UC Berkeley ‘Income Inequality’ Experts Are Among Wealthiest 2pc of Americans

A new report from the California Policy Center has revealed that “income inequality” experts at the Univeristy of California at Berkeley earn more than $300,000 a year, placing them in the top 2% of all American earners.

Marc Joffe, the author of the report, contends that Berkeley economists who are interested in lessening compensation inequities should consider taking a pay cut so that lower ranking university employees can receive raises.

“If UC Berkeley economists are really opposed to income inequality and are concerned about low-paid workers, they might consider sharing some of their compensation with the teaching assistants, graders, readers and administrative staff at the bottom of Cal’s income distribution,” Joffe argues.

Many have argued that academics believe that their compensation isn’t reflective of the value that they add to society. Likewise, they often believe that private sector executives are compensated far more than the value that they add to society. “I think there is an issue of jealousy that academics have toward business people. They think CEOs don’t need to make as much,” Joffe said, arguing that some academics believe their work

Among the “income inequality” experts at Berkeley is Robert Reich, the former Secretary of Labor under President Bill Clinton. According to the report, Reich makes more than $250,000 for his contributions as a member of the Berkeley faculty. Despite his Berkeley compensation alone making him one of the wealthiest of Americans, “Reich’s salary was likely not his only source of income in 2014,” the report adds. “Reich makes himself available to give paid speeches through a number of speaking bureaus, charging a fee estimated at $40,000 per talk. He is also likely to receive some income from his books, movies, and pensions from previous employers.”

Tom Ciccotta writes about Free Speech and Intellectual Diversity for Breitbart. You can follow him on Twitter @tciccotta or on Facebook. You can email him at tciccotta@breitbart.com