It's not difficult to understand why they do it, though. Generations of immigrants to the United States have come seeking streets paved with gold. Trying to do better than the next guy is virtually a virtue in our free market economy. But in 1994, 5 percent of U.S. households held 21 percent of the nation's aggregate income. When people realize that doing as well as the next guy is the best they can hope for, aspiring to middle-class status becomes the goal and the virtue.

Although most would rather be rich than not, people often deride those who are out of sheer envy. The word yuppie rapidly took on a derogatory connotation in the mid-1980s, and consuming in a conspicuous way was considered bad taste in light of others' misfortunes. As a result, even those who achieve affluence may downwardly aspire to respectable and decent middle-class status-not financially, of course, but as a matter of

But while economists agree that places with higher rates of union membership have a more equal income distribution, they do not all agree that unions in and of themselves result in higher wages. Likewise, it is not clear whether or how much the recent increase in the minimum wage may help promote income equality. It will presumably move some less-skilled workers above the poverty line, but it may or may not foster growth in the middle class.

Tax reforms, such as the expansion of the earned-income tax credit, can help by lifting net wages after taxes. The current program certainly benefits lower-income households that take advantage of the tax break. Raising the maximum qualifying income could encourage growth of the middle class. Furthermore, believe it or not, it is well established that our progressive income tax system, despite its loopholes, does work toward equalizing incomes. Yet it hasn't been able to keep the overall distribution of income from becoming increasingly tilted toward the top of the scale.

The Gini coefficient for the U.S. has been rising steadily since 1970, but it did decline slightly in 1973, 1974, 1980, 1990, and 1991-all recession years. This is not surprising. Unequal income growth is part and parcel of economic growth. A recession means negative economic growth, so we might expect to see backpedaling in the way of less income inequality.

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2670
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page double spaced)