Many Americans Feel 'Stuck in a Rut' as Economy Improves, But Inequality Grows (2011)

'Inequality Is Bad for Everyone': Robert Reich Fights against Economic Imbalance

Economics correspondent Paul Solman talks to Robert Reich about "Inequality for All," a documentary about the former labor secretary's personal crusade to explain to Americans why everyone should care about the nation's growing economic disparity and divisiveness.

Joseph Stiglitz: "The Price of Inequality" | Talks at Google

Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences recipient (2001) , visited Google on June 12, 2012 to talk about his new book THE PRICE OF INEQUALITY: How Today's Divided Society Endangers Our Future.

Inequality: Of The 1%, By The 1%, For The 1%

VANITY FAIR: Americans have been watching protests against oppressive regimes that concentrate massive wealth in the hands of an elite few. Yet in our own democracy, 1 percent of the people take nearly a quarter of the nation’s income—an inequality even the wealthy will come to regret.

It’s no use pretending that what has obviously happened has not in fact happened. The upper 1 percent of Americans are now taking in nearly a quarter of the nation’s income every year. In terms of wealth rather than income, the top 1 percent control 40 percent. Their lot in life has improved considerably. Twenty-five years ago, the corresponding figures were 12 percent and 33 percent. One response might be to celebrate the ingenuity and drive that brought good fortune to these people, and to contend that a rising tide lifts all boats. That response would be misguided. While the top 1 percent have seen their incomes rise 18 percent over the past decade, those in the middle have actually seen their incomes fall. For men with only high-school degrees, the decline has been precipitous—12 percent in the last quarter-century alone. All the growth in recent decades—and more—has gone to those at the top. In terms of income equality, America lags behind any country in the old, ossified Europe that President George W. Bush used to deride. Among our closest counterparts are Russia with its oligarchs and Iran. While many of the old centers of inequality in Latin America, such as Brazil, have been striving in recent years, rather successfully, to improve the plight of the poor and reduce gaps in income, America has allowed inequality to grow. » | Joseph E. Stiglitz | March 31, 2011

'Inequality Is Bad for Everyone': Robert Reich Fights against Economic Imbalance

Greece Emerges from Economic Crisis with Increased Inequality

Greece is "coming out of the crisis with a more polarized society, with an opened gap between the rich and the poor," says economic scholar John Milios

Joseph Stiglitz "How Inequality In Today's Society Endangers Our Future"

Richard Wilkinson: How Economic Inequality Harms Societies