Jacob S. Hacker

The path of the pandemic has been shaped by inequality, with poor and minority workers experiencing greater exposure to infection and fewer health protections. Has the policy response helped ease these inequities—or made them worse?

A recently published book argues that the richest Americans now pay lower tax rates than any other income group. We asked Yale political scientist Jacob Hacker to explain how this situation developed and why it’s proved politically difficult to raise taxes on the rich.

Yale political scientist Jacob Hacker joined Yale SOM’s Global Leadership: Big Issues course to discuss the tax, policy, and political forces that have disproportionately benefited the richest Americans—and caused many to feel left behind.

Yale’s Jacob Hacker argues that society needs both healthy markets and effective government.

Leadership scholar Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and political scientist Jacob Hacker, who recently sat down for an hour-long conversation with Donald Trump, discuss their impressions of the man and the current moment in political history.

Does economic inequality provide incentives for success? Does it introduce instability into the financial system? A political scientist and an economist discuss how inequality affects government, markets, and the risks faced by ordinary people.