Fed Chair Yellen Singles Out Income Inequality As Obstacle to Mobility

October 17, 2014 Share Print 0

Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen delivered a strong indictment of rising inequality of wealth and income in the U.S., saying it was creating a vicious circle that was impeding the economic mobility that used to be at the heart of American economic values.

Delivering a number of rather startling statistics to back her case, Ms. Yellen, who was speaking at a conference on economic opportunity and inequality sponsored by the Boston Fed, argued the trend of worsening disparities was effectively curtailing the country’s economic potential.

“The extent and continuing increase in inequality in the United States greatly concern me,” Ms. Yellen said in a keynote address. “I think it is appropriate to ask whether this trend is compatible with values rooted in our nation’s history, among them the high value Americans have traditionally placed on equality of opportunity.”

via WSJ

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Alfonso Esparza

Senior Currency Analyst at Market Pulse

Alfonso Esparza specializes in macro forex strategies for North American and major currency pairs. Upon joining OANDA in 2007, Alfonso Esparza established the MarketPulseFX blog and he has since written extensively about central banks and global economic and political trends. Alfonso has also worked as a professional currency trader focused on North America and emerging markets. He has been published by The MarketWatch, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and The Globe and Mail, and he also appears regularly as a guest commentator on networks including Bloomberg and BNN. He holds a finance degree from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) and an MBA with a specialization on financial engineering and marketing from the University of Toronto.