Janet Yellen on Wealth Inequality History
on Thursday, October 23, 2014Janet Yellen Money Quotation saying the past century has seen wealth move toward the top out of the hands of those in the middle. Janet Yellen said:
“By some estimates, income and wealth inequality are near their highest levels in the past hundred years, much higher than the average during that time span and probably higher than for much of American history before then” — Janet Yellen
In this quote, Janet Yellen is referring to studies that have found income and wealth inequality in the United States are currently approaching the highest levels observed in the past century according to some metrics.
She notes inequality is much higher than the average levels seen over the past 100 years, and likely higher than for most of American history prior to that as well.
Yellen appears to be underscoring that by various measures, the current gaps between the richest members of society and everyone else in terms of both earnings and accumulated wealth are extraordinarily large by historical standards.
The quote implies tackling inequality should be a priority public policy issue given its magnitude exceeds what has typically been seen in the country based on economic analyses spanning decades or centuries.