Between 1979 and 2009, the top 1% of Americans saw their income grow by 240.5%, while the bottom 20% only say a 10.8% increase in gains. Reducing the inequality could significantly alter the economy, said Jared Bernstein, a former chief economist, Sunday on Weekends with Alex Witt.
“Our key goal in terms of offsetting inequality should be to bring down the unemployment rate” Bernstein said.
Even though author and economist Charles Morris said that he thinks the U.S is on the brink of an economic boom, thanks to fuel production and manufacturing, Bernstein argued that's not a “game changer” to the economy.
Bernstein said that yes, manufacturing is highly productive and causes overall economic growth but robotics take jobs away from people. The Economic Policy Institute reminds us that “you can have all the growth you want but if it’s not equitably distributed then a lot of families end up falling behind even as the economy improves,” he says.