Erika Eichelberger — The Head of the IMF Says Inequality Threatens Democracy. Here Are 7 Charts Proving She's Right

In his State of the Union address in January, President Barack Obama promised to devote 2014 to tackling inequality. When French economist Thomas Piketty's book Capital in the Twenty-First Century was released in March, it pushed the problem of growing income disparity further into the global spotlight. In April, Pope Francis tweeted, "Inequality is the root of social evil." Now Christine LaGarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund—best known for lending money to developing countries on the condition that the those states make policy changes—is taking on inequality too, warning in a speech Tuesday that rising inequality is threatening global financial stability, democracy, and human rights. 

"One of the leading economic stories of our time is rising income inequality, and the dark shadow it casts across the global economy," LaGarde said.

Mother Jones
The Head of the IMF Says Inequality Threatens Democracy. Here Are 7 Charts Proving She's Right.
Erika Eichelberger