A Lovely Paragraph

From David Leonhardt in the New York TImes:

The history of the United States economy over the last 70 years can be roughly divided into two periods: the decades immediately after World War II, when inequality plummeted, and the past three decades, when global economic forces and government policies caused it to soar. Mr. Obama is setting out to begin a third period that looks more like the first than the second.

This is beautiful writing that simplifies many complicated and controversial ideas into one small, lovely paragraph.

No one knows how this unbelievably risky stimulus package will play out in the next few years. But we do know a few things. We know the United States is a consumer-based economy. We know that our economy will collapse if the Great Middle Class does not consume. For various reasons, the vast majority of Americans live on the precipice of disaster, all the time, and if they're afraid to spend, those that they've made wealthy will suffer as well.