The Undeserving Rich: American Beliefs about Inequality, Opportunity, and Redistribution PDF
Preview The Undeserving Rich: American Beliefs about Inequality, Opportunity, and Redistribution
more information - www.cambridge.org/9781107027237 TheUndeservingRich AmericanBeliefsaboutInequality,Opportunity,andRedistribution ItiswidelyassumedthatAmericanscarelittleaboutincomeinequality, believeopportunitiesabound,admiretherich,anddislikeredistributive policies. Leslie McCall contends that such assumptions are based on incompletesurveydataandeconomicconditionsofthepastratherthan present.Infact,Americanshavedesiredlessinequalityfordecades,and McCall’sbookexplainswhy.Americansbecomemostconcernedabout inequality in times of inequitable growth, when they view the rich as prosperingwhileopportunitiesforgoodjobs,fairpay,andhigh-quality education are restricted for everyone else. As a result, they tend to favor policies to expand opportunity and redistribute earnings in the workplace,reducinginequalityinthemarketratherthanredistributing incomeafterthefactwithtaxandspendingpolicies.Thisbookresolves theparadoxofhowAmericanscanattimesexpresslittleenthusiasmfor welfare state policies and still yearn for a more equitable society, and forwards a new model of preferences about income inequality rooted inlabormarketopportunitiesratherthanwelfarestatepolicies. Leslie McCall is Professor of Sociology and Political Science, as well asFacultyFellowattheInstituteforPolicyResearch,atNorthwestern University.SheistheauthorofComplexInequality:Gender,Class,and Race in the New Economy (2001). Her work on economic inequal- ity has been published in the American Sociological Review, Annual ReviewofSociology,Demography,EconomicGeography,Perspectives on Politics, Signs, and Socio-Economic Review, as well as in several editedvolumes. The Undeserving Rich American Beliefs about Inequality, Opportunity, and Redistribution LESLIE MCCALL NorthwesternUniversity cambridgeuniversitypress Cambridge,NewYork,Melbourne,Madrid,CapeTown, Singapore,Sa˜oPaulo,Delhi,MexicoCity CambridgeUniversityPress 32AvenueoftheAmericas,NewYork,ny10013-2473,usa www.cambridge.org Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9781107699823 (cid:2)C LeslieMcCall2013 Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception andtotheprovisionsofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements, noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithoutthewritten permissionofCambridgeUniversityPress. Firstpublished2013 PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica AcatalogrecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary. LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationData McCall,Leslie,1964–author. Theundeservingrich:Americanbeliefsaboutinequality,opportunity,andredistribution/ LeslieMcCall,NorthwesternUniversity. pagescm Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex. isbn978-1-107-02723-7(hardback)–isbn978-1-107-69982-3(paperback) 1.Incomedistribution–UnitedStates. 2.Equality–UnitedStates. 3.UnitedStates– Economicconditions. I.Title. hc110.i5m374 2013 339.2(cid:3)20973–dc23 2012037611 isbn978-1-107-02723-7Hardback isbn978-1-107-69982-3Paperback CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityforthepersistenceoraccuracyofurls forexternalorthird-partyinternetwebsitesreferredtointhispublicationanddoesnot guaranteethatanycontentonsuchwebsitesis,orwillremain,accurateorappropriate. Contents TablesandFigures pagevii PrefaceandAcknowledgments xi Introduction:ThinkingaboutIncomeInequality 1 1 BeyondtheOppositionbetweenOpportunityand Inequality:TheoriesofAmericanBeliefsaboutInequality fromtheNineteenthCenturytothePresent 21 2 TheEmergenceofaNewSocialIssue:MediaCoverageof EconomicInequalityandSocialClassintheUnitedStates, 1980–2010 53 3 AmericanBeliefsaboutIncomeInequality:What,When, Who,andWhy? 96 4 WhyDoAmericansCareaboutIncomeInequality?The RoleofOpportunity 137 5 Americans’SocialPolicyPreferencesintheEraofRising Inequality 186 Conclusion:ANewEraofBeliefsaboutInequality 219 Notes 233 References 277 Index 293 v Tables and Figures Tables 2.1 Definingmediacoverageofeconomicinequality. page61 2.2 Distributionofsubjecttermsinarticlesonthemesof socialclassandjobinsecurity. 75 3.1 Adjustedmarginaleffectsofoptimismabout intragenerationalupwardmobilityonthreequestions aboutbeliefsregardingincomeinequality,1987to 2010. 115 A3.1 Marginaldistributionsofthreequestionsaboutbeliefs regardingincomeinequalitybyyear,1987to2010. 131 A3.2 Linearregressioneffectsonanadditiveindexofthree questionsaboutbeliefsregardingincomeinequality, 1987to2010. 132 A3.3 Codingandsamplemeansfordependentand independentvariables. 133 A3.4 Yeareffectsonthreequestionsaboutbeliefsregarding incomeinequality,1987to2010. 135 4.1 Fivetropesofopportunity. 141 4.2 Marginaldistributionsofquestionsaboutthe importanceofindividualandstructuralfactorsin gettingahead. 151 4.3 Jointdistributionofbeliefsaboutgettingaheadthrough hardworkandsocialadvantages. 154 4.4 Trendsinperceivedanddesiredpayandpayratiosfor executivesandunskilledworkers,1987to2010. 160 vii viii TablesandFigures 4.5 Adjustedmarginaleffectsofbeliefsaboutoccupational payinequalityonthreequestionsaboutbeliefs regardingincomeinequality,1987to2010. 165 4.6 Supportforequalopportunity,rights,chances,and treatment,1984to2008. 176 4.7 Estimatesoftherelationshipamongbeliefsaboutsocial groups,socialgroup–basedinequality,egalitarianism, andincomeinequality. 179 A4.1 Adjustedmarginaleffectsofbeliefsaboutbootstraps andequaltreatmentopportunityonthreequestions aboutbeliefsregardingincomeinequality,1987to 2010. 185 5.1 Publicopinionpollsregardingtop-endpayandpolicies toregulatehigh-payingindustries. 211 Figures 2.1 NumberofnewsweeklyarticlesfromTime,Newsweek, andUSNWRwithsubjecttermsonthemesofeconomic inequality,socialclass,andjobinsecurity,1980to2010. 69 2.2 WeightednumberofnewsweeklyarticlesfromTime, Newsweek,andUSNWRonthemesofeconomic inequality,1980to2010. 82 C2.1 WeightednumberofnewsweeklyarticlesfromTime, Newsweek,andUSNWRonvariousthemes,1980to 2010. 95 3.1 Pooledresponsestothreequestionsaboutbeliefs regardingincomeinequality,1987to2010. 101 3.2 Trendsinagreementtothreequestionsaboutbeliefs regardingincomeinequality,1987to2010. 102 3.3 Adjustedtrendsinstrongagreementtothreequestions aboutbeliefsregardingincomeinequality,1987to 2010. 108 3.4 Adjustedtrendsinstrongagreementthatincome differencesaretoolargebyincomeandpolitical ideology,1987to2010. 111 3.5 Trendsinresponsestoaquestionabout intragenerationalupwardmobility,1987to2010. 114 3.6 Trendsinaveragemonthlyunemploymentrateand indexofconsumersentiment,ApriltoMarch,1981to 2010. 117
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