American inequality

Nearly three-quarters of Americans believe the gap between rich and poor is a serious national concern, according to a new Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times poll. Even a majority of Republicans - 55 percent - say it's a problem. This is a national poll, but the have- and have-not issue is especially relevant in Los Angeles County, which has 489,000 households bringing in less than $15,000 a year and 262,800 households with a net worth of more than $1 million (more millionaires than anywhere else in the nation). As expected, low-income earners were more likely to grouse about the divide than the high-income folks. Nationally, wage growth has begun to pick up, but in a place like L.A., where so much of the middle class has skipped town, the increases don't mean that much. From Bloomberg:

"The ultra rich and the rich continue to have mechanisms to make money like the stock market and executive salaries,'' Kevin Godsea, an employee with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, said in a follow-up interview. "And the wages of middle class workers are stagnant,'' said Godsea, 30, a registered Republican in Fort Myers, Florida, who considers himself middle class.

The Democrats are certain to make this a political issue and already there are thoughts about trying to boost the minimum wage, scrutinize executive pay, increase tax credits available to the poor, and make health care and higher education more affordable. It's doubtful most of this stuff will get through a Republican president, but there's definitely a progressive vibe out there.