: How Government Biases Policy Debate” have debunked similar arguments about inequality in America, in great detail. However, there is an underrated argument by progressives that criticizes inequality. It is an economic theory developed by Obama’s economist, Alan Krueger, called the “Great Gatsby Curve.”
The theory states, according to Obama’s economist David Vandivier, there is a
. . .connection between concentration of wealth in one generation and the ability of those in the next generation to move up the economic ladder compared to their parents. The curve shows that children from poor families are less likely to improve their economic status as adults in countries where income inequality was higher – meaning wealth was concentrated in fewer hands – around the time those children were growing up.
This argument has been used to justify Obama’s agenda for increasing the minimum wage, universal pre-K, and even Obama’s signature policy—Obamacare.
https://mises.org/mises-wire/progressives-inequality-arguments-reaching-green-light
