Tax the Rich: Wealth Inequality and Policy Solutions

Send us Fan MailIn this episode, Jen and Carolyn are tackling one of the most urgent and controversial topics in American politics: Taxing the Rich. From record-breaking billionaire wealth to working families living paycheck to paycheck, America’s wealth gap has never been wider. But what can we actually do about it? And what does it mean to 'tax the rich' in policy terms—not just as a rallying cry, but as a real solution?Institute for Policy Studies (2023). “Billionaire Wealth Surges Amid Crisis.”Federal Reserve, Distributional Financial Accounts (2023).Joint Committee on Taxation (2021). Analysis of the “For the 99.5% Act.”ProPublica (2021). “The Secret IRS Files.”Senate Budget Committee – Bernie Sanders (2021). Wealth Tax Fact Sheet.Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances (2019)ProPublica, “The Secret IRS Files,” 2021Institute for Policy Studies, 2023Chetty, R. et al. "Where is the Land of Opportunity?"Bertrand & Mullainathan. "Are Emily and Greg More Employable Than Lakisha and Jamal?"Pager, D. "The Mark of a Criminal Record"Sowell, T. Various works on cultural factorsHochschild, J. "Facing Up to the American Dream"Milanović, B. "Global Inequality"McCloskey, D. "Bourgeois Dignity"Lareau, A. "Unequal Childhoods"Sandel, M. "The Tyranny of Merit"Goldin, C. Nobel Prize research on gender gapsDesmond, M. "Evicted"Gilens, M. Research on policy outcomes and wealthMounk, Y. (2018). "The People vs. Democracy: Why Our Freedom Is in Danger and How to Save It." Harvard University Press.Inglehart, R. & Norris, P. (2016). "Trump, Brexit, and the Rise of Populism: Economic Have-Nots and Cultural Backlash." Harvard Kennedy School Faculty Research Working Paper Series.Bartels, L. (2020). "Ethnic Antagonism Erodes Republicans' Commitment to Democracy." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.Piketty, T. (2020). "Capital and Ideology." Harvard University Press.Porges, S. (2011). "The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological Foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-Regulation."