Editor’s note: This is the first article in an occasional Connecticut Mirror series exploring wealth and income inequality in Connecticut and its impact on a state struggling to cope with massive debt. Westport will be featured in a future installment.
By Keith M. Phaneuf
Even within a nation racing dangerously toward unprecedented levels of income and wealth inequality, Connecticut stands apart.
The gap between its richest and poorest citizens — and that between the top and the middle class — outstrips those in most other states, and in many other corners of the globe.
Since the last recession, inequality in Connecticut has not been a simple case of hedge fund principals reaping rewards that dwarf a still-prosperous middle class. Rather, only the richest of Connecticut’s most affluent households, on average, have improved their standing.
While economists and politicians differ over how to address the problem, those on all sides of the inequality debate generally agree there is an economic tipping point: when disparities become too extreme and too many are struggling.
