So I wrote something in The Atlantic today. The basic argument is that, under certain conditions, it might make sense to make the poor poorer provided that you make the rich much less rich. Here is how that argument can work. Assume that a huge income gap, in and of itself, harms individual well-being. The… Continue reading The argument against inequality as such
Author: Matt Bruenig
The Atlantic: Inequality Hurts the Rich and Poor Alike
I have a piece in The Atlantic today, the first of hopefully many to come. An excerpt: All of this is to say that there are non-material ways in which high levels of inequality diminish quality of life, for the poor especially, but even for middle and upper-income individuals. Distrust and mental illness are two… Continue reading The Atlantic: Inequality Hurts the Rich and Poor Alike
Cheating scandals undercut theories of reform success
Yglesias has an odd post today asking: what do widespread cheating scandals within schools captured by the Education Reform Crowd prove? He dedicates most of the post to attacking the idea that cheating scandals provide support for using non-test-based teacher compensation systems, e.g. those based on seniority and degree attainment. I am not sure who… Continue reading Cheating scandals undercut theories of reform success
Policy Shop: The Carbon Tax Is Appropriately Rated
New post at Policy Shop. Having a little fun with this piece at Bloomberg. Excerpt: The bond program also seems to misunderstand the nature of the carbon pollution problem. The bonds are supposed to be sold and redeemed based on estimates of the social cost of a given unit of carbon pollution. But carbon pollution… Continue reading Policy Shop: The Carbon Tax Is Appropriately Rated
Bitcoin + Growth = Deflation
Assume that generally MV=PY, where M is money supply, V is velocity of money, P is the price level, and Y is real GDP. Now assume that we have a bitcoin currency with a fixed money supply (M) and the velocity of money (V) is also constant. If real GDP (Y) increases, the only way… Continue reading Bitcoin + Growth = Deflation