Janet Yellan’s speech opened a conference on inequality at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, Friday, October 10, 2014.

“The past several decades have seen the most sustained rise in inequality since the 19th century after more than 40 years of narrowing inequality following the Great Depression,” she said. “By some estimates, income and wealth inequality are near their highest levels in the past hundred years, much higher than the average during that time span and probably higher than for much of American history before then. For example, the share of wealth held by the lower half of households fell from 3 percent in 1989 to 1 percent in 2013, according to the Fed’s triennial Survey of Consumer Finances, a survey of 6,000 households. … I think it is appropriate to ask whether this trend is compatible with values rooted in our nation’s history, among them the high value Americans have traditionally placed on equality of opportunity.”

There are a number of responses to her speech on the internet, including The New Yorker and the New York Times.

Google ‘Janet Yellan’ and you will find more, some critical.