The Triumph of Hope Over Self-Interest

[Bradford DeLong]

>Michael Pollak wrote:
>
>>[A conservative explains]
>
>Ooops, sorry, hadn't noticed you'd done that already.
>
>Brooks may be a conservative, but I'm afraid he's mostly right about 
>this argument. That Time poll, which has 39% of Americans either 
>thinking they're in the top 1% or will be someday, is just as 
>revealing as Brooks claims. It uncovers a fundamental fantasy about 
>American life. Even though we've got the most unequal distribution 
>of income in the rich world, the highest poverty levels, the 
>greatest persistence of low-wage pay, and only moderate levels of 
>mobility - that all doesn't matter. Most Americans just don't care. 
>You could recite the facts over & over and it won't make a dent in 
>that fundamental fantasy. I'll be damned if I can think what to do 
>about it.
>
>Doug

Despair?

Brad DeLong