Class 1: What s Happened to Income Wealth by UC Berkeley Professor Reich

Welcome to my undergraduate course on Wealth and Poverty. This is the first of fourteen classes. The questions well focus on today: Is some inequality both inevitable and necessary At what point, if ever, does it become a problem Whats the difference between income and wealth inequality, and which is more important How do income and wealth inequalities overlap with race and gender And the real puzzle: why did these inequalities begin to widen so dramatically starting in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and continue widening since then Even though this isnt a real classroom and Im not with you in person, I hope you find this both enjoyable and challenging. Dont expect to learn by just watching and listening, though. I want you to be an active learner which means answering questions I pose and putting various puzzle pieces together. Im not going to tell you what to think. Im going to try to provoke you into thinking harder and more deeply. If you wish, Ive shared some select r