Center for American Progress

: The Rise and Consequences of Inequality
Past Event


The Rise and Consequences of Inequality

Read the full text of Alan Krueger’s speech here.

Download the Powerpoint here.

On December 6 President Barack Obama said that the kind of inequality that we have in America today, higher than at any time since the Great Depression, "hurts us all." He went on to outline how growing inequality and a shrinking middle class are at the root of our economic problems. These trends mean less stable consumption, unsustainable debt, a concentration of power in the hands of the few, and the unraveling of the American Dream that portrays the United States as a land of opportunity for anyone who works hard and plays by the rules. In short, an economy that doesn’t work for all of us, isn’t working.

Join us for a conversation with Dr. Alan Krueger, chairman of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers, about how inequality threatens both the middle class and the economy at large.

 

Featured speaker:
Alan Krueger, Chairman, President’s Council of Economic Advisers; former Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy and Chief Economist, US Department of Treasury

Introduction by:
Neera Tanden, President, Center for American Progress