Optimist Economy $79 Trillion Worth of Income Inequality
Jan 27, 2026
They unpack the $79 trillion claim and where that striking headline came from. They walk through measurement choices like top-coding, IRS data, and the GDP counterfactual. The conversation covers who lost the most income by race, education, gender, and location. They end on why inequality climbed recently and how clearer diagnosis opens paths to policy solutions.
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What The $79 Trillion Figure Actually Means
- Catherine Edwards' paper measures how much incomes would have grown if they'd tracked GDP since 1975 rather than diverging.
- The headline $79 trillion is a cumulative shortfall, not annual, and refers to income, not wealth.
Top Coding Hides The Richest Incomes
- Public survey data top-codes high incomes, hiding true earnings at the top of the distribution.
- Edwards combines survey data with IRS-based tax distribution data to impute and restore top incomes.
‘The Top Ate It’ Became A Soundbite
- A Rolling Stone interview distilled Edwards' quote down to “the top ate it,” which became a memorable soundbite.
- Her friend made a coffee mug with that line despite its oversimplification.