The experts disagree, but it seems likely that many of the same forces affecting the rest of the economy are hitting California more forcefully. Once again, economists say, California may be a national trendsetter. There have been some small but important changes to that picture, especially in the past five years. But middle-income workers have not fared quite as well.
Wages are also up partly because productivity is up.
But shareholders, executives, banks and bondholders are getting a growing share of the pie compared to labor. The shape of inequality has changed, but the overall trend has not reversed. Economists are still in raging arguments about how much Silicon Valley's computer and information technology has contributed to the increase in productivity. The EPI crew argues that the high-tech impact is high. In fact, its report attacks one of the most common notions about why inequality is growing.