EDGS Symposium: Evasive Riches and the Fight against Extreme Inequality
As income and wealth inequality continue to increase globally, billionaires around the world accelerated the concentration of wealth and power using increasingly sophisticated tactics, buttressed by a growing pool of legal and tax experts dubbed the "wealth defense industry." The Equality Development & Globalization Studies (EDGS) Program at Northwestern University's Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs invites you to attend a day of discussions on the state of extreme inequality, tax evasion, and wealth defense today.
You'll hear from many of the leading experts on the frontlines of the fight to expose and legislate against wealth consolidation and tax avoidance. They will dive into the current state of inequality and the tactics that make tracking and taxing wealth difficult, as well as strategies most likely to succeed in this fight. They will also share insights into what we can all do to push back against the "wealth defense industry" and the oligarchs whom it protects.
The symposium will begin at 8:15 a.m. with an introductory address by EDGS's director Jeffrey Winters, Professor of Political Science, followed by two morning panels and two afternoon panels, with a bagged lunch in between. The event will end at 5:00 p.m.
Friday, October 16th
7:00 - 9:00pm: North American Premiere of The Finance Curse. Q&A to follow.
Register for the documentary screening!
Saturday, October 17th - Harris Hall 108
8:15am: Opening Remarks by Jeffrey Winters, Director, Equality Development and Globalization Studies program
8:30 – 10:00am: Panel 1. Where We Are Now
Panelists:
Charles Davidson, Co-founder of Global Financial Integrity; the Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency Coalition (FACT); and the Kleptocracy Initiative at the Hudson Institute
James Henry, Yale Global Justice Fellow and specialist on offshore tax havens and financial secrecy
Zoë Reiter, Director, Combating Kleptocracy, National Endowment for Democracy
10:30am - 12:00pm: Panel 2. Losing a Valiant Fight?
Panelists:
Jack Blum, Leading US lawyer specializing on white-collar and financial crime, money laundering, and international tax abuse
Leah M. Goodman, Investigative journalist specializing on tax havens, tax evasion, and cryptocurrency
Gary Kalman, Executive Director of Transparency International, U.S.
12:00 - 1:00pm: Bagged Lunch
1:30 – 3:00pm: Panel 3. The Cutting Edge
Moderated by: Doron Shiffer-Sebba, Northwestern Sociology
Panelists:
Stephen Baker: World leader in international asset recovery, offshore fraud litigation, money laundering, and complex offshore trusts
Jennifer Gould: New York Post columnist specializing on money laundering and global financial corruption
Matti Kohonen, Director of the Financial Transparency Coalition and founding member of the Tax Justice Network
3:30 – 5:00pm Panel 4. What Next?
Moderated by: Jeffrey Winters, Northwestern Political Science
Panelists:
Matthew Duss, Executive Vice-President at the Center for International Policy and former foreign-policy advisor to U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders
Brooke Harrington, Dartmouth economic sociologist and author of Offshore: Stealth Wealth and the New Colonialism
David Cay Johnston, Pulitzer Prize winning investigative journalist and specialist on taxation