Why is it so hard to redistribute wealth amidst rising income inequality?

In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Julia and Lee discuss income inequality and wealth redistribution with Charlotte Cavaille. Cavaille is an assistant professor of public policy at the University of Michigan's Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. Previously, she was a visiting fellow at Princeton University’s Center for the Study of Democratic Politics and an assistant professor at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service. Through her research, which has appeared in the Journal of Politics and the American Political Science Review, Cavaillé examines the dynamics of popular attitudes towards redistributive social policies at a time of rising inequality, high fiscal stress, and high levels of immigration. Building on that work, she also studies the relationship between immigration, the welfare state, and the rise of populism. Cavaillé received her PhD in government and social policy from Harvard University in 2014.

What is wealth redistribution? What roles does the government play in making it happen? The market? How do popular attitudes vary on redistribution? And why is it so difficult to build support for redistributive policies amidst rising income inequality? These are some of the questions that Charlotte, Julia, and Lee ask in this week’s episode.

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