Consider This from NPR 'Affordability,' and the repercussions of the increasing global wealth gap
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Nov 9, 2025 
Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel Prize-winning economist and professor at Columbia University, dives into the escalating global wealth gap and its implications for democracy. He discusses how rising living costs drive voter concerns and explores policy missteps that have worsened affordability. Stiglitz critiques regressive tax changes favoring the wealthy and shares insights from his G20 study on wealth concentration. He also proposes strategies like enhancing worker power and limiting monopolies to reduce inequality, expressing cautious optimism for future progress.
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Affordability Is Voters' Core Concern
- Voters are using "affordability" to express that rising costs are eroding their ability to make ends meet.
- Joseph Stiglitz links affordability concerns to incomes, rents, food and transport as core drivers of voter anger.
Tariffs Raise Costs For Everyday Buyers
- Tariffs act like a sales tax and raise prices on goods Americans buy from abroad, hitting lower- and middle-income households hardest.
- Stiglitz says these policies contributed to worsening affordability despite promises to the contrary.
Tax Changes Favored The Wealthy
- The 2017 tax law disproportionately benefited the wealthy and corporations while being paid for by cuts to programs for the poor.
- Stiglitz describes it as regressive, shifting burdens to lower-income Americans and deepening inequality.