In recent months there has been considerable attention given to developments in income inequality in Australia. The Productivity Commission (PC) in a research paper released in August examined recent evidence and trends around inequality, economic mobility and disadvantage across Australian society. While much of the focus was on those of working age, some of the analysis relates to those aged 65 and over. While some level of inequality is unavoidable in any society, excessive inequality and entrenched disadvantage can erode social cohesion and hinder growth. More fundamentally, excessive inequality and poverty are not right in a moral sense. Although economists...