Appearing at a candidate forum in late January, three likely Republican presidential contenders — Senators Ted Cruz,Marco Rubio and Rand Paul — all made a striking confession: They considered “the increasing gap between rich and poor” to be a problem. However, when asked if the government should intervene, they answered differently. When “government takes over the economy,” Mr. Cruz said, “it freezes everything in place. And it exacerbates income inequality.” He proposed lowering taxes and loosening regulations instead.
Mrs. Clinton sounded similar notes when discussing inequality at the Aspen Institute in June, during an interview at a conference in February and during a forum last week at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank. Before the well-heeled crowd at Aspen, she said, “We have to have a concerted effort to meet a consensus about how to deal with this.” She alluded only elliptically to “hard choices” that her husband’s administration had made, saying that “they’ve become harde than they were even 15, 18 years ago.”
Asked whether those hard choices she referred to were tax increases, a Clinton spokesman said he was not sure.None of this surprises Professor Page. “It seems clear that wealthy Americans play a big part in shaping policy discussions and policy itself, from taxes to regulation to social welfare policies,” he said. “Definitely, they affect what candidates can say.
What do you think? should the government intervene to help the society become more equal and how?
Appearing at a candidate forum in late January, three likely Republican presidential contenders — Senators Ted Cruz,Marco Rubio and Rand Paul — all made a striking confession: They considered “the increasing gap between rich and poor” to be a problem. However, when asked if the government should intervene, they answered differently. When “government takes over the economy,” Mr. Cruz said, “it freezes everything in place. And it exacerbates income inequality.” He proposed lowering taxes and loosening regulations instead.
Mrs. Clinton sounded similar notes when discussing inequality at the Aspen Institute in June, during an interview at a conference in February and during a forum last week at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank. Before the well-heeled crowd at Aspen, she said, “We have to have a concerted effort to meet a consensus about how to deal with this.” She alluded only elliptically to “hard choices” that her husband’s administration had made, saying that “they’ve become harde than they were even 15, 18 years ago.”
Asked whether those hard choices she referred to were tax increases, a Clinton spokesman said he was not sure.None of this surprises Professor Page. “It seems clear that wealthy Americans play a big part in shaping policy discussions and policy itself, from taxes to regulation to social welfare policies,” he said. “Definitely, they affect what candidates can say.
What do you think? should the government intervene to help the society become more equal and how?
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