As the presidential campaign gathers steam, we will no doubt hear a great deal about the growing income inequality between the rich and poor and the disappearance of the middle class. Such rhetoric is, of course, necessary when constructing a narrative of two worlds: One rich and one poor. 

Integral to this drama is the unspoken assumption that there is a finite amount of capital and that those that have do so at the expense of those that have not. This is a myth contrived by political demagogues and then cultivated by a media that revels in reports about the income gap. These reports ignore the fact that the “haves” is becoming an increasingly less exclusive club.

According to 2003 census figures on household income, far from disappearing, the middle class is actually getting richer. Fifteen percent of households had pretax incomes over $100,000. Another 29 percent had incomes between $50,000 and $100,000. In 1980, the figures were 6 percent and 29 percent respectively.  Here in Los Angeles, the mean household income is more that $66,000. It also remains true that as one acquires education and work experience, one also gains greater ability to move from one class to another.

But why report the good news when there is so much more political mileage to be gained by claiming that the poor are destitute because the rich have abundance?

The Los Angeles Daily News recently profiled two Los Angeles area men. Both are in their 30’s, live in the San Fernando Valley and work on cars. One man, Paige Rodriguez, owns a business customizing classic automobiles for high-end celebrity clients. The other, Francisco Martinez, works at a car wash. 

The dogma of the income gap as espoused by the likes of former Rep. Richard Gephardt, who once claimed that the wealthy were winners in the lottery of life, holds that Martinez is a victim of an increased concentration of wealth among the upper class.  An alternate view is that Rodriguez drives an “S” class Mercedes because he has a skill that is in high demand in the Los Angeles market. No doubt if Martinez learned a skill, his income and his lifestyle would improve. It is possible that both men could cruise the Valley streets in luxury. 

If the income gap is growing, it is no doubt due to a corresponding growth in the education and skills gap.  Of course, for the political demagogues, it is much easier to use mythology as a pretext to transfer wealth than it is to attack the educational model that is at the heart of the problem.

Even during times of low unemployment (the current rate is at a five-year low of 4.4 percent), a high school diploma is insufficient. According to Peter Morici, business professor at the University of Maryland, "For high school graduates without specialized skills or training, jobs offering good pay and benefits remain tough to find." He adds, "Historically, manufacturing and construction offered workers with only a high school education the best pay, benefits and opportunities for skill attainment and advancement. Troubles in these industries push ordinary workers into retailing, hospitality and other industries where pay often lags."

Coincidently, it is the categories of manufacturing, construction and hospitality that are the very sectors flooded with illegal immigrant labor.  And it is no accident that in the months to come, we will hear dramatic recitations about income inequality and not one word about how our failure to control the borders contributes to it.

Rather than continue to construct the fable of the greedy rich that keep all the cookies for themselves, it might be more beneficial to compose a new, more dynamic tale. This story would begin with improving K-12 education, renewed support of vocational education in secondary schools and curbs on illegal immigration. 

That’s a story worth listening to!  The question is, do any of the candidates have the courage to tell it.

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Joseph C. Phillips is the author of “He Talk Like a White Boy.”