'How to Shrink Inequality'

Robert Reich:

How to Shrink Inequality: Some inequality of income and wealth is inevitable, if not necessary. If an economy is to function well, people need incentives to work hard and innovate. The pertinent question is ... at what point do these inequalities become so great as to pose a serious threat to our economy, our ideal of equal opportunity and our democracy. We are near or have already reached that tipping point. ...But a return to the Gilded Age is not inevitable. ... There is no single solution for reversing widening inequality. ... Here are ten initiatives that could reverse the trends..:

1) Make work pay. ... [Min wage, EITC, etc.]
2) Unionize low-wage workers. ...
3) Invest in education. ...
4) Invest in infrastructure. ...
5) Pay for these investments with higher taxes on the wealthy. ...
6) Make the payroll tax progressive. ...
7) Raise the estate tax and eliminate the “stepped-up basis” for determining capital gains at death. ...
8) Constrain Wall Street. ...
9) Give all Americans a share in future economic gains. ... [Diversified index of stocks and bonds given to all at birth]
10) Get big money out of politics. ...

[The essay, which is much, much longer, also talks about how inequality has happened, how it threatens the foundations of our society, and why it has happened.]