Leveling the Playing Field: Improving How We Communicate about Inequality
Current levels of economic inequality are not only immoral, they're hastening the demise of our economy. Gains to the wealthiest one percent have come at the expense of the working and now unemployed poor. But our arguments about the dangers of inequality have fallen largely on deaf ears, subject always to the supremacy of the market and the grand mythology of self-made millionaires. In this session, we'll present research initiated and sponsored by the Progressive Ideas Network into the language of inequality—what's working and not in our discourse—and how to put forth compelling arguments for policies that halt and minimize economic inequality. We will reveal how people come to judgments about inequality, suggesting both overarching frameworks and immediate language fixes to make our case loudly and persuasively that this is a man-made problem we can and must address.
Anat Shenker-Osorio combines attentive language research with practical communication savvy to offer advice on how to make yourself heard, believed and understood. As a strategic communications consultant, she has conducted multiple studies on how people reason about the economy, inequality, race and health, presenting her findings at think tanks, government agencies and conferences.
Previously, Anat helped found the cutting edge research and consulting firm, Real Reason, offering communication solutions to the ACLU, Ford Foundation, Berkeley Media Studies Group and the Center for Reproductive Rights, to name a few. She writes for the Huffington Post, Reproductive Health Reality Check, New Deal 2.0 as well as Northern California’s NPR affiliate, KQED.
As a graduate student at the University of California, Berkeley, Anat examined the economic ramifications of big-box retail. She worked with George Lakoff as the External Relations Manager of the Rockridge Institute. Anat holds a B.A. from Columbia University and a Masters in Public Policy from U.C. Berkeley.
Chuck Collins is a senior scholar at the Institute for Policy (IPS) and directs IPS’s Program on Inequality and the Common Good (www.ips-dc.org/inequality). He is an expert on U.S. inequality and the economic crisis and co-author of the Economic Meltdown Funnies (www.economicmeltdownfunnies.org), an engaging comic book on the causes of the Great Recession. His other books include Economic Apartheid in America: A Primer on Economic Inequality and Insecurity (New Press, 2005) and The Moral Measure of the Economy (Orbis, 2005). He is co-founder of Wealth for the Common Good (www.wealthforcommongood.org), a national network of business leaders and wealthy individuals concerned about tax fairness and shared prosperity He co-authored with Bill Gates Sr. Wealth and Our Commonwealth, (Beacon Press, 2003), a case for taxing inherited wealth and preserving the federal estate tax.
Movement strategist, cultural historian, and performing artist, Barry Kendall is Executive Director of the Progressive Ideas Network (PIN), a nationwide alliance of multi-issue think tanks and activist organizations. PIN provides its member organizations with opportunities to step away from our day-to-day policy fights and think together about our common goals and develop shared strategies for battles over the horizon. Currently, PIN members are collaborating on projects to craft and disseminate effective framing around inequality, to develop policy and public education materials for corporate governance reform, to elevate the role of community organizing in the progressive ecosystem, and a special post-election summit being planned in partnership with Progressive Congress. Together, PIN partners are building a policy infrastructure to power a new era in progressive politics.
Holding a doctorate from Stanford University, Barry is an expert on the role of religion in American culture and politics. He is a 2009 recipient of the "40 Under 40" Award from the New Leaders Council, and he is proud to serve as an adviser to Netroots Nation. Barry enjoys biking around the streets of San Francisco, growing fruits and vegetables in his urban garden, and singing baritone with a terrific Bay Area ensemble, the International Orange Chorale.
