How the U.S. tax System Worsens Inequality
Economic Update with Richard D. Wolff
Democracy at Work
4.8 • 2.1K Ratings
🗓️ 10 February 2026
⏱️ 32 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This week on Economic Update, Professor Wolff delivers updates on U.K. PM Starmer's trade visit to China, the new head of the Federal Reserve, and the escalation of a general strike in Minneapolis and its spread across the U.S. as people gear up against government assaults on cities. In the second half, Professor Wolff interviews Professor Ray Madoff of Boston College Law School to discuss the flaws in the U.S. tax system and her new book, The Second Estate: How the Tax Code Made an American Aristocracy.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome, friends to another edition of Economic Update, a weekly program devoted to the economic |
| 0:27.2 | dimensions of our lives and those of our children. |
| 0:31.0 | I'm your host, Richard Wolfe. |
| 0:35.0 | Before we begin today, we are happy to announce that enrollment for the Left Education |
| 0:41.5 | Project's spring lineup of classes, new courses that are online and available to you, |
| 0:49.8 | will begin this March, in other words, very soon. |
| 0:56.0 | I will be teaching a course on Marxian class analysis together with Professor Sharam |
| 1:02.6 | Azar of Bucknell University. |
| 1:06.4 | We will be doing the class every Wednesday from 4 to 6, Eastern Standard Time, beginning on March 4th, |
| 1:14.7 | and running for four consecutive weeks. |
| 1:18.7 | You can find out details and register by simply going to www. |
| 1:24.8 | Leftforum.org slash LEP for Left Education Project. |
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| 1:58.0 | and that is at Democracy at Work.substack.com. |
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| 2:38.1 | Okay, rather than tell you what we're going to do today, I'm going to just jump right |
| 2:42.5 | into it. |
... |
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