Debate: It's Time To Redistribute The Wealth

Economic inequality has become a linchpin of modern politics. As nations around the world face a reckoning on racial and social justice and work to combat the economic impacts of the pandemic, we ask: Is it time to redistribute the wealth? Should we address growing inequality by overhauling our tax system, expanding our social safety nets, and investing more in public initiatives like universal health care, education, and infrastructure? Or would a wealth transfer unduly punish the economic elite, destroy the promise of a meritocracy, and inevitably lead to excessive government intervention in our social and economic lives?

For The Motion

• Robert Reich- Former Secretary of Labor

• Yanis Varoufakis - Former Finance Minister, Greece

Against The Motion

• Allison Schrager - Senior Fellow, Manhattan Institute

• Lawrence Summers - Former Secretary of the Treasury