Nobel Prize Winner in Economics States The Obvious: Growing inequality is our biggest problem

[cali]

A Yale professor who was among three Americans who won the Nobel prize for economics said Monday that rising financial inequality in the United States and other countries is the world's biggest problem.

Robert Shiller, known for developing a widely used measure of home prices, was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science on Monday. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences honored Shiller and two other economists from the University of Chicago, Eugene Fama and Lars Peter Hansen, "for their empirical analysis of asset prices."

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http://journalstar.com/business/local/nobel-laureate-growing-inequality-is-our-biggest-problem/article_31f897b7-a83b-51f9-ab7d-c16661b3236c.html

[pampango]

1. "rising financial inequality in the United States and other countries is the world's biggest problem

A Yale professor who was among three Americans who won the Nobel prize for economics said Monday that rising financial inequality in the United States and other countries is the world's biggest problem.

Robert Shiller, known for developing a widely used measure of home prices, was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science on Monday. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences honored Shiller and two other economists from the University of Chicago, Eugene Fama and Lars Peter Hansen, "for their empirical analysis of asset prices."

Shiller, an economist famous for having warned about bubbles in technology stocks and housing, said inequality has been worsening for decades. He said he supports having a contingency plan in place now to raise taxes on the rich if inequality gets worse.

he seems to understand the importance of worsening inequality. I wonder if he really supports doing something about it if it "gets worse". Perhaps the reporter is mischaracterizing his position, but inequality is "worse" now. There is no need to wait.

[Laelth]

2. k&r for the truth, however depressing it may be. n/t

-Laelth