One of my favorit bloggers from Cafe Hayek is having a \"back-and-forth on inequality\"  at the Wall Street Journal Econoblog.  Is the \"growing\" inqueality really a problem or threat to our society.  I\'m not convinced, and I think its usually misused as an umbrella for other societal problems (ie inequality of opportunity, which is different).  See also \"Is there really an income gap?\".

Is inequality a serious social problem? Everyone seems to think so. Heather, you conjure up the same frightening image that is constantly referenced in media accounts of government data -- an elite slice at the top getting all the gains while the rest of us get crumbs. The middle class is being hollowed out; we\'re becoming a nation of haves and have-nots.

But the data you cite (and the data cited relentlessly by those who would use inequality as an engine for social change) mask what is really going on.