Over the past several years economic inequality has risen to the forefront of American political consciousness. Politicians, pundits, and academics paint a picture of a new Gilded Age in which a hereditary American gentry becomes ever richer, while the vast majority of Americans toil away in near-Dickensian poverty. Paul Krugman put it this way: “Describing our current era as a new Gilded Age or Belle Époque isn’t hyperbole; it’s the simple truth.”

But is inequality as bad as portrayed? And, if so, is it really a problem? Does economic inequality lead to more poverty? And what can we do about it, even if we wanted to? Join us as Cato senior fellow Michael Tanner reviews his new study that answers these questions and describes five dimensions of thought that are mired in error.

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