The latest example of habit of the New York Times and the left of making just about every issue into a tale of income inequality is this, from an article headlined "Iran Resorts to Hangings in Public to Cut Crime": "Police commanders and other officials blame government mismanagement of the economy — which they say has caused a rise in unemployment and inflation — for the increase in crime. International economic sanctions have aggravated problems, many here say, leading to a record gap between rich and poor in Iran."
The Times doesn't explore why rising income inequality and unemployment causes crime in Iran but not, say, in other countries where the Times claims income inequality has been increasing, such as, say, America.
Nor does it consider the possibility that the public hangings are not a crime control measure but rather an attempt by the deeply unpopular ruling authorities to terrorize the population into compliance.
The idea that Iranians have to resort to crime to counteract income inequality is almost humorous, when you get right down to it. The Times's imaginary Iranian criminal trying to strike a blow against income inequality by stealing from someone richer bears an uncomfortable resemblance to a Times editorial writer or columnist urging President Obama to counter income inequality by passing new tax laws that take more money from the rich and redistribute the money to the poor and middle class.
Anyway, the entire analytical framework undergirding this dispatch is high New York Times leftism unmarred by skepticism or self-doubt.