PPE Talk: Richard V. Reeves “Dream Hoarders?”

Richard V. Reeves will present a talk based on his recent book “Dream Hoarders? Enduring Inequality and the American Upper Middle Class.”

America is becoming a class-based society. It is conventional wisdom to focus on the excesses of the top 1%—especially  the top 0.01%— and how the ultra-rich are hoarding income and wealth while incomes for most other Americans are stagnant. But the more important, and widening, gap in American society is between the upper middle class—the top 20%— and everyone else.

The growing separation between the upper middle class and everyone else can be seen in family structure, neighborhoods, attitudes, and lifestyle. Those at the top of the income ladder are becoming more effective at passing on their status to their children, reducing overall social mobility. The separation and perpetuation of the upper middle class corrode prospects for more progressive approaches to policy. Various forms of “opportunity hoarding” among the upper middle class make it harder for others to rise up to the top rung: zoning laws and schooling, occupational licensing, college application procedures, and the allocation of internships.

This talk is co-sponsored by the Parr Center for Ethics.

Dr. Richard Reeves is a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institute.  His work focuses on “social mobility, inequality, and family change.”  Reeves served as Director of Strategy to the UK’s Deputy Prime Minister, before joining Brookings. Politico named Dr. Reeves one of the top 50 thinkers in the United States in September 2017.

This event is free and open to the public.  Pizza will be served.