Review Session: Education And Income Inequality In America

"The latest data reveal that the top 1 per cent of earners got 93 per cent of all increases in after-tax personal income in 2010. That reflects, among other things, low effective tax rates for much of this group, which are largely explained by the high percentage of their income that consists of capital gains and dividends. Undoubtedly, there is a strong case for deep tax reform. With the personal tax cuts introduced in 2001 and 2003 expiring in December, there is a golden opportunity to do this next year.

In the longer term, it is imperative to raise education levels. This means better secondary-school completion rates, which lead to increased university attendance. And it also means higher university completion rates, with the greater lifetime earnings that follow. In America, wide-ranging public school reforms are necessary to achieve the first goal, including better methods for teacher training, evaluation and compensation, improved curriculums and upon graduation, as a minimum, assured admission to community colleges."

Financial Times

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George Washington University Institute for International Economic Policy Symposium on Global Ultra-Poverty (Co-sponsored by University of Oxford and the World Bank)

Graph credit: Via Cnnfn.com.