Inequality for All is a 2013 documentary film directed by Jacob Kornbluth. The film examines widening income inequality in the United States. The film is presented by American economist, author and professor Robert Reich.[1] The film premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival in the Documentary Competition section,[2] and won a U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Achievement in Filmmaking.[3][4]
Reich distills the story through the lens of widening income inequality—currently at historic highs—and explores what effects this increasing gap has not only on the U.S. economy but also American democracy itself. At the heart of the film is a simple question: What is a good society and what role does the widening income gap play in the deterioration of the nation's economic health?
The film was distributed by RADiUS-TWC in Fall 2013.
In the wake of the 2007–08 financial crisis and the rise of the Occupy movement, the issue of income inequality has gained public awareness. Over the last thirty years, before the latest recession, the U.S. economy doubled. But, according to this documentary, these gains went to a very few: the top 1% of earners now take in more than 20% of all income—three times what they did in 1970. Inequality is even more extreme at the very top. The 400 richest Americans now own more wealth than the bottom 150 million combined. While this level of inequality poses a serious risk to all Americans, regardless of income level, much of the rhetoric on this subject has been fueled by anger and resentment from a frustrated middle class who feel their birthright—the American Dream—has been taken away from them.
Robert Reich, author, professor at the University of California, Berkeley, official in three administrations, including United States Secretary of Labor under Bill Clinton, narrates the film. Reich is a thinker on the topic of inequality, having spoken on the subject for nearly three decades.
Structurally, the film is organized around a central "spine", in which Reich speaks directly to the audience about key economic topics. As Reich elaborates on each sub-topic, the film cuts to newly shot footage of real people and real lives, as well as archival footage and experts that address the points of his lecture. Throughout the film are graphics that expound upon statistical data.