David Leonhardt, the New York Times economics reporter, has a cover story in today's paper, In Health Bill, Obama Attacks Wealth Inequality, that depicts the new health care reform law as the first great social legislation in a generation. It is big, and it is social legislation, and it is true that it will be funded partly by raising taxes on higher-income folks. But it is hard to view it as the challenge to inequality that Leonhardt thinks it is--or that Obama & Co. (least of all Larry Summers, whom Leonhardt mentions in a positive light in the article) intended it as such.
As a counterpoint to Leonhardt's argument, here's something from the great, relatively new blog from the good folks at the University of Missouri at Kansas City's econ dept, New Economic Perspectives. This guest post is from Robert Prasch of Middlebury College.
Think The Democrats Just Scored One for the Little Guy? Think Again.
Read the original post.