
newsFeb 11, 202654:42pending
Ray Madoff on 'How the Tax Code Made an American Aristocracy'
About this episode
“After the US Constitution, the tax code is the single most important document affecting Americans’ lives. But because it is a deeply opaque, seven-thousand-page document, few Americans have any idea what the code says.” So writes legal scholar Ray D. Madoff, who argues the tax code is one of the main drivers of our nation’s historic wealth inequality — allowing the ultra-wealthy to avoid taxation altogether while relying much more on workers’ payroll taxes than many realize. We unpack how the tax code works and what real reform would look like. Madoff’s book is “The Second Estate: How the Tax Code Made an American Aristocracy.”
Guests:
Ray D. Madoff, professor, Boston College Law School; author, "The Second Estate: How the Tax Code Made an American Aristocracy"
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Get every episode summarized
Each time KQED's Forum publishes, we email you a written briefing from the transcript — the topics, who appeared, and any specific claims, with the ad reads skipped.
Email me new episodesFree for 3 shows. No card needed.
Hosts & guests
No transcript yet
This episode has not been transcribed. Request it and it moves to the front of the queue.
More episodes
More from KQED's Forum

Can Anyone Solve America’s $40 Trillion Debt Problem?
KQED's Forum
Sep 3, 202654:45completed

In Daniel Mason’s Comic Novel ‘Country People,’ California Collides with New Eng...
KQED's Forum
Sep 3, 202654:48completed

Rozina Ali Traces Islamophobia’s Long Shadow
KQED's Forum
Sep 2, 202654:50completed

Can the Trump Administration Allow Private Development in Yosemite?
KQED's Forum
Sep 2, 202654:48pending