12. Piketty relied on tax records for income calculations -- page 17. But these can be incomplete and subject to evasion, particularly by those with the most to tax. Gaffney notes this in his critique too.
13. World Top Incomes Database (WTID) is Piketty's primary source of data -- page 17
14. Income is defined by Piketty as deriving from both wages and capital income (rent is included in his calculations, though much of this is based on land and not the result of labor) -- page 18
15. Piketty also uses estate taxes in calculations -- page 18
16. 2 optimistic assumptions have been proven wrong:
a. Class warfare will be replaced by generational warfare.
b. Education will equalize opportunity -- page 22
17. Slow growth correlates with high income and wealth inequality, but Piketty does not emphasize that connection enough or its socially destructive potential -- pages 25, 42
18. r>g: formula meaning rate of capital growth exceeds rate of national growth. -- page 25
19. Piketty discusses mostly U.S., Japan, Germany, Italy, France and the U.K. because that's where the long-term data is best. But does this mean the results might be different in other countries with different systems? Also, Gaffney points out that data for Germany, France and Italy is non-existent before ca. 1850 when they became countries, and sketchy at best for the U.S. before then too.
20. Inheritance played a smaller role in U.S. inequality historically due to early explosive population growth. -- pages 28-29 Also, unmentioned, the presence of a large amount of free land in the frontier with which to build wealth.
21. Piketty says his book is as much a work of history as economics -- page 33
22. Piketty's example of conflict between labor and capital in Johannesburg is really between Labor and Land (mine) owners -- page 39. 34 miners were killed for striking. What if rent on gold was distributed to the community whose land it was found on instead?
23. Piketty fails to distinguish between land and capital again -- page 42. Does Piketty understand locational value?
24. What is capital to Piketty? -- page 46. He says it is not human capital (except when he includes slaves 1770-1860), but he includes Real Estate, which includes land (page 42). He doesn't separate land and other capital because he says it is too hard to separate them, but this is a fatal methodological flaw!
25. No distinction between wealth and capital because it is simpler that way -- p. 48
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