Writing at NRO Kevin Hassett and Apurna Mathur of AEI fire back at the New York Times, which contested their argument that if you look at consumption spending, it’s apparent that life is not getting worse for the middle class. The Times has a stake in maintaining the fiction that the economy is “broken” and needs fixing by leftist politicians, so I wouldn’t expect to hear an admission that Hassett and Apurna (and Alan Reynolds) are right in saying that the economy is not only benefiting the super-rich.
What this comes down to is a difference in philosophy. The leftists look at statistics on vast numbers of people and conclude that if income isn’t growing “fairly” for all segments of the population, that proves the need for government to do something. The way I look at the world, if any individual thinks he needs or deserves more money, then he ought to do something.
