Don't often succumb to video in this space, but will make an exception for this announcement promoting what I think will be a fascinating discussion tomorrow in Ojai on the subject of income inequality Thanks for listening — event info below the fold.
Noted experts from across the political and economic spectrum will appear together at The Panel on Income Inequality, the fifth in a series of provocative discussions presented by the Ojai Chautauqua, on Sunday, June 7th, 2015, at 4:30 PM at the Ojai Valley Community Church – 907 El Centro. The moderated talk will be followed by a hosted wine and cheese reception with the panelists. Tickets are $20 pre-sale, $25 at the door, and can be purchased atwww.ojaichat.org.
Populist presidential candidates in the US have been saying that "the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer" for nearly 200 years, but this year that aphorism has taken on a new meaning. The candidates this year – both Democrats and Republicans – are talking about a new twist: the observation that middle class incomes are not keeping pace with top earners.
Is it true that variation in income levels is increasing? Is upward mobility also decreasing? Would cutting taxes, or financing higher education for all, or raising the minimum wage help? Alternatively, has government intervention already weakened the free market and made the situation worse? What kind of public policy change would create more and better opportunity for upward mobility?
Presenting their views and research on the timely issue of income inequality are:
Moderator - Dan Schnur - Director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at the University of Southern California
Matthew Fienup - economist, California Lutheran University
William Voegeli - author, senior editor of The Claremont Review of Books
Sarah Bohn - economist and analyst for the Public Policy Institute of California
Edward Kleinbard - Ivadelle and Theodore Johnson Professor of Law and Business at the University of Southern California's Gould School of Law, and former lead staffer on a Congressional tax committee
Nelson Lichtenstein - MacArthur Foundation Chair in History at the University of California, Santa Barbara
Kit Stolz 