1980s AD

National Review, August 31, 1992 by Richard B. McKenzie

Perhaps in some measures not considered here, the 1980s were a "Decade of Greed." There were, no doubt, individual incidents of conspicuous consumption and selfish disregard for the welfare of others. As the editors of the Wall Street Journal noted, "The greedy are undoubtedly always with us." But they prophetically ask, "Were the 1980s really the Greed Decade?" In terms of charitable contributions, the answer is a resounding "No." American individuals and corporations in the 1980s outpaced by a wide margin their giving patterns established in earlier decades. This occurred at a time when real tax payments, part of which were intended to serve charitable goals, were on the rise, and at a time when, because tax rates fell, the after-tax cost of giving rose. No matter how the record of giving is measured, the 1980s were in fact a decade of renewed charity and generosity.

'Fully 80 per cent of [American] families are on a treadmill--they saw their net family income decline over the past decade or grow by a smaller percentage than did their hours of work. To merely maintain their standard of living, or to avoid falling further behind, they have had to increase their hours of work at the expense of their time with their family and community. Only the very top fifth of these families enjoyed clear gains in their standard of living."

--Senator Paul Sarbanes (D., Md.), January 17, 1992 (reporting on a Democratic Party-sponsored JEC study)

Mr. McKenzie is Walter B. Gerken Professor of Enterprise and Society in the Graduate School of Management at the University of California, Irvine. This article is a condensed version of Was the Decade of the 1980s a "Decade of Greed"? (St. Louis: Center for the Study of American Business).