Class 10: “Public Assistance for the Poor” by UC Berkeley Professor Reich

This week we’re looking at a suite of remedies for widening inequality that have all had some effect, but not nearly as much as they were intended to have. So the underlying question I’ll be addressing is why haven’t they been more effective, and what can we learn from them? In particular, the questions I’ll be addressing are: Which of these strategies succeeds best in raising the wages of the bottom half? At what cost? Should we eliminate all specific safety-net programs and move instead to a larger Earned Income Tax Credit? How about a universal basic income? This is the tenth class in the 14-week series. If you wish, I’ve shared some select readings from the syllabus for you. They’re available at: Class Outline ------------------------- 0:00 Current events and prior classes recap 8:20 Introduction 9:40 A brief history of public assistance 38:01 The COVID experiment 48:19 The new social contract