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P1In a great many nations, the chasm separating the richest citizens from the poorest is steadily widening. This essay will examine the principal causes of growing income inequality before proposing several measures by which it might be narrowed.

P2A number of powerful forces drive the gap apart. Globalisation and automation have between them eliminated countless secure, well-paid jobs for ordinary workers, while richly rewarding those who possess capital or specialised skills, so that the dividends of economic growth flow increasingly to a fortunate minority. Government tax policy has often aggravated matters, as administrations have trimmed taxes on high incomes and accumulated wealth in the belief that doing so stimulates investment. Finally, unequal access to quality education entrenches the divide across the generations: the children of affluent families acquire the credentials and connections that open the door to lucrative careers, while equally talented children of the poor are held back from the outset.

P3The problem is formidable but by no means intractable. The single most powerful lever is education: by investing heavily in schools and vocational training in deprived areas, governments can equip the coming generation to compete for better-paid work. Progressive taxation, under which higher earners contribute a fairer share, can fund both that investment and a sturdier social safety net. A meaningful minimum wage, together with retraining for workers displaced by technology, would further ensure that the spoils of the economy are more widely distributed rather than hoarded at the top.