Stiglitz-Hubbard Clash on Inequality Echoes Obama-Romney

Columbia University professors Joseph Stiglitz and Glenn Hubbard agree that income inequality is a concern. They disagree over what’s behind it and how best to tackle it, in a dispute that has spilled beyond the halls of academia and onto the presidential campaign trail.

Nobel Laureate Stiglitz, 69, says the rich have rigged the system so they earn more than they contribute to the economy. He wants to increase taxes on the wealthy and argues that Republican Mitt Romney’s plan to cut government spending would “significantly” raise the odds of a recession next year.