Michael Strain presents some evidence that public opinion about economic inequality doesn’t track especially well with actual trends in economic inequality. Since 1972, the Harris poll has consistently found that majorities of the public agree that the rich are getting richer while the poor are getting poorer — and the majority grew after 2007 even as the real gap between the rich and poor shrank. One conclusion Strain draws: When people say they’re concerned about inequality, it may be that they’re really concerned with wage growth for most people. I’d add that public interest in this issue is not especially intense: Only 1 percent of Americans says the gap between rich and poor is the most important issue facing the country. You might get a different impression from listening to some of the Democratic presidential candidates.

Ramesh Ponnuru is a senior editor for National Review , a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion, a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and a senior fellow at the National Review Institute. @rameshponnuru