BOSTON (Reuters) - A top Federal Reserve official said on Saturday that equality of opportunity is a worthy social goal that has not yet been achieved in the United States.
Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren did not comment on monetary policy or the economic forecast in prepared remarks to a conference here on inequality.
Building on comments on Friday by Fed Chair Janet Yellen, he said "concentrated, intergenerational poverty" suggests inequality of opportunity is a community issue that, studies show, can be alleviated by social and educational interventions.
"While income inequality may be a somewhat controversial issue, most people – even most economists – agree that equality of opportunity is a worthy goal," he told a Boston Fed conference on the issue. "Yet society has fallen short in delivering on the goal of equality of opportunity."
(Reporting by Jonathan Spicer; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)