Joseph Stiglitz: America Could (And Should) Tackle Inequality Now

Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz in a HuffPost Live conversation Wednesday said that young Americans face a lack of opportunity -- unless they come from a privileged background, that is.

"America has become one of the advanced countries with the least opportunity, and that means that the prospects of young Americans are more dependent on the education and income of his parents than in other advanced countries," the author of The Price Of Inequality said.

Earlier in the interview, Stiglitz cautioned that the economic ramifications could be dire if the country does not prioritize tackling inequality: "We're going to have slower growth in the future and more inequality in the future, unless we check this."

He also said that the country has the means to combat the problem.

"You look at the numbers and it's very clear: We could afford to have better infrastructure, to have more investment in technology," he said. "We could afford to provide a good education for every American child, no matter what the income of his parents. It is a matter of choice."

"What creates jobs is really having an economy with opportunity. We don't have that economy of opportunity," he added.

Watch more from Joseph Stiglitz's conversation with HuffPost Live here.

Sign up here for Live Today, HuffPost Live’s morning email that will let you know the newsmakers, celebrities and politicians joining us that day and give you the best clips from the day before!