Inequality for All: Film Screening

The United States has the most unequal distribution of income out of any developed nation. And according to former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich,  that disparity is growing – fast. In fact, the richest 400 Americans have more wealth than the lowest – income 150 million Americans combined.

But when does inequality become a problem and what effect does it have on our economy and democracy? Reich explores these questions in Jacob Kornbluth’s forthcoming documentary Inequality For All, screened at New America NYC in collaboration with Demos, a policy organization, on Wednesday. Reich was joined by Adam Davidson, co-founder and co-host of NPR’s Planet Money, to discuss the film and what we can do to address our nation’s staggering inequity. 

Heather McGhee of Demos called Inequality For All “a clarion call” for social change at a time when middle-class wages are declining, the cost of living is on the rise, and more and more working-class families are falling below the poverty line. Wealth disparity of this measure has been matched only during the Great Depression. In the film, as Reich develops the disturbing analogy between America in 1928 and America today, it becomes evident that a strong economy depends on thriving middle class. 

The solution, according to Reich, is that we address the systematic problems that foster wealth disparity. “Get big money out of politics,” Reich said, offering a first step. Today, the wealthier have a stronger voice in the political realm, linking economic inequality to political inequality. 

“The decisions that other countries made in response to technological change and globalization generated more equal opportunity for all and allowed for greater upward mobility,” Reich explained, citing Germany as one such example. Nations that invested in education, implemented fair tax systems, and kept their financial markets under control, have been most successful in maintaining greater equality.

“It’s a positive sum game,” he explained. Right now, our economy stagnates along with our middle class. Fixing inequality and building a better, more equal society, promotes a strong and growing economy. Thus, the wealthy would prosper with a smaller share of an expanding economy. 

Justin King, the policy director of New America’s Asset Building Program, which promotes policies that broaden access to economic resources among lower-income people, asked Reich what advice he would give to the President.

“[Obama] needs to get back to the issues of inequality he laid out in the beginning.”

For my part the film is notable for Robert Reich’s gracious, funny, and pasionate presence, and for an accessible and pretty visual and narrative style. This can be difficult material and the film’s Director, Jacob Kornbluth, deserves credit for presenting important and often complex data in a way that is going to be very appealing to a mass audience. Here’s the film’s trailer, which I think conveys a sense of what I’m talking about:

The key summary from my perspective is: this is happening, it’s a problem, but we can do something about it. It ends with a call to visit www.inequalityforall.com, where the makers of the film have created a portal for those interested to engage in a menu of options that they believe will ultimately help to reduce harmful inequality. Interested? If you missed the screening the film is going into wider release starting September 27th, but you might not have to wait that long. Our friends at CFED are hosting a screening on September 26th at DC’s own E Street Cinema.