The World According to Jen & Carolyn
The World According to Jen & Carolyn is a podcast where history, politics, psychology, and humor collide in unexpected yet brilliant ways. Hosted by Jen, a community servant with a sharp wit and a knack for digging up the historical receipts, and Carolyn, a licensed marriage and family therapist who expertly unpacks the psychological layers behind it all, our show offers listeners a smart, hilarious, and refreshingly real conversation between two friends with 25 years of stories and opinions to share.
Tiktok: @twatjc
YouTube
Instagram: @theworldaccordingtojen_carolyn
The World According to Jen & Carolyn
Tax the Rich: Wealth Inequality and Policy Solutions
In this episode, Jen and Carolyn are tackling one of the most urgent and controversial topics in American politics: Taxing the Rich. From record-breaking billionaire wealth to working families living paycheck to paycheck, America’s wealth gap has never been wider. But what can we actually do about it? And what does it mean to 'tax the rich' in policy terms—not just as a rallying cry, but as a real solution?
Institute for Policy Studies (2023). “Billionaire Wealth Surges Amid Crisis.”
Federal Reserve, Distributional Financial Accounts (2023).
Joint Committee on Taxation (2021). Analysis of the “For the 99.5% Act.”
ProPublica (2021). “The Secret IRS Files.”
Senate Budget Committee – Bernie Sanders (2021). Wealth Tax Fact Sheet.
Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances (2019)
ProPublica, “The Secret IRS Files,” 2021
Institute for Policy Studies, 2023
Chetty, R. et al. "Where is the Land of Opportunity?"
Bertrand & Mullainathan. "Are Emily and Greg More Employable Than Lakisha and Jamal?"
Pager, D. "The Mark of a Criminal Record"
Sowell, T. Various works on cultural factors
Hochschild, J. "Facing Up to the American Dream"
Milanović, B. "Global Inequality"
McCloskey, D. "Bourgeois Dignity"
Lareau, A. "Unequal Childhoods"
Sandel, M. "The Tyranny of Merit"
Goldin, C. Nobel Prize research on gender gaps
Desmond, M. "Evicted"
Gilens, M. Research on policy outcomes and wealth
Mounk, Y. (2018). "The People vs. Democracy: Why Our Freedom Is in Danger and How to Save It." Harvard University Press.
Inglehart, R. & Norris, P. (2016). "Trump, Brexit, and the Rise of Populism: Economic Have-Nots and Cultural Backlash." Harvard Kennedy School Faculty Research Working Paper Series.
Bartels, L. (2020). "Ethnic Antagonism Erodes Republicans' Commitment to Democracy." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Piketty, T. (2020). "Capital and Ideology." Harvard University Press.
Porges, S. (2011). "The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological Foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-Regulation."