(Newser)
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If you're angry about the growing divide between America's rich and poor, former Bain Capital executive Edward Conard has a message for you: Get over it. Conard is a member of the 0.1%, a top Mitt Romney donor, and the author of Unintended Consequences, a book arguing that wealth inequality is a good thing. "This could be the most hated book of the year," predicts New York Times Magazine writer Adam Davidson, who interviewed Conard for a cover story titled "Are the Rich Worth a Damn?"
Conard emphatically believes they are; the rich, he argues, invest most of their money, and for every dollar they invest, the public reaps up to $20 in benefit. He argues that banks weren't to blame for the financial crisis, and thinks the government should set up a program guaranteeing future bailouts as necessary. He derisively refers to non-investors as "art-history majors" and slackers. "God didn't create the universe so that talented people would be happy," he explains. Conard thinks the book will convince people, including economists, why Romney should be president, and dismisses the many economists saying he's off-base. "People get very angry before they change their mind," he says. "Economics is counterintuitive. It just is." Click for Davidson's full piece.
