Mind the Gap: How Law Can Address Income Inequality in America

Income inequality has taken center stage in America’s political debate. As the 2020 presidential election heats up, candidates on all sides of the political divide are tapping into feelings of economic anxiety fueled by a disappearing middle class and increased concentrations of wealth. Indeed, the continually rising gap between the rich and everyone else has fueled unrest across the globe and has shown itself to have a corrupting effect on democracy itself. Labor law, antitrust law, and tax law all offer potential avenues to help increase wages, grow the middle class, deconsolidate corporate power, and shrink the racial wealth gap. What policy proposals should be on the table? Would increasing antitrust enforcement help? Could a wealth tax be the answer to growing inequality? What changes to labor law might help reduce income disparities? And perhaps most importantly, what constitutional potholes should advocates make sure to avoid as they go about this work?

Panelists:

Lisa Cylar Barrett, Director of Policy, NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc.

Lina Khan, Academic Fellow, Columbia Law School and Counsel, U.S. House Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law

Anne Marie Lofaso, Arthur B. Hodges Professor of Law, West Virginia University College of Law

Ganesh Sitaraman, Chancellor Faculty Fellow and Professor of Law, Vanderbilt Law School

Dora Chen, Associate General Counsel, Service Employees International Union, Moderator

Lunch begins at noon and the program begins at 12:30pm.

Service Employees International Union

1800 Massachusetts Ave NW

Washington, DC 20036

The American Constitution Society is a State Bar of California approved CLE provider. This event has been approved for 1.5 hours of California MCLE credit.

Click here for CLE supporting documentation.