Wealth Inequality: It's Not Clear What It Means

The NYT had a column by Christina Gibson-Davis and Christine Percheski telling readers that wealth inequality had grown much more among families with children than among the elderly. While there is little doubt that inequality has increased hugely over the last three decades (they look at the period from 1989 to 2013), with the implications they describe for inter-generational mobility, there are serious problems with their use of wealth.

First, it is important to note that while the authors'...