If You Can Keep It: What the wealth gap means for democracy

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If You Can Keep It: What the wealth gap means for Democracy

Democratic New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Stephanie Keith/Getty Images

Michelle Harven

A growing number of states are looking at implementing a wealth tax to fund social services.

California is among them, with a billionaire tax set to be included on its November ballot. And this month, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist, and Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul introduced a proposed tax on luxury second homes in the city. In March, Washington passed its first ever income tax – which has already been met with a legal challenge.

All this comes as the wealth gap in the U.S. grows to its widest point in three decades – and only looks set to keep increasing. In this installment of “If You Can Keep It,” we look at how tax codes have contributed to a growing inequality in the country, how to fix it, and what this wealth gap means for the health of our democracy.

Guests

Ray Madoff professor, Boston College Law School; author, "The Second Estate: How the Tax Code Made an American Aristocracy"

Kyle Pomerleau senior fellow, American Enterprise Institute

Morris Pearl chair, Patriotic Millionaires; former managing director, BlackRock; co-author, "Tax the Rich!"

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