Dispelling the Myth of Income Inequality
Publication Date: June 1989
Publisher: Heritage Foundation (Washington, D.C.)
Author(s): Kate Walsh O'Beirne; Robert Rector
Research Area: Economics; Population and demographics
Keywords: Economy
Type: Report
Abstract:
The Census Bureau has published reports on household income distribution for over forty years.These reports are meant to measure the share of total economic resources allocated by the market and the government to various households. But the reports seriously underestimate the incomes of lower-income families because they omit nearly $98 billion in government payments, noncash benefits, and services to low-income individuals. By undercounting the cost of government support to low-income individuals, the Census Bureau procedures exaggerate the level of income inequality in America.
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