The issue focused on income inequality has drawn widespread attention since President Barack Obama spoke about it during his 2008 presidential campaign. Some economists argue that wealth inequality could trigger economic downturns like those seen in 2008 and 2009. According to research published last month by economists Jonathan Bernstein and Emmanuel Saez of the University of California at Berkeley, wealth inequality increased rapidly during the 1970s and 1980s as corporate profits surged and median incomes stagnated. During the 1980s and 1990s, inequality narrowed significantly as corporations shed assets and incomes stagn