Friday, June 22, 2012

Joseph Stiglitz: Austerity and the downward spiral - The Washington Post

How policy has contributed to the great economic divide - The Washington Post
by Joseph Stiglitz 
2001 Nobel Prizewinner, Chairman of Clinton's Council of Economic Advisers, and former World Bank President
"The United States is in the midst of a vicious cycle of inequality and recession: Inequality prolongs the downturn, and the downturn exacerbates inequality. Unfortunately, the austerity agenda advocated by conservatives will make matters worse on both counts. The seriousness of America’s growing problem of inequality was highlighted by Federal Reserve data released this month showing the recession’s devastating effect on the wealth and income of those at the bottom and in the middle. The decline in median wealth, down almost 40 percent in just three years, wiped out two decades of wealth accumulation for most Americans. If the average American had actually shared in the country’s seeming prosperity the past two decades, his wealth, instead of stagnating, would have increased by some three-fourths." 'via Blog this'

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