Wealth is highly concentrated in the United States, with the top 0.1 percent of households holding an estimated 10 to 20 percent of all assets. Concerns about the effects of wealth inequality have spurred some presidential hopefuls to propose new taxes on wealth and unrealized capital gains and increases to the existing estate tax.

This policy debate raises broader issues about wealth inequality and how the tax code could reduce it. The causes, impacts on different groups, and effects of substantial wealth inequality are complex. Would higher taxes on the wealthy help fix the problems caused by wealth inequality?

Jason Furman, former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers in the Obama administration, and panels of experts will consider the following questions:

• What has been the impact of wealth inequality on different groups in the United States?
• How does wealth concentration affect politics and public policy?
• Would reducing after-tax wealth affect the political power of the wealthy and social and economic divisions across groups?
• What are the pros and cons of using the tax system, instead of other government interventions, to reduce wealth inequality?

Keynote

• Jason Furman, Professor of the Practice of Economic Policy, Harvard Kennedy School @jasonfurman

Speakers

• Kimberly Adams, Host/Correspondent, Marketplace @KA_Marketplace
• Douglas Holtz-Eakin, President, American Action Forum @djheakin
• Chye-Ching Huang, Director of Federal Fiscal Policy, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities @dashching
• Kilolo Kijakazi, Institute Fellow, Urban Institute @kkijakazi
• Amara Omeokwe, Economics Reporter, Wall Street Journal @TheAmaraReport
• Benjamin I. Page, Gordon Scott Fulcher Professor of Decision Making, Northwestern University @NorthwesternU
• Jonathan Rothwell, Principal Economist, Gallup @jtrothwell
• C. Eugene Steuerle, Institute Fellow, Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center @EugeneSteuerle

Event Materials

• Agenda
• Speaker Biographies
• Keynote Presentation (Slide Deck by Jason Furman) 
• Panel Presentations (Slide Deck by Kilolo Kijakazi, Benjamin I Page, and Eugene Steuerle)
• The Devaluation of Assets in Black Neighborhoods: The Case of Residential Property (Report by Jonathan Rothwell)
• If People Were Paid by Ability, Inequality Would Plummet (Op-Ed by Jonathan Rothwell)
• Bold, Equitable Policy Solutions Are Needed to Close the Racial and Gender Wealth Gaps (Testimony by Kilolo Kijakazi)
• Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens (Report by Benjamin I. Page)
• Wealth Taxes and Workers (Report by Douglas Holtz-Eakin)
• Taxes, Government Transfers and Wealth Inequality (Report by Eugene Steuerle)
• Congress is Supposed to Decide how the U.S. Spends Money. Soon, It Won't Be Able To. (Op-Ed by Eugene Steuerle)
• How the Federal Tax Code Can Better Advance Racial Equity (Report by Chye-Ching Huang)

Please send inquiries regarding this event to [email protected].