Name: Beware, fellow plutocrats, the pitchforks are coming
Uploaded: 2014-08-12T14:56:44Z
Duration: 20 min 12 s
Description: Nick Hanauer is a rich guy, an unrepentant capitalist — and he has something to say to his fellow plutocrats: Wake up! Growing inequality is about to push our societies into conditions resembling pre-revolutionary France. Hear his argument about why a dramatic increase in minimum wage could grow the middle class, deliver economic prosperity ... and prevent a revolution.

IRS Data on Income Shifts Shows Progressivity of Federal Individual Income Tax

Here I mistakenly used the word “wealth” when I should have said “income."

Summary of Latest Federal Individual Income Tax Data

Summary of Latest Federal Income Tax Data

I used the word "effective" when I meant "efficient."  Here I should have said, “Capitalism doesn’t work by efficiently allocating existing resources."

The Capitalist’s Case for a $15 Minimum Wage

Nick Hanauer's Near Insane $15 An Hour Minimum Wage Proposal

CEOs Now Earn 273 Times the Average Worker's Pay — Should You Be Mad?

Nick Hanauer is a rich guy, an unrepentant capitalist — and he has something to say to his fellow plutocrats: Wake up! Growing inequality is about to push our societies into conditions resembling pre-revolutionary France. Hear his argument about why a dramatic increase in minimum wage could grow the middle class, deliver economic prosperity ... and prevent a revolution.

Beware, fellow plutocrats, the pitchforks are coming

Rising economic inequality is pushing society toward instability, risking a future reminiscent of pre-revolutionary France. In 1980, the top one percent held 8 percent of national income; today, they hold over 20 percent, with the bottom 50 percent falling behind. Sustainable prosperity depends on a strong middle class, not the accumulation of wealth at the very top. Abandoning trickle-down thinking and investing in widespread economic participation can prevent unrest and build a thriving economy.