The Inequality Puzzle (PDF)

Should we be troubled by rising income inequality? Does the Financial Crisis oblige us to consider how much inequality is desirable? The United States and many European countries have seen shifts in public attitudes toward a widening gap between the rich and poor. Will income inequality return to the political agenda? In thirteen candid interviews, distinguished business, political and labor leaders discuss the "inequality puzzle" and what should be done. "In the current socio-economic environment, there seems to be a broad consensus that the present degree of inequality is too high, less in terms of wealth, than in terms of compensation. This certainly holds true for the United States, but also to a lesser degree for Europe." Josef Ackermann, CEO & Chairman, Deutsche Bank "So anybody who says that inequality isn't a big issue for the effective functioning of a society, is simply ignorant of the record of humanity. It's a huge issue." Fred Smith, Chairman, President & CEO, FedEx Features interviews with -Josef Ackermann, CEO & Chairman, Deutsche Bank -Bertrand Collomb, Honorary Chairman, Lafarge -Gabriele Galateri di Genola, Chairman, Telecom Italia -Jürgen Hambrecht, Chairman, BASF -Maurice Lévy, Chairman & CEO, Publicis -John Monks, General Secretary, European Trade Union Confederation -Sir Mark Moody-Stuart, Former Chairman, Anglo American; Former Chairman, Shell -Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, President, Party of European Socialists; Former Prime Minister, Denmark -Fred Smith, Chairman, President, & CEO, FedEx -John Sweeney, President Emeritus, AFL-CIO -William Weld, Partner, McDermott Will & Emery LLP; Former Governor, Massachusetts -James Wolfensohn, Chairman & CEO, Wolfensohn & Co.; Former President, World Bank -Jerry Yang, Co-Founder & Chief Yahoo, Yahoo! Analytical chapters and recommendations -Roland Berger, Founder, Roland Berger Foundation -David B. Grusky, Director, Stanford Center for the Study of Poverty & Inequality -Christopher Wimer, Associate Director, Collaboration for Poverty Research, Stanford Center for the Study of Poverty & Inequality