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Our incomes are like our shoes; if too small, they gall and pinch us; but if too large, they cause us to stumble and to trip.

I fall into the camp that income inequality is the biggest problem we face.

Income inequality is troubling because, among other things, it means that many people in our society don't have the opportunities to advance themselves.

Eye-popping tales of growing income inequality are hardly new. By now, nearly every American must be painfully aware of the widening pay gap between top executives and shop floor laborers; between 'Master of the Universe' financiers and pretty much everyone else.

If there are healthy - and growing - numbers of people working and paying taxes, we are better able to pay the costs of people living longer.

The biggest obstacle to wealth is fear. People are afraid to think big, but if you think small, you'll only achieve small things.

Funny thing is that the poorer people are, the more generous they seem to be.

If US per capita income continues to grow at a rate of 1.5 percent a year, the country will have plenty of money to finance comfortable retirements and high-quality healthcare for all citizens, including those at the bottom of the wage ladder.

Driving with one foot on the accelerator and the other on the brake is likely to get you nowhere, but certainly will burn out vital parts of your car. Similarly, cutting taxes on the middle class, but increasing them on the 'rich' is likely to result in an economic burnout.

President Obama believes that income inequality is one of the most pressing matters facing the nation. If we are going to be a country that provides ladders of opportunity and believes in a thriving middle class, then we have to raise the minimum wage.