Doing Ethics

In an op-ed piece published in The Washington Post on March 2nd, E. J. Dionne Jr. argues that Obama is right to try to correct the growing economic inequality in the US. Dionne quotes Peter Orszag, Obama's budget director, who points out that: "Over the past two or three decades, the top 1 percent of Americans have experienced a dramatic increase from 10 percent to more than 20 percent in the share of national income that's accruing to them."

"The ethical measure of an economic policy," I argue in Doing Environmental Ethics, "is its contribution to the common good. This not only requires political decisions that protect the environment, but also economic policies that ensure a fair distribution of the economic benefits that are realized."

Obama's budget calls us to work for greater economic justice in the US.

With hope...Bob

Labels: economics