1 00:00:15,076 --> 00:00:21,316 Speaker 1: Pushkin, I may have Higgins and this is solvable Interviews 2 00:00:21,316 --> 00:00:24,676 Speaker 1: with the world's most innovative thinkers working to solve the 3 00:00:24,716 --> 00:00:28,836 Speaker 1: world's biggest problems. My solvable he is to address the 4 00:00:28,956 --> 00:00:34,796 Speaker 1: problems of extreme inequality in the United States. That's Joseph Stiglitz, economist, 5 00:00:34,996 --> 00:00:39,356 Speaker 1: public policy analyst, and professor at Columbia University, oh and 6 00:00:39,596 --> 00:00:44,396 Speaker 1: Nobel Laureate. Now even a cursory look at the levels 7 00:00:44,396 --> 00:00:47,436 Speaker 1: of inequality in the US can make your head spin. 8 00:00:48,036 --> 00:00:50,476 Speaker 1: I'm sitting in a studio in Manhattan, which is home 9 00:00:50,556 --> 00:00:54,756 Speaker 1: to many of the country's real estate moguls, media empires, 10 00:00:54,836 --> 00:00:58,276 Speaker 1: and hedge fund billionaires. And I'm also just a few 11 00:00:58,276 --> 00:01:01,316 Speaker 1: miles away from the South Bronx, which the two ten 12 00:01:01,396 --> 00:01:04,356 Speaker 1: Census found to be the poorest district in the nation. 13 00:01:04,756 --> 00:01:08,636 Speaker 1: Income disparities have become so pronounced that America's top ten 14 00:01:08,676 --> 00:01:12,476 Speaker 1: percent now average more than nine times as much income 15 00:01:12,756 --> 00:01:15,996 Speaker 1: as the other ninety percent of US. It's more than 16 00:01:16,036 --> 00:01:19,236 Speaker 1: ten years since the financial crisis that shook our world 17 00:01:19,276 --> 00:01:23,196 Speaker 1: and caused enormous suffering, and in that time, the fortunes 18 00:01:23,236 --> 00:01:26,516 Speaker 1: of the richest have actually risen dramatically. The number of 19 00:01:26,516 --> 00:01:30,276 Speaker 1: billionaires have almost doubled, with a new billionaire created every 20 00:01:30,356 --> 00:01:34,556 Speaker 1: two days between twenty seventeen and twenty eighteen. Meanwhile, the 21 00:01:34,596 --> 00:01:39,076 Speaker 1: official poverty rate for all US families has actually barely changed, 22 00:01:39,556 --> 00:01:42,996 Speaker 1: with an estimated one hundred and forty million people in 23 00:01:43,036 --> 00:01:47,156 Speaker 1: this country now counted as either poor or low income. 24 00:01:47,596 --> 00:01:51,076 Speaker 1: Joseph Stiglett seized the US as an outlier amongst other 25 00:01:51,116 --> 00:01:55,276 Speaker 1: wealthy countries, and he studies why inequality is much more severe. 26 00:01:55,436 --> 00:01:58,956 Speaker 1: Here he works to understand why it is we're so 27 00:01:59,036 --> 00:02:02,956 Speaker 1: far behind other comparable countries. And really he argues that 28 00:02:02,996 --> 00:02:06,716 Speaker 1: it's down to our policies, that the exercise of power 29 00:02:06,876 --> 00:02:10,596 Speaker 1: in the pursuit of profit has left people behind, and 30 00:02:10,796 --> 00:02:13,316 Speaker 1: he offers up as solvable for that. Here he is 31 00:02:13,356 --> 00:02:18,356 Speaker 1: getting into us with Jacob Weisberg, Joe, inequality is one 32 00:02:18,396 --> 00:02:22,596 Speaker 1: of the most complicated and interesting problems in the world 33 00:02:22,596 --> 00:02:25,596 Speaker 1: and economics, and you've just written a book about it. 34 00:02:25,996 --> 00:02:28,796 Speaker 1: But I wonder if you could describe what you think 35 00:02:28,836 --> 00:02:32,916 Speaker 1: the problem of inequality is in a nutshell. The problem 36 00:02:33,156 --> 00:02:37,316 Speaker 1: of inequality differs, of course, in different countries, in developed 37 00:02:37,356 --> 00:02:42,556 Speaker 1: countries and in developing countries. The problem in a rich 38 00:02:42,596 --> 00:02:48,476 Speaker 1: country like the United States is that such a large 39 00:02:48,476 --> 00:02:54,876 Speaker 1: fraction of the wealth of the country goes to so few, 40 00:02:55,716 --> 00:02:58,476 Speaker 1: And that wouldn't be by itself, you might say a 41 00:02:58,556 --> 00:03:01,956 Speaker 1: problem if it weren't for the fact that the people 42 00:03:01,956 --> 00:03:06,556 Speaker 1: at the bottom really aren't don't receive a you might 43 00:03:06,556 --> 00:03:11,596 Speaker 1: call a bare necessity of living. So it's not only 44 00:03:11,636 --> 00:03:16,036 Speaker 1: that those at the top have luxuries beyond anybody's dream, 45 00:03:16,516 --> 00:03:21,836 Speaker 1: but those at the bottom are not getting the necessities 46 00:03:21,836 --> 00:03:28,476 Speaker 1: of life. Their children are not getting the education, the 47 00:03:28,596 --> 00:03:32,196 Speaker 1: health that would lead them to live up to their potential. 48 00:03:32,996 --> 00:03:36,036 Speaker 1: Why is this your problem? Just when you talk about it, 49 00:03:36,036 --> 00:03:38,796 Speaker 1: it doesn't sound like you're just thinking about this as 50 00:03:38,836 --> 00:03:40,916 Speaker 1: an economist. Do you think of this as a as 51 00:03:40,916 --> 00:03:43,556 Speaker 1: a social justice issue and a basic justice issue. It 52 00:03:43,636 --> 00:03:48,436 Speaker 1: is a moral issue, a social justice issue. It's also 53 00:03:48,476 --> 00:03:52,956 Speaker 1: an economic issue, because I believe that it actually weakens 54 00:03:53,116 --> 00:03:57,836 Speaker 1: our overall economy. But it's a particularly moral issue in 55 00:03:57,876 --> 00:04:02,756 Speaker 1: two dimensions. There shouldn't be this kind of extremes of 56 00:04:02,796 --> 00:04:06,796 Speaker 1: inequality in a rich country like the United States. There 57 00:04:06,796 --> 00:04:10,796 Speaker 1: shouldn't be people. Almost one out of seven Americans go 58 00:04:10,876 --> 00:04:15,276 Speaker 1: to bed hungry once a month, not because they're on 59 00:04:15,356 --> 00:04:18,876 Speaker 1: the diet, but because they don't have enough money to 60 00:04:19,436 --> 00:04:21,796 Speaker 1: stretch to the end of the month by the food. 61 00:04:21,876 --> 00:04:26,516 Speaker 1: There shouldn't be that extreme deprivation. United States is a 62 00:04:26,636 --> 00:04:32,916 Speaker 1: rich country, yet life expectancy is in decline. And it's 63 00:04:32,956 --> 00:04:36,836 Speaker 1: not because we aren't doing the most advanced research that 64 00:04:37,036 --> 00:04:42,156 Speaker 1: has taught us how to extend life. It's not because 65 00:04:42,156 --> 00:04:46,796 Speaker 1: there's an epidemic going on. It's because our economic and 66 00:04:46,796 --> 00:04:52,516 Speaker 1: our social system is depriving large fractions of America are 67 00:04:52,516 --> 00:04:57,756 Speaker 1: the basic necessities of life, including healthcare, but also adequate nutrition. 68 00:04:59,196 --> 00:05:05,156 Speaker 1: It's also, to me a moral issue because of the 69 00:05:05,236 --> 00:05:08,076 Speaker 1: extremes of wealth. Not all, but some of the extremes 70 00:05:08,076 --> 00:05:13,556 Speaker 1: of wealth originate from exploiting others. At the other extreme, 71 00:05:14,596 --> 00:05:17,556 Speaker 1: some of the extremes of wealth come from exploiting people 72 00:05:17,596 --> 00:05:24,316 Speaker 1: in other countries. The arms trade, where many Americans are 73 00:05:24,356 --> 00:05:29,076 Speaker 1: becoming wealthy at the expense of the death of people 74 00:05:29,676 --> 00:05:33,436 Speaker 1: in other countries. The drug trade, and I'm not talking 75 00:05:33,476 --> 00:05:37,956 Speaker 1: about the illicit drugs, but the prescription drugs, where you 76 00:05:38,156 --> 00:05:43,716 Speaker 1: have families to become wealthy beyond anybody's dream, billions of 77 00:05:43,756 --> 00:05:50,676 Speaker 1: dollars giving way money to charities like art, but causing 78 00:05:50,956 --> 00:05:55,476 Speaker 1: an epidemic of drug overdoses. In the United States by 79 00:05:55,596 --> 00:06:03,996 Speaker 1: getting people addicted cigarette companies who develop cigarettes that are 80 00:06:04,116 --> 00:06:09,836 Speaker 1: more addictive even than the natural addiction associated with tobacco nicotine, 81 00:06:10,436 --> 00:06:15,076 Speaker 1: and becoming wealthy at the expense of suffering of other people. 82 00:06:15,316 --> 00:06:18,636 Speaker 1: You know, it's not that this is new. We had 83 00:06:18,996 --> 00:06:22,916 Speaker 1: the opium trade, and Western countries went to war twice 84 00:06:23,036 --> 00:06:27,876 Speaker 1: with China to keep the market for opium open so 85 00:06:27,956 --> 00:06:34,276 Speaker 1: that more Chinese would become addicted to our destructive products. 86 00:06:34,276 --> 00:06:37,116 Speaker 1: And we call that free trade in the nineteenth century. 87 00:06:37,996 --> 00:06:41,756 Speaker 1: But what has happened is that what was you might say, 88 00:06:42,156 --> 00:06:46,236 Speaker 1: an unusual thing in the nineteenth century has become a 89 00:06:46,476 --> 00:06:51,796 Speaker 1: major source of income and wealth and inequality in the 90 00:06:51,836 --> 00:06:57,596 Speaker 1: United States. So those forms of exploitative enrichment are a 91 00:06:57,756 --> 00:06:59,836 Speaker 1: kind of exceptions to maybe what you said a minute 92 00:06:59,836 --> 00:07:02,996 Speaker 1: ago when we were getting started, which is, if people 93 00:07:03,036 --> 00:07:06,876 Speaker 1: on the bottom were getting richer and doing better, we 94 00:07:06,916 --> 00:07:09,396 Speaker 1: wouldn't need to worry so much about how rich the 95 00:07:09,516 --> 00:07:12,476 Speaker 1: rich people are. But it's not really the case. Is 96 00:07:13,116 --> 00:07:16,436 Speaker 1: inequality not a problem per se. If the tide is 97 00:07:16,596 --> 00:07:19,436 Speaker 1: rising on the bottom, we don't need to worry about 98 00:07:19,436 --> 00:07:22,996 Speaker 1: it rising faster or even more at the top. We 99 00:07:23,076 --> 00:07:27,356 Speaker 1: do have to worry about it. A society that is 100 00:07:27,436 --> 00:07:30,916 Speaker 1: more polarized, more divided, is a different kind of society. 101 00:07:31,636 --> 00:07:35,516 Speaker 1: And there's been a lot of interesting social science research 102 00:07:35,596 --> 00:07:39,036 Speaker 1: about the ways in which it differs. That people at 103 00:07:39,036 --> 00:07:44,436 Speaker 1: the top feel entitled. They'll go through stoplights, they'll act 104 00:07:44,476 --> 00:07:48,756 Speaker 1: in other ways that are abusive of other people because 105 00:07:48,796 --> 00:07:54,916 Speaker 1: they feel entitled. People at the bottom also feel that 106 00:07:55,276 --> 00:07:58,356 Speaker 1: on the one end, they're being taken advantage of, and 107 00:07:58,396 --> 00:08:01,956 Speaker 1: that makes them angry, and that makes them leads to 108 00:08:02,036 --> 00:08:08,116 Speaker 1: social dysfunction. But others feel giving up that the system 109 00:08:08,196 --> 00:08:12,076 Speaker 1: is rigged and and they drop out. Either way, it's 110 00:08:12,116 --> 00:08:18,396 Speaker 1: a socially dysfunctional outcome. So it seems to me that 111 00:08:18,996 --> 00:08:24,396 Speaker 1: these extremes of inequality are destructive no matter how they originate. 112 00:08:25,196 --> 00:08:29,756 Speaker 1: But I think that natural order of the economy would 113 00:08:29,796 --> 00:08:33,476 Speaker 1: be that it would limit the extremes of inequality if 114 00:08:33,476 --> 00:08:39,436 Speaker 1: it weren't for these abusive practices. That there is no 115 00:08:40,116 --> 00:08:45,116 Speaker 1: inherent reason why you would have the magnitude of inequality 116 00:08:45,156 --> 00:08:47,436 Speaker 1: that we see in the United States or we see 117 00:08:47,516 --> 00:08:51,236 Speaker 1: around the world, were it not for the extent of 118 00:08:51,316 --> 00:08:54,716 Speaker 1: exploitation that we see. And I always say exploitation, I 119 00:08:54,716 --> 00:08:59,876 Speaker 1: mean exploitation of market power, exploitation of the vulnerable. You know, 120 00:08:59,916 --> 00:09:04,756 Speaker 1: when I look at the people at the top, it 121 00:09:04,836 --> 00:09:12,116 Speaker 1: is really shocking the fraction of them who have gotten 122 00:09:12,476 --> 00:09:16,196 Speaker 1: a substantial fraction of their income from exploitation. Not that 123 00:09:16,316 --> 00:09:20,756 Speaker 1: some of them may have made important contributions somewhere along 124 00:09:20,796 --> 00:09:24,156 Speaker 1: the way of making wealth, but then they've taken that 125 00:09:24,236 --> 00:09:29,116 Speaker 1: wealth and multiplied it through some process of exploitation. You 126 00:09:29,196 --> 00:09:31,436 Speaker 1: and I are a few years apart, but we both 127 00:09:31,436 --> 00:09:33,596 Speaker 1: grew up in America that was much more of a 128 00:09:33,636 --> 00:09:37,556 Speaker 1: middle class society, and it had a few features which 129 00:09:37,596 --> 00:09:39,956 Speaker 1: we sort of took for granted. One of them was 130 00:09:40,036 --> 00:09:44,156 Speaker 1: that you could earn a decent middle class living without 131 00:09:44,276 --> 00:09:48,436 Speaker 1: college education or without higher education. Another was that the 132 00:09:48,516 --> 00:09:51,676 Speaker 1: wealth gap was just much less than it is now. 133 00:09:51,836 --> 00:09:56,356 Speaker 1: People who work in working class jobs, fundamentally unskilled jobs, 134 00:09:57,116 --> 00:10:01,596 Speaker 1: their salary was a larger fraction of the CEO of 135 00:10:01,636 --> 00:10:04,876 Speaker 1: the company they worked for. So, looking at this first 136 00:10:04,876 --> 00:10:08,356 Speaker 1: as an economist, what do you think the key drivers 137 00:10:08,396 --> 00:10:11,956 Speaker 1: of that change? The key drivers of inequality have been 138 00:10:12,836 --> 00:10:17,316 Speaker 1: There are many, many drivers of the growth of inequality, 139 00:10:17,356 --> 00:10:21,076 Speaker 1: but the ones that I focus on a great deal 140 00:10:21,436 --> 00:10:28,156 Speaker 1: are precisely this increase in exploitation, including exploitation of market power. 141 00:10:28,916 --> 00:10:32,836 Speaker 1: Included in that description of market power is the fact 142 00:10:32,836 --> 00:10:38,636 Speaker 1: that we have weaker unions. We've gone through a period 143 00:10:38,716 --> 00:10:43,116 Speaker 1: where government has not played the role that's played in 144 00:10:43,156 --> 00:10:47,356 Speaker 1: the past in curbing market power. Our corporate CEOs have 145 00:10:47,596 --> 00:10:51,516 Speaker 1: learned how to exploit the weaknesses in our corporate governance. 146 00:10:52,436 --> 00:10:56,876 Speaker 1: There's been a systematic attempt to weaken the systems of 147 00:10:56,956 --> 00:11:01,516 Speaker 1: checks and balances, including labor unions, which are important ways 148 00:11:01,596 --> 00:11:05,716 Speaker 1: of making sure that ordinary workers get a voice and 149 00:11:06,356 --> 00:11:10,436 Speaker 1: economic relationships. So let me just illustrated by a couple 150 00:11:10,756 --> 00:11:15,356 Speaker 1: of examples. If we look at the concentration of market power, 151 00:11:16,236 --> 00:11:19,636 Speaker 1: evidence is overwhelming that it's increased enormously in the last 152 00:11:19,676 --> 00:11:24,236 Speaker 1: twenty years. The antitrust laws that were absolutely essential one 153 00:11:24,316 --> 00:11:27,196 Speaker 1: hundred and some years ago, incurbing the market power of 154 00:11:27,236 --> 00:11:31,276 Speaker 1: standard oil and tobacco monopoly and a whole set of monopolies, 155 00:11:31,436 --> 00:11:37,196 Speaker 1: they've been eviscerated by fifty years, especially since the so 156 00:11:37,356 --> 00:11:40,676 Speaker 1: called Reagan Revolution, well with Robert Bork, who came up 157 00:11:40,716 --> 00:11:43,636 Speaker 1: with the theory of antitrust that we basically still live with, 158 00:11:43,636 --> 00:11:47,316 Speaker 1: which it's very narrow definition, and the irony of that 159 00:11:47,556 --> 00:11:51,596 Speaker 1: was that came up exactly at the time where economists 160 00:11:51,876 --> 00:11:56,556 Speaker 1: were beginning to understand the nature of market powers, and 161 00:11:56,716 --> 00:11:59,196 Speaker 1: so he was putting forward an idea. A lot of 162 00:11:59,236 --> 00:12:02,436 Speaker 1: people in Chicago put forward this idea that markets are 163 00:12:02,556 --> 00:12:06,916 Speaker 1: naturally competitive, and the economics profession was showing that that 164 00:12:07,636 --> 00:12:12,916 Speaker 1: was wrong. And my own work was on imperfect information 165 00:12:12,956 --> 00:12:17,316 Speaker 1: and showing how imperfections of information are a real barrier 166 00:12:17,396 --> 00:12:21,516 Speaker 1: to the operation of the so called ideal of perfect 167 00:12:21,596 --> 00:12:25,516 Speaker 1: markets that Bork and a lot of the Chicago economists 168 00:12:25,516 --> 00:12:30,556 Speaker 1: focused on. Another example, though, is what's happened to CEO pay. 169 00:12:30,796 --> 00:12:34,516 Speaker 1: Ceo pay has increased like a thousand percent in the 170 00:12:34,556 --> 00:12:39,476 Speaker 1: last forty years, not because they've become that much more productive, 171 00:12:39,796 --> 00:12:44,796 Speaker 1: and it really is undermined the underlying theory that neoliberalism 172 00:12:44,836 --> 00:12:48,636 Speaker 1: and standard economics, which is based on pay being related 173 00:12:48,636 --> 00:12:54,076 Speaker 1: to productivity. It really shows its power that determines productivity. 174 00:12:54,116 --> 00:12:57,076 Speaker 1: And the CEOs had the power to raise their own 175 00:12:57,636 --> 00:13:01,796 Speaker 1: compensation and they've taken advantage of that and they realize 176 00:13:01,876 --> 00:13:07,676 Speaker 1: that the constraints aren't there. And a third example that 177 00:13:07,796 --> 00:13:11,836 Speaker 1: brings out the visration of the role of government in 178 00:13:11,876 --> 00:13:16,156 Speaker 1: this area is that the minimum wages wages at the bottom, 179 00:13:16,796 --> 00:13:20,396 Speaker 1: adjusted for inflation, are today the same as they were 180 00:13:20,476 --> 00:13:23,956 Speaker 1: sixty years ago. Now can you imagine getting no pay 181 00:13:24,036 --> 00:13:27,436 Speaker 1: race for sixty years in what is allegedly one of 182 00:13:27,476 --> 00:13:30,916 Speaker 1: the most prosperous countries in the world, where the one 183 00:13:30,996 --> 00:13:35,156 Speaker 1: percent see their income soaring. You look at the TV set, 184 00:13:35,356 --> 00:13:41,196 Speaker 1: you see how others are living doing well. Today. You 185 00:13:41,316 --> 00:13:45,796 Speaker 1: work full time at the minimum wage and it's not livable. 186 00:13:45,836 --> 00:13:49,156 Speaker 1: You can't even pay your rent on what you get 187 00:13:49,156 --> 00:13:53,516 Speaker 1: paid as a minimum wage. Some economists look at inequality 188 00:13:53,556 --> 00:13:59,636 Speaker 1: and think technology and trade and returns to education are 189 00:13:59,676 --> 00:14:02,836 Speaker 1: at the center of the phenomenon, and that policy is 190 00:14:02,836 --> 00:14:05,236 Speaker 1: at the margin for good or for ill. You tend 191 00:14:05,276 --> 00:14:08,516 Speaker 1: to see policy as at the center rather than these 192 00:14:09,516 --> 00:14:13,036 Speaker 1: tectonic factors. Is that right. That's right, and those factors 193 00:14:13,716 --> 00:14:18,796 Speaker 1: are relevant. I'm not denying their relevance. Those factors themselves, 194 00:14:18,796 --> 00:14:22,836 Speaker 1: of course, are a part of our political process, and 195 00:14:23,316 --> 00:14:30,156 Speaker 1: politics reflects the inequality in economics. So when you have 196 00:14:30,316 --> 00:14:33,916 Speaker 1: the extremes of inequality economic inequality, you're going to get 197 00:14:33,916 --> 00:14:39,476 Speaker 1: a political inequality. So the way we've governed globalization where 198 00:14:39,596 --> 00:14:42,596 Speaker 1: we've left the results of which have been to put 199 00:14:42,636 --> 00:14:47,756 Speaker 1: downward pressure on especially on skilled wages resultant, and these 200 00:14:48,156 --> 00:14:51,436 Speaker 1: large parts of America that have become de industrialized, with 201 00:14:51,636 --> 00:14:55,196 Speaker 1: the deaths of despair that are leading to our skyrocketing 202 00:14:55,716 --> 00:15:00,636 Speaker 1: incidents of suicide, drug overdose, and alcoholism. All those are 203 00:15:00,756 --> 00:15:05,436 Speaker 1: political nature. But the reason that I emphasize that it's 204 00:15:05,596 --> 00:15:11,596 Speaker 1: policy more than these exogen factors, more than technological change, 205 00:15:11,956 --> 00:15:15,796 Speaker 1: is that you look around the world and the United 206 00:15:15,836 --> 00:15:22,556 Speaker 1: States is an outlider among advanced countries that we have 207 00:15:22,836 --> 00:15:27,236 Speaker 1: more inequality and less equality of opportunity than other countries. 208 00:15:28,156 --> 00:15:31,996 Speaker 1: Those other countries have the same technology. I mean, we're 209 00:15:31,996 --> 00:15:36,156 Speaker 1: part of advanced countries. They have even more open markets, 210 00:15:36,156 --> 00:15:39,956 Speaker 1: so even more exposed to globalization. Why is it the 211 00:15:40,036 --> 00:15:44,236 Speaker 1: United States is so much worse than these other countries. 212 00:15:45,156 --> 00:15:49,196 Speaker 1: And it's our policies, and our policies are driven by 213 00:15:50,156 --> 00:15:54,316 Speaker 1: our politics, which is this vicious circle that I describe before. 214 00:15:55,116 --> 00:15:57,556 Speaker 1: And you know, this has been really one of the 215 00:15:57,596 --> 00:16:01,716 Speaker 1: th ust of my recent book People, Power and Profits, 216 00:16:02,116 --> 00:16:07,436 Speaker 1: Progressive Capitalism and Age of Discontents. It's precisely that it's 217 00:16:07,476 --> 00:16:12,596 Speaker 1: the exercise of power in the pursuit of profits that 218 00:16:12,636 --> 00:16:15,876 Speaker 1: has left our people behind. So we're dealing with the 219 00:16:15,956 --> 00:16:20,476 Speaker 1: consequence of at least forty years of policy fanning the 220 00:16:20,476 --> 00:16:24,356 Speaker 1: flames of inequality. Do you think now reversal in some 221 00:16:24,436 --> 00:16:29,196 Speaker 1: of those fundamental policies around taxation, around regulation, around investment 222 00:16:29,676 --> 00:16:36,316 Speaker 1: can actually reverse this trend and produce not only diminishing 223 00:16:36,436 --> 00:16:41,116 Speaker 1: rate of increase of inequality, but less inequality more equality. 224 00:16:41,436 --> 00:16:44,156 Speaker 1: Very much so. And I put at the flip side 225 00:16:44,716 --> 00:16:47,356 Speaker 1: that if we don't do those things, things are going 226 00:16:47,396 --> 00:16:50,716 Speaker 1: to get worse and worse that we have not seen 227 00:16:51,356 --> 00:16:55,116 Speaker 1: the end of this increase inequality if we don't do 228 00:16:55,196 --> 00:16:57,716 Speaker 1: something about it. Next. One of the reasons why I 229 00:16:57,716 --> 00:17:01,316 Speaker 1: think this is a solvable problem. We know what we 230 00:17:01,356 --> 00:17:05,596 Speaker 1: need to do to bend the curve to reduce inequality. 231 00:17:05,916 --> 00:17:09,436 Speaker 1: And if we begin with something that I think almost 232 00:17:09,436 --> 00:17:13,756 Speaker 1: all Americans would agree with is, you know, every American 233 00:17:13,916 --> 00:17:17,236 Speaker 1: child should be able to live up to their potential. 234 00:17:18,076 --> 00:17:22,236 Speaker 1: You should get an education and health that is not 235 00:17:22,396 --> 00:17:27,476 Speaker 1: a hindrance to them. But the reality is that one 236 00:17:27,476 --> 00:17:31,276 Speaker 1: in five American children are growing up in poverty, and 237 00:17:31,556 --> 00:17:34,516 Speaker 1: part of that poverty is they're not getting adequate nutrition. 238 00:17:35,236 --> 00:17:39,436 Speaker 1: And we live in a more economically segregated society than 239 00:17:39,476 --> 00:17:43,876 Speaker 1: we were thirty years ago. And with our local education system, 240 00:17:43,996 --> 00:17:49,276 Speaker 1: it means that if you are living in a poor community, 241 00:17:49,796 --> 00:17:52,916 Speaker 1: you're going to get a poor education, not always, but 242 00:17:53,036 --> 00:17:57,956 Speaker 1: on average, and that means your life prospects are going 243 00:17:57,996 --> 00:18:01,556 Speaker 1: to be diminished. And that's one of the reasons why 244 00:18:01,676 --> 00:18:04,596 Speaker 1: you know the marriage. I've said in some of my 245 00:18:04,636 --> 00:18:07,956 Speaker 1: books that the American dream is a myth that the 246 00:18:08,636 --> 00:18:11,996 Speaker 1: look at the numbers. The numbers tell you that the 247 00:18:12,156 --> 00:18:16,836 Speaker 1: life prospects of a young American are more dependent on 248 00:18:16,996 --> 00:18:19,596 Speaker 1: the income and education of experience than in almost any 249 00:18:19,636 --> 00:18:23,716 Speaker 1: other advanced countries. You might say, that's an American but 250 00:18:23,796 --> 00:18:27,276 Speaker 1: that's where we are. But we could reverse that. We 251 00:18:27,356 --> 00:18:30,476 Speaker 1: are the only country among the advanced countries that doesn't 252 00:18:30,516 --> 00:18:34,836 Speaker 1: recognize the right to access to healthcare as a basic 253 00:18:34,916 --> 00:18:41,476 Speaker 1: human right. And that's solvable. There are so many other 254 00:18:41,596 --> 00:18:47,156 Speaker 1: aspects of our economic and social organization that have led 255 00:18:47,196 --> 00:18:53,596 Speaker 1: to this perpetuation of inequality. Is limited equality of opportunity 256 00:18:54,196 --> 00:18:56,836 Speaker 1: that is leading to the kind of despair and large 257 00:18:56,836 --> 00:19:00,596 Speaker 1: fractions of a country. So you talked about healthcare, Let's 258 00:19:00,636 --> 00:19:04,076 Speaker 1: talk about education from anute, particularly higher education. One of 259 00:19:04,116 --> 00:19:08,156 Speaker 1: the interesting debates, say inside the Democratic Party, although not 260 00:19:08,236 --> 00:19:12,516 Speaker 1: always articulation it is, first of all, whether the goal 261 00:19:12,596 --> 00:19:15,596 Speaker 1: should be for everyone to get some higher education, which 262 00:19:15,596 --> 00:19:18,516 Speaker 1: I think Barack Obama stated as a goal at one 263 00:19:18,556 --> 00:19:20,916 Speaker 1: point in his presidency, although it's not one he made 264 00:19:20,916 --> 00:19:23,836 Speaker 1: a lot of progress towards, especially given how much more 265 00:19:23,876 --> 00:19:29,116 Speaker 1: expensive college has been getting or as opposed to that 266 00:19:29,916 --> 00:19:32,836 Speaker 1: make everything better for people who are never going to 267 00:19:32,916 --> 00:19:35,516 Speaker 1: college and accept that reality. Do you think the goal 268 00:19:35,596 --> 00:19:39,236 Speaker 1: should be for all Americans to have higher education of 269 00:19:39,276 --> 00:19:43,236 Speaker 1: some kind? Well, my view is one wants to have 270 00:19:43,316 --> 00:19:46,156 Speaker 1: the education that allows everybody to live up to their 271 00:19:46,196 --> 00:19:50,316 Speaker 1: potential and that leaks to a more efficient economy. The 272 00:19:50,436 --> 00:19:53,716 Speaker 1: fact is that we are so far from that goal 273 00:19:54,516 --> 00:19:57,996 Speaker 1: that that's what we should be focusing our attention on. 274 00:19:58,676 --> 00:20:01,836 Speaker 1: You talked about the expense at the end of World 275 00:20:01,916 --> 00:20:05,796 Speaker 1: War Two, when we had a debt GDP ratio that 276 00:20:05,876 --> 00:20:08,356 Speaker 1: was much higher because we have borrowed money to fight 277 00:20:08,476 --> 00:20:11,436 Speaker 1: the ward. We didn't say would we afford we fought 278 00:20:11,476 --> 00:20:13,956 Speaker 1: the war. We wound up with a duck GDP ratio 279 00:20:13,956 --> 00:20:17,036 Speaker 1: of one hundred and thirty percent, and we said, at 280 00:20:17,076 --> 00:20:20,916 Speaker 1: that point, everybody who fought in the ward, which was 281 00:20:20,916 --> 00:20:24,076 Speaker 1: at virtually every man a lot of women, you could 282 00:20:24,116 --> 00:20:27,956 Speaker 1: get as much education at the most expensive school for 283 00:20:28,076 --> 00:20:32,396 Speaker 1: which you are qualified, we could afford it then, I 284 00:20:32,436 --> 00:20:34,756 Speaker 1: think we can afford it now. It's a matter of choice, 285 00:20:35,316 --> 00:20:40,876 Speaker 1: and we chose to say this is your return for 286 00:20:41,036 --> 00:20:45,236 Speaker 1: having fought for your country. But it also facilitated the 287 00:20:45,276 --> 00:20:50,676 Speaker 1: transition from a rural agriculture economy to a manufacturing what 288 00:20:50,796 --> 00:20:55,156 Speaker 1: made us dynamic in the second half of the twentieth century, 289 00:20:55,196 --> 00:20:57,996 Speaker 1: and we're not doing that now. And what is very 290 00:20:58,036 --> 00:21:02,276 Speaker 1: clear is that we have now fallen behind other advanced 291 00:21:02,276 --> 00:21:10,116 Speaker 1: countries who have made one form or another of opportunity available, 292 00:21:10,316 --> 00:21:14,956 Speaker 1: you know, some day, whether it's technical education or college education, 293 00:21:15,476 --> 00:21:18,196 Speaker 1: you know, trying to design a system that's appropriate to 294 00:21:18,236 --> 00:21:22,796 Speaker 1: their economy and to their circumstances. European countries, particularly the 295 00:21:22,836 --> 00:21:26,556 Speaker 1: Northern European countries, are far more equal, and they have 296 00:21:26,716 --> 00:21:30,756 Speaker 1: higher rates of happiness that seem to reflect simply, among 297 00:21:30,756 --> 00:21:35,196 Speaker 1: other things, that they are more equal societies. People sometimes 298 00:21:35,236 --> 00:21:39,396 Speaker 1: make the argument, well, those are homogeneous societies. They have 299 00:21:39,676 --> 00:21:42,276 Speaker 1: maybe higher rates of immigration now, but there are people 300 00:21:42,596 --> 00:21:48,316 Speaker 1: their countries that haven't had the range of life experiences 301 00:21:48,316 --> 00:21:51,156 Speaker 1: and types of people that we have in the United States. 302 00:21:51,356 --> 00:21:53,396 Speaker 1: You don't buy that I don't buy that at all. 303 00:21:53,436 --> 00:21:55,756 Speaker 1: I mean, first of all, they have more diversity than 304 00:21:55,796 --> 00:21:58,276 Speaker 1: we often give them credit. For seventeen percent of the 305 00:21:58,316 --> 00:22:02,556 Speaker 1: people in Sweden our immigrants, so they've they've actually opened 306 00:22:02,596 --> 00:22:06,076 Speaker 1: up their doors, brings things to Iraqi refugees. We cause 307 00:22:06,196 --> 00:22:10,036 Speaker 1: the war in Iraq, they picked up the pieces when 308 00:22:10,076 --> 00:22:15,716 Speaker 1: we refuse to do that. But the question of homogeneity 309 00:22:15,836 --> 00:22:19,476 Speaker 1: may affect the design of the system. You have to 310 00:22:19,556 --> 00:22:23,396 Speaker 1: have a system that's maybe somewhat more complex if you 311 00:22:23,476 --> 00:22:29,716 Speaker 1: have a very heterogeneous population. But I'm absolutely convinced that 312 00:22:29,796 --> 00:22:35,756 Speaker 1: we can have a system that provides more opportunity within 313 00:22:35,796 --> 00:22:40,356 Speaker 1: a very diverse society. There's absolutely no reason why you 314 00:22:40,396 --> 00:22:44,476 Speaker 1: can't have access to healthcare for all, Why a rich 315 00:22:44,516 --> 00:22:51,196 Speaker 1: country can't provide nutrition, adequate nutrition for all, Why we 316 00:22:51,236 --> 00:22:55,396 Speaker 1: can't have adequate housing for all. If it goes to 317 00:22:55,836 --> 00:22:58,796 Speaker 1: the extremes of inequality that we have in the United 318 00:22:58,836 --> 00:23:02,556 Speaker 1: States and the forms in which inequality arises. When I 319 00:23:02,596 --> 00:23:06,876 Speaker 1: say that is the extremes of the wealthy United States 320 00:23:06,956 --> 00:23:11,276 Speaker 1: is held by the top one percent. That's twice the 321 00:23:11,396 --> 00:23:15,596 Speaker 1: number as in other advanced countries, including countries that are 322 00:23:15,636 --> 00:23:18,436 Speaker 1: growing just as fast or fast in the United States, 323 00:23:18,436 --> 00:23:21,556 Speaker 1: and obviously you have a higher sense of well being 324 00:23:21,916 --> 00:23:24,996 Speaker 1: than in the United States. So in my mind, I 325 00:23:24,996 --> 00:23:30,316 Speaker 1: don't see any reason why diversity is any reason for 326 00:23:30,516 --> 00:23:35,316 Speaker 1: an impediment for providing an embeddiment. If we were very poor, 327 00:23:35,396 --> 00:23:39,116 Speaker 1: that would be another argument. But there the argument would be, well, 328 00:23:39,156 --> 00:23:41,876 Speaker 1: if you're a poor country, you provide housing for everybody, 329 00:23:41,876 --> 00:23:44,836 Speaker 1: but a lower standard than you are when you're rich. 330 00:23:45,196 --> 00:23:48,116 Speaker 1: But what is remarkable by the United States. We're a 331 00:23:48,196 --> 00:23:51,116 Speaker 1: rich country, and we really don't provide even a lower 332 00:23:51,156 --> 00:23:55,916 Speaker 1: standard of housing and food and education than countries that 333 00:23:55,956 --> 00:23:58,996 Speaker 1: are much poorer than US can provide. So maybe it's 334 00:23:58,996 --> 00:24:02,836 Speaker 1: not homogeneity in an ethnic sense or even social cohesion, 335 00:24:02,916 --> 00:24:05,876 Speaker 1: but what does countries have at least one point a 336 00:24:05,876 --> 00:24:10,076 Speaker 1: political consensus that those things should be run. And even 337 00:24:10,116 --> 00:24:15,076 Speaker 1: as political conflict and polarization the same phenomenon that we've 338 00:24:15,076 --> 00:24:19,276 Speaker 1: experienced have increased there, they've maintained that consensus. I mean, 339 00:24:19,356 --> 00:24:22,716 Speaker 1: in Great Britain, the consensus that the national health service 340 00:24:23,196 --> 00:24:26,116 Speaker 1: is something that kind of everyone supports at some level, 341 00:24:26,196 --> 00:24:28,756 Speaker 1: or that the vast majority of the country does. That's 342 00:24:28,796 --> 00:24:31,956 Speaker 1: been maintained in the United States. You know, it's it's 343 00:24:31,996 --> 00:24:34,996 Speaker 1: been a fight for seventy years, and we've never had 344 00:24:35,036 --> 00:24:39,956 Speaker 1: an overwhelming majority in favor of the right to healthcare. Well, 345 00:24:40,396 --> 00:24:43,796 Speaker 1: some of those things are changing now. But part of 346 00:24:43,796 --> 00:24:46,756 Speaker 1: the problem in the United States is this disconnect between 347 00:24:47,436 --> 00:24:51,316 Speaker 1: what people want and our political system, and that comes 348 00:24:51,876 --> 00:24:56,076 Speaker 1: I attributed that partly to the way we have extremes 349 00:24:56,076 --> 00:24:58,876 Speaker 1: of economic inequality and we have a political system that 350 00:24:59,316 --> 00:25:03,556 Speaker 1: helps translate those extremes of economic inequality into political inequality. 351 00:25:03,636 --> 00:25:06,196 Speaker 1: So if you look at some of the major issues 352 00:25:06,276 --> 00:25:10,956 Speaker 1: that our country faces, gun control, vast majority believe there 353 00:25:10,956 --> 00:25:14,356 Speaker 1: ought to be gun controlled. You talk about bank regulation, 354 00:25:15,116 --> 00:25:17,876 Speaker 1: some seventy five percent of the people thought we needed 355 00:25:18,036 --> 00:25:22,116 Speaker 1: stronger bank regulation than we got out of the crisis 356 00:25:22,636 --> 00:25:24,676 Speaker 1: when we passed what was called the doct Frank bell 357 00:25:24,756 --> 00:25:29,356 Speaker 1: Ink twenty and ten. Minimum wage seventy five percent or so. 358 00:25:29,676 --> 00:25:32,396 Speaker 1: I think we ought to have higher levels of minimum wage. 359 00:25:32,476 --> 00:25:35,356 Speaker 1: We can't get it through Congress. It's only through rass 360 00:25:35,476 --> 00:25:38,716 Speaker 1: roots movements in Seattle and San Francisco and New York 361 00:25:38,756 --> 00:25:42,036 Speaker 1: that we're getting getting it. But if you ask what 362 00:25:42,116 --> 00:25:46,436 Speaker 1: do people think, there's rocking census on non unanimity, but 363 00:25:46,516 --> 00:25:48,956 Speaker 1: a brock in census on a lot of these issues, 364 00:25:48,996 --> 00:25:51,516 Speaker 1: I could go down a long list. I don't think 365 00:25:51,556 --> 00:25:55,796 Speaker 1: we have as polarized society. I don't want to say 366 00:25:55,796 --> 00:25:59,436 Speaker 1: that we have a unanimity, but we have two thirds 367 00:26:00,116 --> 00:26:03,396 Speaker 1: three four people. And if you focus then on the 368 00:26:03,476 --> 00:26:06,996 Speaker 1: young people whose country this will be in the future, 369 00:26:07,676 --> 00:26:10,476 Speaker 1: you know, overwhelmed homingle. They think we ought to be 370 00:26:10,516 --> 00:26:13,676 Speaker 1: doing something about climate change, which is a real threat 371 00:26:13,716 --> 00:26:16,596 Speaker 1: to their future, and yet we can't get climate change 372 00:26:16,596 --> 00:26:21,516 Speaker 1: of legislation through What country has the optimal system of 373 00:26:21,596 --> 00:26:25,276 Speaker 1: taxation or level of taxation from the point of view 374 00:26:25,276 --> 00:26:29,396 Speaker 1: of solving inequality or preventing the growth of inequality. Well, 375 00:26:29,436 --> 00:26:32,836 Speaker 1: I don't know the optimum, but I think the Scandinavian 376 00:26:32,876 --> 00:26:39,516 Speaker 1: countries overall have figured out systems that are working better 377 00:26:39,796 --> 00:26:43,756 Speaker 1: for their people. Their tax rates are much higher, but 378 00:26:43,796 --> 00:26:46,836 Speaker 1: they get a lot for it. So you know, we 379 00:26:46,956 --> 00:26:49,556 Speaker 1: often say, well, look at their tax rates so much 380 00:26:49,636 --> 00:26:54,556 Speaker 1: higher than the United States, but we forget privately, we 381 00:26:54,636 --> 00:26:57,836 Speaker 1: have to pay for healthcare twenty percent of GDP they 382 00:26:57,876 --> 00:27:01,756 Speaker 1: put it, that's part of the government pensions. They get 383 00:27:01,756 --> 00:27:04,836 Speaker 1: a lot larger fraction of their old age pension out 384 00:27:04,876 --> 00:27:08,476 Speaker 1: of the government. People in the middle class and upper 385 00:27:08,476 --> 00:27:13,196 Speaker 1: middle class, say privately education. When you start putting all 386 00:27:13,276 --> 00:27:17,636 Speaker 1: that together, you realize that they're getting a good deal 387 00:27:18,316 --> 00:27:22,076 Speaker 1: in Scandinavia. And one of the reasons why they're happier. 388 00:27:22,756 --> 00:27:25,196 Speaker 1: They don't have to worry about if their kid gets sick, 389 00:27:25,316 --> 00:27:27,236 Speaker 1: are they going to be able to afford the doctor. 390 00:27:27,756 --> 00:27:30,916 Speaker 1: They know it will be taken care of. They know 391 00:27:31,556 --> 00:27:34,996 Speaker 1: if the husband gets sick and isn't able to say 392 00:27:35,316 --> 00:27:38,396 Speaker 1: to send their kid to college, he'll be taken care of. 393 00:27:39,036 --> 00:27:42,876 Speaker 1: Their children don't depend on how well their parents are 394 00:27:42,916 --> 00:27:45,556 Speaker 1: doing in order to get an education to live up 395 00:27:45,596 --> 00:27:50,436 Speaker 1: to their potential. It really takes a huge burden off 396 00:27:50,436 --> 00:27:53,596 Speaker 1: of them. And you know, in economics we talk about 397 00:27:54,116 --> 00:27:58,876 Speaker 1: today the consequences of cognitive burdens and impairing ability to 398 00:27:58,916 --> 00:28:02,796 Speaker 1: make good decisions and being productive. One of the reasons 399 00:28:02,836 --> 00:28:05,196 Speaker 1: why some of these countries are actually turning out to 400 00:28:05,236 --> 00:28:09,836 Speaker 1: be more innovative and more productive across the board is 401 00:28:09,876 --> 00:28:12,476 Speaker 1: because they don't have to worry about the silly things 402 00:28:12,516 --> 00:28:16,796 Speaker 1: that we have to worry about just to survive. Joe, 403 00:28:16,796 --> 00:28:18,876 Speaker 1: I love that you're hopeful about this, because so many 404 00:28:18,876 --> 00:28:21,996 Speaker 1: people are despairing about this problem. Thinking as a kind 405 00:28:21,996 --> 00:28:25,396 Speaker 1: of inevitability about it, and also that the political system 406 00:28:25,436 --> 00:28:29,756 Speaker 1: seems totally incapable of addressing it. I'm very hopeful, partly 407 00:28:29,796 --> 00:28:32,196 Speaker 1: because of the young people I see every day at 408 00:28:32,316 --> 00:28:35,476 Speaker 1: Columbia University, you know, and I see around the country. 409 00:28:36,196 --> 00:28:42,596 Speaker 1: Overwhelmingly they believe in what I call the progressive agenda. 410 00:28:42,756 --> 00:28:49,476 Speaker 1: Overwhelmingly they think we've lost our way and they think 411 00:28:49,796 --> 00:28:53,276 Speaker 1: that we ought to be trying something different. So they 412 00:28:53,356 --> 00:28:58,076 Speaker 1: know something's not working for them. They know that their 413 00:28:58,076 --> 00:29:05,396 Speaker 1: opportunities are constrained. And since we still have a democratic 414 00:29:05,436 --> 00:29:10,716 Speaker 1: political system, it's been you might say warped, it's been undermined, 415 00:29:11,796 --> 00:29:19,196 Speaker 1: but still has the potential of restoring power to ordinary individuals. 416 00:29:19,236 --> 00:29:23,476 Speaker 1: And that's why the political system getting out the vote, 417 00:29:23,996 --> 00:29:27,516 Speaker 1: making people realize there is an alternative. We don't have 418 00:29:27,596 --> 00:29:32,236 Speaker 1: to be the way we've been. This problem is solvable. 419 00:29:32,716 --> 00:29:35,796 Speaker 1: And when I don't know, Columbia undergraduates come to you 420 00:29:35,876 --> 00:29:39,116 Speaker 1: and ask what kind of career they can have that 421 00:29:39,156 --> 00:29:42,716 Speaker 1: will help solve that problem. I know what you probably 422 00:29:42,716 --> 00:29:44,436 Speaker 1: tell them not to do, which is maybe good at 423 00:29:44,436 --> 00:29:47,196 Speaker 1: work on Wall Street, But what are some of the 424 00:29:47,236 --> 00:29:50,556 Speaker 1: things people can do to try to support It's obviously 425 00:29:50,636 --> 00:29:53,756 Speaker 1: such a huge topic. But to try to create a 426 00:29:53,876 --> 00:29:59,356 Speaker 1: less unequal society, well, I think, as you say, you 427 00:29:59,516 --> 00:30:02,276 Speaker 1: partly begin by thinking about what not to do. And 428 00:30:03,356 --> 00:30:07,396 Speaker 1: it is still you know, the inequality the ability to 429 00:30:07,436 --> 00:30:10,636 Speaker 1: get a high paying job and whilst rate is very 430 00:30:10,676 --> 00:30:13,756 Speaker 1: hard for many to resist, but I think a lot 431 00:30:13,796 --> 00:30:17,596 Speaker 1: of them become more aware that that's not going to 432 00:30:17,716 --> 00:30:21,356 Speaker 1: lead to their long term fulfillment, their long term happiness. 433 00:30:22,076 --> 00:30:26,076 Speaker 1: The way one needs to think about it is this 434 00:30:26,116 --> 00:30:29,116 Speaker 1: is a multi dimensional problem, and that's a good thing 435 00:30:29,156 --> 00:30:33,036 Speaker 1: because there are many different ways that people can contribute, 436 00:30:33,076 --> 00:30:38,796 Speaker 1: both individually and through society. So when I say individually, 437 00:30:38,836 --> 00:30:42,676 Speaker 1: you know when somebody goes into teaching and a poor 438 00:30:42,756 --> 00:30:47,636 Speaker 1: community or even an ordinary community, you know they're addressing 439 00:30:47,676 --> 00:30:51,636 Speaker 1: the problem of inequality in our society. When they go 440 00:30:51,756 --> 00:30:57,236 Speaker 1: into become into medicine and they decide to practice in 441 00:30:57,276 --> 00:31:01,316 Speaker 1: a place where there is a shortage of doctors, they're 442 00:31:01,396 --> 00:31:08,996 Speaker 1: contributing individually to addressing the problem of inequality in our society. 443 00:31:09,156 --> 00:31:13,916 Speaker 1: In the end, public service is the only way is 444 00:31:14,116 --> 00:31:19,396 Speaker 1: actually a central piece of solving the problem of our 445 00:31:19,476 --> 00:31:23,996 Speaker 1: growing inequality. Joe, thanks for joining us Unsolvable. Thank you, 446 00:31:25,876 --> 00:31:29,876 Speaker 1: Joseph Stiglitz's final words in that interview about finding an 447 00:31:29,916 --> 00:31:35,196 Speaker 1: alternative and the energy that he feels today about that possibility. Well, 448 00:31:35,196 --> 00:31:38,676 Speaker 1: that made me think about the Poor People's Campaign. Maybe 449 00:31:38,676 --> 00:31:41,636 Speaker 1: you know about it already, but in nineteen sixty eight, 450 00:31:41,916 --> 00:31:45,156 Speaker 1: there was this effort, this march led by doctor Martin 451 00:31:45,236 --> 00:31:49,516 Speaker 1: Luther King, to gain economic justice for poor people in 452 00:31:49,596 --> 00:31:53,396 Speaker 1: the United States. It was a fight by capable hard 453 00:31:53,476 --> 00:31:59,516 Speaker 1: workers against dehumanization, against discrimination and poverty wages here in 454 00:31:59,556 --> 00:32:03,356 Speaker 1: the richest country in the world. Now, the past couple 455 00:32:03,356 --> 00:32:06,476 Speaker 1: of years has seen this Poor People's Campaign back on 456 00:32:06,516 --> 00:32:10,076 Speaker 1: the road again. They're gaining momentum with the exact same 457 00:32:10,116 --> 00:32:17,756 Speaker 1: spirit the Professor Stiglitz is calling for. Solvable is a 458 00:32:17,796 --> 00:32:22,356 Speaker 1: collaboration between Pushkin Industries and the Rockefeller Foundation, with production 459 00:32:22,476 --> 00:32:26,476 Speaker 1: by Laura Hyde, Hester Kant, Laura Sheeter, and Ruth Barnes 460 00:32:26,516 --> 00:32:30,356 Speaker 1: from Chalk and Blade. Pushkin's executive producer is Neil LaBelle. 461 00:32:30,756 --> 00:32:34,956 Speaker 1: Researched by sher Vincent, Engineering by Jason Gambrel and the 462 00:32:34,996 --> 00:32:39,756 Speaker 1: Great Folks at GSI Studios. Original music composed by Pascal 463 00:32:39,836 --> 00:32:44,276 Speaker 1: Wise and special thanks to Maggie Taylor, Heather Fine, Julia Barton, 464 00:32:44,636 --> 00:32:48,836 Speaker 1: Carli mcgliori, Jacob Weisberg, and Malcolm Gladwell. You can learn 465 00:32:48,876 --> 00:32:53,516 Speaker 1: more about solving today's biggest problems at Rockefeller Foundation dot 466 00:32:53,636 --> 00:33:10,476 Speaker 1: org slash solvable. I'm Mave Higgins. Now got solvas Turn