Why is there income inequality in the US?

 

The wages per hour is what the employer gives the employee. The productivity per hour is what the employee gives to the employer.

If what the workers gave the employer rose by 72 percent, whereas what the employer gave the worker on average rose by 17 percent over 40 years, there's your explanation for why there's great inequality in the United States.

~ Richard D. Wolff is Professor of Economics Emeritus, University of Massachusetts, Amherst where he taught economics from 1973 to 2008. He is currently a Visiting Professor in the Graduate Program in International Affairs of the New School University, New York City.