Paul Krugman calculates the change in the Gini coefficient -- a measure of inequality -- for presidents going back to Truman. The results are really striking. "It’s like the GOP has a magic inequality spell that it chants while in office," concludes Krugman. It's additionally interesting to note how much less effective Democrats have become at promoting equality. Clinton's results look much more like that of Bush than that of Kennedy or Truman. Indeed, going by the numbers, Clinton's famous comment despairing that a putatively Democratic administration was acting like a bunch of "Eisenhower Republicans" wasn't far from the truth.
