Inequality: FT sage’s US gloom
Martin Wolf, the sage of the FT’s comment page was in a gloomy mood on Wednesday last.
And I mean G-L-O-O-M-Y.
Gloomy.
Got it?
The topic was economic inequality. The article was entitled Why inequality is such a drag on economies It was fuelled by two equally downbeat studies of the US economy by Morgan Stanley and Standard & Poor’s.
His article ended: “… the transmission of educational disadvantages across the generations is also a growing handicap to the economy. A debt-addicted economy with stagnant levels of education is likely to fare ill in future.”
You see he’s not a Morning in America sort of person.
The most striking piece of evidence he produced was the failure of the US to keep up with the global growth in higher education:
Ouch!
The bar chart inspired a thought.
Many US companies support education. Yet however energetic the commitment, however dedicated the support, in the USA it is clearly not having the desired effect.
Why not?
Note to UK readers. Another blog on inequality follows shortly and its specially for you.