A couple of weeks ago economists and authors Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman argued on a Graduate Center panel how the US tax system serves as a threat to US democracy. Their thesis, advanced in their book The Triumph of Injustice: How the Rich Dodge Taxes and How to Make Them Pay, holds that wealth is so unequally concentrated that the highest one-percent income bracket must be taxed much more heavily. We selected a few highlights of the conversation between Saez, Zucman, and their discussants Lily Batchelder, NYU law professor, and Paul Krugman of The Graduate Center, particularly as they relate to the political context and implications of tax reform in the US. 

What the “Triumph of Injustice” Means for Democracy

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Prompted by moderator Janet Gornick of the Stone Center on Socio-Economic Inequality Zucman argues that historically the role of the tax system has been to limit the concentration of wealth in society — also in the US — and how that’s important for the social compact.

How Politically Feasible is a Wealth Tax?

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Why is there now an openness to having a wealth tax, Janet Gornick asks? It’s the result of growing inequality and of the 2017 tax reforms, Zucman argues. Krugman responds that popular support for taxing more at the top is nothing new though and polling has always supported that. Indeed, he asks why politicians are willing to say it now! Saez concludes with a plea to use democratic power to get the kind of tax system we need.

Paul Krugman on the Tax Policy, Reducing Inequality, and on Democracy

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Paul Krugman: “Curbing extreme wealth at the top is a valuable thing in itself.” Watch Krugman argue why there is much more scope for taxing corporate incomes than leading politicians have led us to believe.

Lily Batchfelder on “The Triumph of Injustice” Tax Proposals

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Batchfelder offers a range of “friendly amendments” to the book’s tax recommendations, including on the capital gains tax proposal.

Watch the entire video here.