The growing income gap between the nation’s richest 1% and the rest of America has prompted policy makers to propose solutions like raising taxes on the wealthy to address this inequality. But such income redistribution actually will end up hurting the middle and working classes, according to Edward Conard, visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and author of the book , The Upside of Inequality: How Good Intentions Undermine the Middle Class. “Growing income inequality is a real phenomenon, but a misdiagnosis of its causes and consequences leads to policies that slow growth and damage an already slow-growing economy,” Conard wrote. Instead, the path to robust economic growth — and higher wages for the working and middle classes — lies in encouraging businesses to take risks that lead to innovation, and having enough properly trained workers to hire in this knowledge-based economy. Conard recently talked about his book on the Knowledge at Wharton Show on Sirius XM channel 111 .…