Economic inequality will become a thing of the past with a wave of the magic wand at the Masters of the Universe World Economic Hoedown in the Alpine Fairyland of Davos,

The Alpine Fairyland of Davos, site of the Masters
of the Universe Annual World Economic Hoedown

"[J]ust days after a stunning report was issued by Oxfam saying that the 85 richest people in the world are as wealthy as the poorest half of the global population, or about 3.5 billion people[,] a good chunk of those 85 are likely to be fretting on the slopes about this horrible state of affairs."

-- Al Kamen, in his WaPo "In the Loop" report

by Ken

Ooh, that economic inequality! It makes me so mad, I could just spit!

Economic inequality is like the weather. Everybody talks about it, but nobody does anything about it. Until now, that is.

First I should qualify that "everybody talks about it" to exclude NYT column-spewer David "Chucklehead" Brooks, who doesn't believe we should talk about econonmic inequality (see my Sunday post, "Robert Reich on 'David Brooks' Utter Ignorance About Inequality' ") on account of if we do, the Bogeyman will come and eat us. (I think it's the Bogeyman. It could be Minnesota Rep. Paul Ryan. I always get them confused.)

All that's in the past, though, because economic inequality is about to be wiped off the discussion table as the Masters of the Universe once again gather for their Annual World Economic Hoedown in the Alpine Fairyland of Davos. No one is admitted to the AFD for the MUAWEH, of course, except the designated Masters of the Universe, their anointed coterie of International Political Hacks, and the elite squadron of Designated Journalistic Stooges.

If this isn't the assemblage to wipe out economic inequality, I don't know what the heck is. If you doubt me, just look -- in Washington Post "Loop"-master Al Kamen's account below -- at the distinguished corpus of statesmen who will be representing the U.S. House of Representatives at the Hoedown.

Now, there’s a theme for the tony Davos crowd: Income inequality

By Al Kamen, Washington Post

It's Davos! The ultimate in networking and elbow-rubbing. Welcome to the 2014 World Economic Forum, which brings together a few thousand people each year in the ultra-tony ski resort of Davos, Switzerland -- world leaders, corporate titans, royalty, entertainment celebs and media folk -- plus thousands of staff and security and your usual smattering of protesters.

This year's theme? Wait for it, wait for it . . . Income inequality! Yes, the heavy breathing will focus on this issue -- just days after a stunning report was issued by Oxfam saying that the 85 richest people in the world are as wealthy as the poorest half of the global population, or about 3.5 billion people. A good chunk of those 85 are likely to be fretting on the slopes about this horrible state of affairs.

By day, the agenda is panel discussions, speeches and such, focusing on the main theme but also on many other vexing international issues.

For example, an excellent panel of extremely knowledgeable insiders will be talking Mideast issues Friday afternoon. We're told the scheduled panel members are Masoud Barzani, president of Iraq's Kurdistan region; Ahmet Davutoglu, Turkey's foreign affairs minister; and Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign affairs minister.

After absorbing so much info during the day, evenings are your usual party scene, devoted to celebrity-spotting, night skiing and such, and apparently a fair amount of alcohol consumption. We're advised, however, that lawmakers' and administration officials' schedules will run past the dinner hour, so they may get a late start on the fun.

An all-Republican House delegation is being led by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (Va.) and includes Reps. Darrell Issa (Calif.), Jeb Hensarling (Tex.), Kay Granger (Tex.), Patrick McHenry (N.C.) and Mario Diaz-Balart (Fla.). While Davos participants are usually given free airline tickets, the Cantor group is flying over on a super-comfy military jet, because some lawmakers and staffers will be heading to other events, including visiting troops and getting briefings in Stuttgart, Germany. The Jerusalem Post reported that Cantor and other House members will also travel to Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland for International Holocaust Remembrance Day next week. [Emphasis added.]

Meanwhile, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) is leading a Senate delegation and speaking on a panel on technology and “Big Brother,” according to the schedule. (Leahy is a co-author, with Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), of legislation to end dragnet collection of phone metadata and rein in NSA snooping operations.) Others on that delegation, we hear, include Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and John McCain (R-Ariz.).

Secretary of State John Kerry's plane will be arriving Thursday after Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's speech. Kerry is speaking on Friday. We're hearing you may be able to spot Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy over there, too.

Full disclosure: One of those media folks is Martin Baron, executive editor of The Washington Post.

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