"Inequality and Budget Deficits: Why Is Only the Latter an Emergency?" is a cross-post from Jared Bernstein's On the Economy blog. 

I just read two sweeping reports on the state of income inequality in the U.S. (the second link focuses on state-level inequality) and other advanced economies.  Perhaps it’s because I’ve been so ensconced in fiscal cliff discussions, but I was struck by how much more alarmed policymakers are by the budget deficit than by the inequality situation. There are reasons for that tilt—some good, some bad—but based on magnitudes of the problem, it’s far from clear that our current sole policy focus is warranted.

Timothy Noah, author of The Great Divergence: America’s Growing Income Inequality Crisis and What We Can Do About It, spoke here at the AFL-CIO today, part of our summer book series on jobs, inequality and the financial crisis. In researching the book, based on a 10-part series he wrote in 2010 for Slate, Noah says he surprised even himself when he realized that economic mobility was far more robust than it turned out to be.Noah provided so much incredible data, we want to share it here in a visual walk-through of Noah’s presentation. (Get a PDF of all Noah's charts here.

Join noted journalist Timothy Noah at the AFL-CIO in Washington, D.C., this Friday, July 20, at 12 p.m. for a discussion of his new book, The Great Divergence: America’s Growing Inequality Crisis and What We Can Do About It. Noah will explain how the Great Divergence has come about, why it threatens American democracy—and what we can do to reverse it.

Books will be available for purchase and for author signing. (“Rise of the Stinking Rich” is my vote for the best-named chapter in his book.)

Be sure to RSVP for the event here.

If you’re in Washington, D.C., join us at the AFL-CIO for a Friday book series running July 13 through August 3 featuring well-known authors discussing their new books on jobs, inequality and the U.S. financial crisis.

Jeff Faux, Tim Noah, Tom Palley and Simon Johnson will be here for discussions and book signings—and we hope you can join one or more of the events. Bring your lunch and get set for a lively discussion. Beverages will be provided. Books will be available for purchase.

Oren M. Levin-Waldman is professor of public policy at the Metropolitan College of New York and the author of “Wage
Policy, Income Distribution, and Democratic Theory.”

Over the past four decades, the United States has seen middle-class wages stagnate and income inequality rise. Increasing income inequality is a problem because it reflects the decline of the middle class and the disappearance of middle-class jobs. But it also threatens the survival of a democratic society.

Lots about inequality in the news in recent days, especially with the release of Tim Noah’s book on the topic, “The Great Divergence.”

Yet one key reason often left out in analyses of the nation’s rising inequality is the decline of union density.  Correcting that omission, the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) hammers home the point that up into the 1970s, labor unions both sustained prosperity, and ensured it was shared

President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address tonight made clear that he hears the people who aren’t being heard by the 1%, says AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka. Obama’s speech showed he “listened to the single mom working two jobs to get by, to the out-of-work construction worker, to the retired factory worker, to the student serving coffee to help pay for college.”

Is it patriotic to ship America’s jobs overseas? President Obama doesn’t think so. He’s right, of course. We live in a globally connected world, but let’s face it: Home-grown corporations must first focus on their own back yards—a novel concept all to many, it seems.

Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) supposedly wants to talk about the nation’s inequality—but not to just anyone. Cantor, at the last minute, canceled an appearance this afternoon at the University of Pennsylvania, where he was slated to speak. Curiously enough, Occupy Philadelphia had organized a march from City Hall to the campus to protest Cantor’s speech. But Cantor’s not giving a reason for the cancellation.

Income inequality has become so severe in this nation that people in Really Important Positions (except for most Republicans in Congress) are starting to take note—and issue warnings.