This event is online.

Before shelter-in-place began this year, an economic order of “haves” and “have nots” within the U.S. threatened both democracy and the economy.

Now, after seismic shakes of pandemic and protest, can a more just system rise from the ashes? On June 23rd at 5 pm, renowned economist Robert B. Reich joins journalist-in-residence Angie Coiro to explore the possibilities of a post-COVID-19 economy.

Reich unfailingly ties the success of the country to an economy of fairness, condemning the gulf between the country’s richest and poorest as wealth steadily accumulates in the hands of the very few. These aren’t just philosophical stances. As President Clinton’s Secretary of Labor, Reich worked to increase the minimum wage and implemented the Family and Medical Leave Act. As a prominent analyst and the Chancellor’s Professor of Public Policy at the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley, Reich has long held that empowering employees— with fair wages and necessary training— is key to a healthy national economy. He puts forward these ideas and more in his most recent book, The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It.

What could recovery look like? How much can be planned, how much is random chance? Is there a recovery template that will prioritize people on par with corporations? With the pandemic and Black Lives Matter crises exploding side by side, can we foresee a recovered economy that takes racial justice into account?

These are difficult and deep questions. Join us as Coiro poses them to one of the nation’s most influential, transformative economists.

**Registration will close one hour before the event; please reserve your spot early to guarantee access, as registrations are limited.**