Thread by @JeffRybak

A few days ago I wrote at length about how wealth inequality is the defining issue of our time - undermining our ability to solve every other problem. It was well-received, but several people asked what to do about it. So I'll attempt a follow-up reply. #cdnpoli 1/10

There's no single solution to inequality in society, just as there's no single cause of it. What we need is a variety of measures aimed at stopping the slide in one direction, and nudging it back on a trajectory pointed the right way again. So here's a short list. #cdnpoli 2/10

A tax on actual wealth to start, and not just income. We're on track to see trillionaires in a few decades. That's insane. No one needs so much personal wealth that every descendant of theirs for 26 generations never needs to work. No one. #cdnpoli 3/10

Universal Basic Income. Just get it done. Not some small pilot program. Direct transfers to those leading the most precarious lives end up saving us money in the end, and it all gets pumped right back into the economy. This isn't a fringe theory anymore. It works. #cdnpoli 4/10

Strictly limit how money is spent on politics. One person one vote is the final leveling mechanism - the last firewall. If money is allowed to dominate politics any more than it already does, the rich will run the table until we really do see violent revolution. #cdnpoli 5/10

Maintain and strengthen the basic social welfare net. They said we couldn't afford universal health care. Now they say that about dental care, pharmacare, etc. Covid has reminded us that every change is possible where there's will. Let's find the will again. #cdnpoli 6/10

Equality cycles back to create more equality. And inequality does the same. It may be gradual, but it gains momentum. There's only two broad options to deal with where we're at. Either support gradual improvements to get us back on track again, or break the wheel. #cdnpoli 7/10

I hope and believe we can still avoid revolution. I find it hard to engage with anyone excited by the idea of violent upheaval. If things really become intolerable, that option needs to be real. But the huge damage and cost involved makes it a last resort. #cdnpoli 8/10

Ultimately, a functioning society requires everyone in it to identify enough with everyone else to see themselves as one people. The rich can't live as distant gods and the poor cannot become a degraded underclass. If it goes that far we've failed - all of us. #cdnpoli 9/10

Ultimately, I'm a "work within the system" guy, as long as that's an option. If it fails, as I've promised, I'll be there at the barricades with everyone else. For now, I say support politics and policies that make our society fairer, while there's still time. #cdnpoli 10/10