Well, yes and no. An optimist (or an apologist) could argue that, though market income has indeed become grossly more unequal since 1979, with the slots in the bottom half of the income distribution losing absolute ground in real income, and with taxation becoming less progressive, welfare-state growth substantially moderated this increase in inequality.
好吧，可以说是，也可以说不是。乐观者（或辩护者）会说，自1979年以来，尽管市场收入确实变得日益不平等，收入分配下半段的人群占真实收入的绝对比重节节败退，税收的累进性质也变得日益模糊，但福利国家的增长在很大程度上缓和了不平等性的加剧。