Winner-take-all Politics: How Washington Made | T...

While labor unions and middle-class advocacy groups declined, corporate interests organized into powerful lobbying machines.

The authors found that economic growth didn't just favor the "educated"—it favored the , and even more so the top 0.1% . Winner-Take-All Politics: How Washington Made t...

Between 1979 and 2007, the richest 1% saw their income grow by 256% , while the bottom 80% grew by only 20% . This political muscle led to deregulated financial markets,

This political muscle led to deregulated financial markets, tax cuts for the hyper-wealthy, and a system where "banks are organized; their customers are not". The Central Mystery: Who Stole the Middle-Class Dream

In their book , political scientists Jacob S. Hacker and Paul Pierson present a "detective story" that investigates why American economic inequality has skyrocketed since the late 1970s. The Central Mystery: Who Stole the Middle-Class Dream?

The "crime" wasn't committed by the market, but by . The story highlights a massive organizational shift starting around 1978: