Income inequality laws are any passed pieces of legislation that allows for a more equal distribution of wealth and opportunity across the American public, such as anti-discrimination or labor laws. According to a 2019 poll concerning the subject, the American public and both political parties stand, atypically, in firm agreement. The Pew Research Center’s survey asked the public, using simple and precise language, what they believed about the level of income inequality in America. The results showed that 61% of Americans believe there is too much income inequality, while an opposing 23% believe there is the right amount. In this case, those affiliated with the Democratic Party are almost twice as likely to claim there are overwhelming amounts of income inequality in America. On the other hand, the Republican Party constitutes the majority of those who believe income inequality is at the right amount in the country.
The Democratic Stance on Income Inequality Laws
The Democratic Party’s stance on income inequality laws, especially in recent years, favors tax reform and other policy measures to increase income among the American working class. Some examples of these proposed policies include lowering taxes for the middle class and supporting smaller businesses in the face of larger corporations. These policies also include relief cuts for everyday costs for Americans, like healthcare and childcare.
The Young Democrats of America exemplify the nature of recently proposed Democratic income inequality laws. These policies include increasing the federal minimum wage, supporting workers’ rights and unions, and opposing tax cuts for the wealthiest in America. In contrast to proposed Republican policies, there are also direct references to opposing multinational corporations and their exemptions from oversight.
Before the recent 2025 proposed Democratic policies, in 2023, many elected Democrats spoke openly about their push for income inequality laws. For example, Democratic representatives Barbara Lee and Jamaal Bowman advocated for the Oligarch (Oppose Limitless Inequality Growth and Reverse Community Harms) Act, claiming that 0.1% of Americans should not hold 20% of America’s wealth.
The Republican Stance on Income Inequality Laws
As demonstrated by the Pew Research Center’s poll, Republicans are more likely to believe that there is less income inequality in America, and several party policies reflect this belief. For example, Project 2025, a plan associated with the Trump administration, calls for lowering the corporate tax rate from 21% to 18% —fa move that the Center for American Progress estimates would save Fortune 100 companies about $20 billion in taxes. The progressive think tank crafted this estimate using Project 2025’s intention to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act’s increase in corporate taxes, for example.
While many surveys point to a nationwide agreement that income inequality in America is excessive, the Republican viewpoint is centered on the individual and supported by the premise that some income inequality should be tolerated. An important concept in the Republican perspective on income inequality laws is that personal income reflects of direct employment effort. Sources such as The Heritage Foundation disagree with the Democrats’ assessment of the scale of income disparity in America, stating that current income inequality will naturally shift with the economic exchanges of the market.
Republican income inequality policies tend to rely on market exchanges as a solution for income inequality, rather than advocating for income inequality laws. Since more Republicans tend to trust the market and the current systems in place for equitably distributing income, it is understandable why many would argue that there is the right amount of income inequality in America —and that a large-scale reconfiguration of the economic system would be unnecessary.
History of Income Inequality Laws in America
In the wake of World War II, the United States experienced a golden period of economic growth and prosperity. During this period, the income gap between the wealthy, middle class, and poor remained relatively stable for nearly 30 years. When World War II began, the United States experienced a demand for unskilled labor at a time when the market for educated work was saturated. This resulted in significant upward momentum for the working class, which, in terms of income inequality, balanced them appropriately with educated workers.
Following America’s “Great Compression” of the income classes, income inequality laws advanced through causes such as the civil rights movement. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Pay Act of 1963 significantly assisted the issue of income inequality by preventing pay rate discrimination based on race or gender. During this time, financial regulations and tax policies guarded the wealthy from further increasing their income.
By the 1970s, economic growth began to decline, and the household income of the middle and lower classes slowly stopped increasing. On the other end of the spectrum, the upper-class income began to skyrocket to levels last seen during the 1920s. According to the Federal Reserve, 50% of Americans in the lower income bracket hold around 4% of the national wealth, while those in the higher bracket hold more than 60% of it.
Income Inequality Laws Going Forward
Given the widespread concern among American citizens about increasing income inequality, it is logical to assume that laws addressing this issue will continue to resonate with the public. The Republican Party constitutes the minority viewpoint that income inequality is at the right amount and will likely speak out against any income inequality laws they consider radical in intent or implementation.
The fundamental disagreement about income inequality laws surrounds how well Americans trust the current economic system to reward hard work and effort. In the eyes of about 24% of the country, the current income structure, by necessity, rewards those who have worked the hardest and most efficiently with the highest incomes.
The majority of the country expresses disillusionment with the current system and levels of inequality, but even those with this viewpoint will largely differ about the way forward.
Since Democratic policies often promote legislation to combat the issue, many in the Democratic Party would be more willing to systematically disrupt or change the current structure to assist with income inequality. Those within the Republican Party who disagree with current levels of income inequality in the nation will remain hesitant to support any large-scale shifts in the current structure and are more likely to favor incremental or small-scale policy changes to address the issue.