Root Cause Of Income Inequality? 'Housing,' Says 26-Year-Old MIT Graduate

MIT graduate Matthew Rognlie has attracted an audience with his theory for the issue of income inequality - he claims that the main issue at hand is housing, according to editor Greg Ferenstein of

. Ferenstein states that Rognlie's theory "attack[s] the idea that rich capitalists have an unfair ability to turn their current wealth into a lazy dynasty of self-reinforcing investments." Rognlie claims that " 'recent trends in both capital wealth and income are driven almost entirely by housing.' " Here, Benzinga highlights the five best ideas (in no specific order) from Ferenstein's article/Rognlie's theory that are most thought provoking: (1) "Software, robots, and other modern investments all depreciate in price as fast as the iPod. Technology doesn't hold value like it used to, so it's misleading to believe that investments in capital now will give rich folks a long-term advantage." (2) "Land/housing is really one of the only investments that give wealthy people a long-term leg up. " (3) "It might be wiser to redirect anger towards those who get in the way of new housing, rather than rely on taxes to solve our problems." (4) "Just 14% of homes are affordable to middle-class families. In the once diverse Mission District, where many young tech workers are now relocating, it's hard to find a new home for less than $1.5 million." (5) "The government should focus more on housing policy and less on taxing the wealthy, if it wants to properly deal with the inequality problem."