Daily Show Correspondent Questions Millionaire on Inequality, Gets Surprising Answer

Wealth inequality is an increasingly pressing issue, but a closer look reveals that the problem isn’t only about the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. Former “Daily Show” correspondent Hasan Minhaj’s investigation sheds light on a different aspect of this inequality: the gap between the wealthy and the astronomically wealthy.

According to Richard Reeves, an economist from the Brookings Institute, this issue has escalated significantly. The study he references highlights the growing wealth of the top 0.1%:

“The rise of wealth inequality is almost entirely due to the rise of the top 0.1% wealth share, from 7% in 1979 to 22% in 2012 — a level almost as high as in 1929. The bottom 90% wealth share first increased up to the mid-1980s and then steadily declined.”

The plight of the 45.3 million people in poverty, coupled with a dwindling middle class across every state, has largely overshadowed concerns regarding the ultra-wealthy. The average millionaire’s voice often gets lost amid these financial struggles.

Minhaj’s search for millionaires concerned about this widening gap led him to Morris Pearl, a retired investment banking director and a member of the Patriotic Millionaires. Minhaj was surprised by Pearl’s perspective.

Reaganomics and the theory of trickle-down economics, which were popularized during Ronald Reagan’s presidency, come into play here. The theory suggested that making the rich richer would result in increased private investment, leading to more jobs and higher wages for the general workforce.

Reagan implemented this theory by lowering taxes for the wealthy and freezing wages for the poor. In 1981, he cut the top marginal income tax rate for the highest-income households from 70% to 50%. In 1986, this rate was further slashed to 28%. Meanwhile, the minimum wage was kept stagnant, even as the cost of living continued to rise.

Members of the Patriotic Millionaires, including Pearl, believe that the rich should pay higher taxes. Moreover, they argue that raising the minimum wage is critical for reducing inequality.

This perspective challenges the popular belief that giving more money to the rich will solve economic issues. The need for policy changes that support this view remains a pressing issue.

This article originally appeared on 3.23.15

Source: Comedy Central, The Brookings Institute