Iuri Colares

“inequality in these regions has always been high: they never experienced a relatively egalitarian “social-democratic” phase (much less a communist one).”
― Thomas Piketty, Capital and Ideology

“And I’m with Alan Greenspan, who—surprisingly, given his libertarian roots—has repeatedly warned that growing inequality poses a threat to “democratic society.” It may take some time before we muster the political will to counter that threat. But the first step toward doing something about inequality is to abandon the 80–20 fallacy. It’s time to face up to the fact that rising inequality is driven by the giant income gains of a tiny elite, not the modest gains of college graduates.”
― Paul Krugman, Arguing with Zombies: Economics, Politics, and the Fight for a Better Future

“Between 1880 and 1914 the world was in perpetual flux. The automobile, the electric light, the trans-Atlantic steamship, the telegraph, and radio—all were invented in the space of a few decades. The economic and social consequences of those inventions were surely as important as those of Facebook, Amazon, and Uber. The point is crucial, because it shows that the hyper-inegalitarianism of the prewar era was not a consequence of a bygone era with little or no similarity to today’s world. In fact, the Belle Époque resembles today’s world in many ways, even if essential differences remain.”
― Thomas Piketty, Capital and Ideology

“But Mr. Bernanke did stumble at one point. Responding to a question from Representative Barney Frank about income inequality, he declared that “the most important factor” in rising inequality “is the rising skill premium, the increased return to education.” That’s a fundamental misreading of what’s happening to American society. What we’re seeing isn’t the rise of a fairly broad class of knowledge workers. Instead, we’re seeing the rise of a narrow oligarchy: income and wealth are becoming increasingly concentrated in the hands of a small, privileged elite.”
― Paul Krugman, Arguing with Zombies: Economics, Politics, and the Fight for a Better Future