Beyond Taxes: Tackling the Structural Roots of U.S. Economic Inequality

Using the decline in automobile fatalities as an analogy, the author contends that U.S. policy has focused on treating the fallout of inequality rather than preventing it. While higher taxes on the affluent, especially aligning capital-gains rates with labor income, provide a partial fix, they do not address the underlying forces that concentrate wealth. A 2022 Treasury report highlights employer power and non-compete agreements that depress wages, and trade agreements often extend monopoly power abroad.

Weak enforcement of antitrust laws, subsidies to fossil-fuel firms, and a deregulated financial sector—described by Oren Cass of American Compass as a "grift"—further fuel disparity. The article urges reforms to labor rules, monopoly curbs, trade policies, and a reduced reliance on markets, acknowledging that such systemic change will take time. In the meantime, improving public infrastructure like transportation can mitigate some immediate harms.