The top one percent (1%) of Americans earned over nineteen percent (19.3) of household income in 2012, according to news reports. This share is the largest since 1928, shortly before the Great Depression. Inequality is not merely the result of the recession that began in 2008. Income inequality has been growing for three decades, according to the reports.

Last year, as the recession eased, the income of the top one percent rose twenty percent. The income of the remaining ninety-nine percent rose one percent.

The generosity of wealthy people is well known: Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, and countless others. However, a vibrant economy needs a large middle class. They spend more of their income. They are more numerous and buy more goods and services.

We may, and should, discuss the morality of a country in which the rich grow richer and the income of ordinary workers does not pay for decent housing and education. A just society rewards those who work hard, even if they don’t make huge incomes. However, sheer desire for a productive, growing economy compels us to address the reasons behind the increasing income inequality.