NPR's Planet Money Examines Whether the Economy Has Shifted From 'K-Shaped' to 'C-Shaped'
A new segment from NPR's Planet Money explores competing views on whether rich and poor Americans are drifting apart or coming back together economically.
NPR's Planet Money program has published a segment examining a debate over how to characterize the current shape of the U.S. economy, according to the outlet.
For several years, commentators have used the term "K-shaped" to describe an economy in which wealthier and lower-income households are diverging — one group's fortunes rising while another's decline, forming the two diverging lines of the letter K, NPR reported.
The new segment considers an alternative framing: a "C-shaped" economy, in which the gap between rich and poor is said to be narrowing again, according to NPR.
NPR states that its reporters heard arguments supporting both characterizations, and that which pattern an observer sees may depend largely on which economic indicators or data points they choose to focus on.
The outlet did not specify a single conclusion, instead framing the segment as a comparison of competing interpretations of the same broad economic conditions.
Sources
- Has the economy gone C-shaped? — NPR News
EGazette summarizes reporting from multiple sources; follow the links for the originals.
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