Ryan Avent — Does anyone care about distribution?

AS THE discussion over Thomas Piketty's new book has expanded, the argument has occasionally been made that concern about inequality is essentially an elite phenomenon. Rich folks in rich cities are devouring and debating the Piketty book, while the rest of the rich world goes on about its business, more worried about jobs and wages than distribuition. Is that right? 

Paul Krugman noted in a recent blog post that readers seem much more enthusiastic about his inequality columns than those on let's-boost-growth macro pieces. Tyler Cowen responds:

I see the inequality issue as having high salience for NYT readers, for Democratic Party donors, and for progressive activists. It has very little salience for the American public, especially with say swing voters in southern Ohio or soccer moms. Unlike in Singapore or South Korea, where the major concentrations of wealth are pretty hard to avoid for most people, American income inequalities are well hidden for the most part.

McLean is one of the wealthiest towns in Virginia, but if you drive through the downtown frankly it still feels a bit like a dump. I’ve never wanted to live there, not even at lower real estate prices. You don’t stumble upon the nicest homes unless you know where to look. Middleburg is wealthier yet, but it has few homes, feels unreal, and most people don’t go there anyway. If they do, they more likely admire well-groomed horses and still read Princess Diana biographies. They are not choking with envy over the privileges of old money rentiers, and there is no Walmart in town to bring in the masses (who probably would not care anyway).

And in a follow-up post he reports on survey data suggesting Americans are not particularly concerned about inequality. So what do we think?

The Economist
Does anyone care about distribution?
Ryan Avent | economics correspondent for The Economist
(h/t Brad DeLong)