A (Banned) TED Talk on Income Inequality

The following video makes a common sense case for why progressive taxation, coupled with smart public investment in things like healthcare and education, is good for society as a whole (including, ultimately, the rich themselves).

It’s because of the subject matter that the TED Talk website refused to share the video: it was deemed too “political” (see it for yourself and decide if that’s a legitimate cause for concern). As HuffPo noted:

It may seem odd that TED won’t distribute Hanauer’s talk just because it evokes political tropes, especially since the TED website features talks from actual politicians, including British Prime Minister David Cameron and former Vice President Al Gore.

In addition, Hanauer’s remarks shouldn’t have been too much of a shock to TED organizers, considering that he’s been an outspoken critic of the notion that lowering taxes on the rich will help create jobs. In December, Hanauer penned an op-ed for Bloomberg, which included many of the same arguments featured in his TED talk. It even used some of the exact same language.

Ultimately, this still isn’t too surprising, as there always seems to be controversy or discomfort around any discussion that deals with issues of socioeconomic class; any time you talk about inequality or taxation, you’re bound to polarize people. (I don’t think it helped that Hanauer used the word “capitalist” to describe the very rich, given that the word evokes to most Americans revolution and communism). Either way, it seems like our society treats the subject as sensitively as we would one’s personal beliefs.

Indeed, as Hanauer’s TED Talk implied, there’s an almost religious-like devotion to the supply-side economic policies that have consistently failed to deliver. Granted, there is still quite  a lot of good debate and discussion to be had on this subject (I for one don’t think soaking the rich with taxes is a cure all  for our economic woes). But it’d be easier to have such exchanges if people we’re afraid to air them out in the first place. We’ll never be able to progress without being a bit more fearless in our conversations.