Branko Milanovic Quotes

The issue of wealth inequality is ... the great moral issue of our time.

Segregation by race has declined gradually since 1970, but separation by income has grown steadily in the same period.

There are no great lords who possess everything and a herd of people who have nothing

The French don't think everyone should have the same bank balance, but they're offended by extremes of inequality.

When inequality gets too extreme, then it becomes useless for growth, and it can even become bad because it tends to lead to high perpetuation of inequality over time and low mobility.

In fact, the class divide in the black community is now seen by some as a permanent aspect of our existence.

There are huge divorces and divides and chasms in black America between the have-gots and the have-nots, between the monied and the poor, between the educated and the non-educated. And there are huge and growing chasms daily. And I want to say that it's not simply about generation. It's about genre.

An imbalance between the rich and poor is the oldest and most fatal ailment of all republics.

The rich are few everywhere, the poor many.

There are only two families in the whole world, my old grandmother used to say, The Haves and the Have-Nots.

People say law but they mean wealth.

Surely there is something unlovely, to modern as against medieval minds, about marked inequality of either kind income or power.

The higher classes constitute the mind of the single large whole of humanity; the lower classes constitute its limbs;

As income inequality increases, social mobility falls.

Like Venice’s oligarchs, America’s super-rich are destroying the social mobility that creates wealth.

The Great Gatsby Curve

Inequality is bad for everyone, not just the middle class and the poor.

Inequality is an inevitable product of capitalist activity, and expanding equality of opportunity only increases it—because some individuals and communities are simply better able than others to exploit the opportunities for development and advancement that capitalism affords.

The financial rewards of economic change have accrued disproportionately to the most talented and well-educated members of society.

To be concerned about inequality is not engaging in class warfare.

In the developed world, income inequality within the country is the most important determinant of health standards and life expectancy.

The struggle for power in our day lies not between Crown and people, or between a caste of nobles and a bourgeoisie, but between the classes who have property and the classes who have none.

That certain groups do much better in America than others—as measured by income, occupational status, test scores and so on – is difficult to talk about.

The greatest issue before the people—the question of special privilege and unequal distribution of wealth.

… perceptions of poverty have gone up because there’s been rising inequality.