Joseph Stiglitz

Joseph Stiglitz

Joseph Stiglitz won the Nobel Prize for Economics in 2001 for laying the foundations for the theory of markets with asymmetric information with Michael Spence and George Akerlof.

Bio

Joseph Stiglitz is co-President of the Initiative for Policy Dialogue, funded by George Soros’ Open Society Institute. He also serves as Chairman of the Committee on Global Thought at Columbia University. He is University Professor at Columbia, teaching in its Economics Department, its Business School, and its School of International and Public Affairs.

He has served as an economic advisor to President Barack Obama.

He chaired the UN Commission of Experts on Reforms of the International Monetary and Financial System, created in the aftermath of the financial crisis by the President of the General Assembly. He is former Chief Economist and Senior Vice-President of the World Bank and Chairman of President Bill Clinton’s Council of Economic Advisors. He was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics in 2001.

Richard Denniss connection

Joseph Stiglitz with Richard Denniss at The Australia Institute.

Australia Tour

Nobel Laureate, former World Bank Chief Economist, and best-selling author Professor Joseph Stiglitz toured Australia in July 2022 to discuss the need to expand the role of governments, unions, and civil society. His call for a windfall profits tax made national headlines.

The tour, hosted by The Australia Institute, saw Professor Stiglitz speak to the Prime Minister, the Treasurer, national television and news outlets, and at a wide range of events for the general public, policymakers, unions, civil society, investors and philanthropists.

“Professor Joseph Stiglitz is not only one of the world’s leading intellectuals and policy advisers, he has a unique ability to translate complex economic issues into language that both engages and informs, something essential for our democracy to flourish,” said Ben Oquist, executive director of The Australia Institute.

“The Australia Institute is delighted to host such a guest at such an important time in Australia’s economic policy debates. The essential and expanding role for government in driving economic prosperity is too little discussed. We hope this tour can help address that deficit.”

Stiglitz's itinerary included giving the The Inaugural Laurie Carmichael Lecture: The Economic Benefits of Trade Unions, with Sally McManus at the The Capitol, Melbourne.

He also met with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

Warning about 'Trump Inflation Bomb'

Joseph Stiglitz "spearheaded" a letter signed by "Nobel economists" as reported at Axios on June 25, 2024 in an article titled "Scoop: 16 Nobel economists see a Trump inflation bomb". The letter was not provided in the article, but there were some alleged quotes from the letter.

"We believe that a second Trump term would have a negative impact on the U.S.'s economic standing in the world, and a destabilizing effect on the U.S.'s domestic economy," the economists wrote, per Axios. "Many Americans are concerned about inflation, which has come down remarkably fast. There is rightly a worry that Donald Trump will reignite this inflation, with his fiscally irresponsible budgets."

From Raw Story, who also did not post the letter:

"In a letter, the economists argue that a combination of more tax cuts for corporations, a labor shortage caused by the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants, and looser monetary policy in the form of lower interest rates would cause prices to skyrocket yet again just as inflation has started to stabilize in the three percent range."

Signatories

• Joseph Stiglitz
• George A. Akerlof
• Sir Angus Deaton
• Claudia Goldin
• Sir Oliver Hart
• Eric S. Maskin
• Daniel L. McFadden
• Paul R. Milgrom
• Roger B. Myerson
• Edmund S. Phelps
• Paul M. Romer
• Alvin E. Roth
• William F. Sharpe
• Robert J. Shiller
• Christopher A. Sims
• Robert B. Wilson

Center for Economic and Policy Research

Joseph Stiglitz serves on the advisory board at the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR).

From the Center for Economic and Policy Research website:

Joseph E. Stiglitz is an American economist and a professor at Columbia University. He is also the co-chair of the High-Level Expert Group on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress at the OECD, and the Chief Economist of the Roosevelt Institute. A recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (2001) and the John Bates Clark Medal (1979), he is a former senior vice president and chief economist of the World Bank and a former member and chairman of the (US president’s) Council of Economic Advisers.

Build Back Better Spending Bill

Joseph Stiglitz signed a statement posted on September 20, 2021 titled "Seventeen winners of the Nobel Prize in economics sign letter in support of the President’s Build Back Better package", which argues that more money must be "invested" now in those things not traditionally thought of as infrastructure such as "human capital, the care economy, research and development, public education, and more..." The statement downplays the concern of inflation.

In an additional statement, Joseph Stiglitz praises the Build Back Better Spending Bill, describing it as a "transformative economic agenda." He says the concern over inflation is "short sighted".

The President’s economic agenda, the “Build Back Better” package being debated in Congress, would provide vital public investments in the nation’s physical and human infrastructure, as well as in our tattered safety net. These investments are long overdue—they were needed before the COVID-19 pandemic, and their necessity has been highlighted by the virus and the economic shock that came with it.

Some, however, have invoked fears of inflation as a reason to not undertake these investments. This view is short-sighted. These are importantly supply side measures, increasing the ability of more Americans to participate productively in the economy, helping to improve our low employment-working age population ratio. Significantly reducing the fraction of children growing up in poverty and giving these children access to pre-K and college education will reap large dividends in years to come. We need safe school buildings and bridges, and affordable child and elder care, whether inflation is 2% or 5%. With the investments being financed by tax increases, the inflationary impacts will be at most negligible—over the medium term outweighed by the supply side benefits; and their progressivity will help address one of the country’s critical problems, the growing economic divide.

The Build Back Better package will provide much needed support to a still-recovering economy, but it will accomplish much more than that. By meeting long-standing social needs, boosting long-term economic performance, and taking serious steps toward addressing the climate crisis we can already see unfolding, it would transform the U.S. economy to be more efficient, equitable, sustainable, and prosperous for the long run, without presenting an inflationary threat.

I am pleased that 16 other winners of the Nobel Memorial Prize in economics join me in endorsing the contours of this transformative economic agenda.

Endorsed Joe Biden for President

Joseph Stiglitz signed a letter endorsing Joe Biden for President dated September 22, 2020.,

The letter verbatim:

We the undersigned express our support for the economic principles and policies of Joe Biden.

While each of us has different views on the particulars of various economic policies, we believe that Biden’s overall economic agenda will improve our nation’s health, investment, sustainability, resilience, employment opportunities, and fairness and be vastly superior to the counterproductive economic policies of Donald Trump.

Throughout the coronavirus crisis, Biden has recognized that science-based, public health solutions are critical not only to saving lives, but to any viable strategy to restore economic confidence, recovery, and jobs.

Similarly, on issue after issue, Biden’s economic agenda will do far more than Donald Trump’s to increase the economic strength and well-being of our nation and its people. Simply put, Biden’s policies will result in economic growth that is faster, more robust, and more equitable.

The letter was signed by the following economists: George Akerlof, Peter Diamond, Oliver Hart, Eric Maskin, Daniel McFadden, Roger Myerson, William Nordhaus, Edmund Phelps, Paul Romer, Robert Solow, Michael Spence, Joseph Stiglitz and Richard Thaler.

Whither America?

Joseph Stiglitz recommended that President Trump should be impeached and "tried" in order to "bar him from holding federal office again" in an OpEd titled "Whither America" for Social Europe dated January 13, 2021: Stiglitz calls for addressing the "enormous harm" caused by social media. He states in part: "We must reconcile freedom of expression with accountability for the enormous harm that ‘social media’ can and has caused, from inciting violence and promoting racial and religious hatred to political manipulation."

Met with Hugo Chavez; Praised Venezuela Economy in 2007

Joseph Stiglitz met with Hugo Chavez and praised their economy in Venezuela in 2007:

"Nobel Prize winning economist and former vice-president of the World Bank, Joseph Stiglitz, praised Venezuela's economic growth and "positive policies in health and education" during a visit to Caracas on Wednesday.

"Venezuela's economic growth has been very impressive in the last few years," Stiglitz said during his speech at a forum on Strategies for Emerging Markets sponsored by the Bank of Venezuela.

"Venezuela, the fourth largest exporter of crude oil to the United States, has experienced the highest economic growth rate in Latin America in recent years, with fifteen successive quarters of expansion and looks set to close the year with 8-9% growth. Despite the high rate of growth, high public spending and increased consumer demand have contributed to inflationary pressures, pushing inflation up to 15.3%, also the highest in Latin America.

"However, Stiglitz, who won the Nobel Prize for economics in 2001, argued that relatively high inflation isn't necessarily harmful to the economy.

"He added that while Venezuela's economic growth has largely been driven by high oil prices, unlike other oil producing countries, Venezuela has taken advantage of the boom in world oil prices to implement policies that benefit its citizens and promote economic development.

'Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez appears to have had success in bringing health and education to the people in the poor neighborhoods of Caracas, to those who previously saw few benefits of the countries oil wealth,' he said.

"In his latest book 'Making Globalization Work," Stiglitz argues that left governments such as in Venezuela, 'have frequently been castigated and called ‘populist' because they promote the distribution of benefits of education and health to the poor.'

'It is not only important to have sustainable growth,' Stiglitz continued during his speech, 'but to ensure the best distribution of economic growth, for the benefit of all citizens.'

"Although Stiglitz praised Venezuela's 'positive policies' in areas of health and education and policies to promote economic diversification, he assured that Venezuela still faces the challenge of overcoming structural problems associated with an economy overwhelmingly geared towards oil production.

"In terms of economic development Stiglitz argued it was not good for the Central Bank to have "excessive" autonomy. Chavez's proposed constitutional reforms, if approved in December, will remove the autonomy of the country's Central Bank.

"However, Stiglitz claimed, developing nations must strike a balance between public and private control of the market.

"The key to success is to find the correct equilibrium between the private sector and the government, which is different for each nation," he said.

"Stiglitz also welcomed Venezuela's initiative to create the Bank of the South; due to be founded in Caracas on November 3, saying it would benefit the countries of South America and boost development.

"One of the advantages of having a Bank of the South is that it would reflect the perspectives of those in the South," said Stiglitz, whereas, he argued, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund often impose conditions that 'hinder the development effectiveness.'"

"Stiglitz also criticized the "Washington Consensus" of implementing neo-liberal policies in Latin America, in particular the US free trade agreements with Colombia and other countries, saying they failed to bring benefits to the peoples of those countries.

"The Washington Consensus 'is undermining the Andean cooperation, and it is part of the American strategy of divide and conquer, a strategy trying to get as much of the benefits for American companies,' and little for developing countries, he said.

"Stiglitz also met with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in Miraflores, where they exchanged points of view on the global economic situation, economic indicators and the behavior of world markets."

"Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez appears to have had success in bringing health and education to the people in the poor neighborhoods of Caracas, to those who previously saw few benefits of the country’s oil wealth."

People, Power, and Profits: Progressive Capitalism for an Age of Discontent

People, Power, and Profits: Progressive Capitalism for an Age of Discontent

Joseph Stiglitz wrote a book titled "People, Power, and Profits: Progressive Capitalism for an Age of Discontent" published in 2019, which "...challenges us to throw off the free market fundamentalists and reclaim our economy". His book has been described as "[A]n authoritative account of the predictable dangers of free market fundamentalism and the foundations of progressive capitalism, People, Power, and Profits shows us an America in crisis"

Excerpt of Review posted at the Initiative for Policy Dialogue:

"We all have the sense that the American economy—and its government—tilts toward big business, but as Joseph E. Stiglitz explains in his new book, People, Power, and Profits, the situation is dire. A few corporations have come to dominate entire sectors of the economy, contributing to skyrocketing inequality and slow growth. This is how the financial industry has managed to write its own regulations, tech companies have accumulated reams of personal data with little oversight, and our government has negotiated trade deals that fail to represent the best interests of workers. Too many have made their wealth through exploitation of others rather than through wealth creation. If something isn’t done, new technologies may make matters worse, increasing inequality and unemployment.

"Stiglitz identifies the true sources of wealth and of increases in standards of living, based on learning, advances in science and technology, and the rule of law. He shows that the assault on the judiciary, universities, and the media undermines the very institutions that have long been the foundation of America’s economic might and its democracy.

"Helpless though we may feel today, we are far from powerless. In fact, the economic solutions are often quite clear. We need to exploit the benefits of markets while taming their excesses, making sure that markets work for us—the U.S. citizens—and not the other way around. If enough citizens rally behind the agenda for change outlined in this book, it may not be too late to create a progressive capitalism that will recreate a shared prosperity. Stiglitz shows how a middle-class life can once again be attainable by all.

"An authoritative account of the predictable dangers of free market fundamentalism and the foundations of progressive capitalism, People, Power, and Profits shows us an America in crisis, but also lights a path through this challenging time."

'Top Economists to Advise Sanders on Fed Reform'

On October 20, 2011, Bernie Sanders released a press release titled "Top Economists to Advise Sanders on Fed Reform":

"WASHINGTON, Oct. 20 – Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz and other nationally-renowned economists agreed today to serve on a panel of experts to help Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) draft legislation to reform the Federal Reserve.

Sanders announced formation of his expert advisory panel in the wake of a damning report that faulted apparent conflicts of interest by bank-picked board members at the 12 regional Fed banks.

Top executives from Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan Chase, General Electric and other firms sat on the boards of regional Federal Reserve banks while their firms benefited from the central bank’s policies during the financial crisis, the Government Accountability Office investigation found. The dual roles created an appearance of a conflict of interest, according to the GAO.

After the report was issued Wednesday, Sanders said he would work with top economists to develop legislation to restructure the Fed and tighten rules on conflicts of interest, ensure that the Fed fulfills its full-employment mandate, increase transparency, protect consumers and reduce income inequality.

Sanders’ panel of experts includes:

• Joseph Stiglitz, the 2001 winner of the Nobel Prize. The economics professor at Columbia University is a former chief economist for the World Bank.
• Jeffrey Sachs, director of The Earth Institute and an economics professor at Columbia University. He also is special advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
• Robert Reich, Professor of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley. Reich has served in three national administrations, most recently as secretary of labor under President Bill Clinton. He also served on President-Elect Obama’s transition advisory board. In 2008, Time Magazine named him one of the ten most successful cabinet secretaries of the century.
• James K. Galbraith, Lloyd M. Bentsen Jr. Chair in Government/Business Relations and Professor of Government at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin. Galbraith served in several positions on the staff of the U.S. Congress, including Executive Director of the Joint Economic Committee.
• Lawrence Mishel, president of the Economic Policy Institute, the premier research organization focused on U.S. living standards and labor markets.
• William Black, associate professor of economics and law at the University of Missouri, Kansas City. He worked with the Federal Home Loan Bank Board, the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation and the Office of Thrift Supervision.
• Nomi Prins, a senior fellow at Demos, was a managing director at Goldman Sachs, a senior manager at Bear Stearns in London, a senior strategist at Lehman Brothers, and an analyst at the Chase Manhattan Bank (now JPM Chase)
• William Greider, author of Secrets of the Temple: How the Federal Reserve Runs the Country, a monumental account of how the American central bank, cloistered and protected from public accountability, exercises its control over the US economy – workers, consumers, investors.
• Jane D'Arista, an Economic Policy Institute research associate, has written on the history of U.S. monetary policy and financial regulation, The former Boston University School of Law professor previously served as a staff economist for Congress.
• Tim Canova, professor of economic law and co-director of the Center for Global Law & Development at the Chapman University School of Law in Orange, Calif. He was an early critic of financial deregulation and warned of the dangers of the bubble economy.
• Robert Johnson, senior fellow and director of the Project on Global Finance at the Roosevelt Institute. He was chief economist of the Senate Banking Committee and a senior economist for the Senate Budget Committee.
• Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, D.C. He was a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, a consultant for the World Bank and the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress.
• Gerald Epstein, chair of the economics department at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Epstein also is the co-director of the Political Economy Research Institute.
• Robert Auerbach, professor at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs with the University of Texas at Austin. Auerbach was an economist with the House banking committee during the tenure of four Federal Reserve Chairmen: Arthur Burns, William Miller, Paul Volcker, and Alan Greenspan. Auerbach also served as an economist in the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Domestic Monetary Affairs during the first year of the Ronald Reagan administration and as a financial economist with the U.S. Federal Reserve System.
• Roger Hickey, Co-Director of the Campaign for America's Future. In the late 1980s he and Jeff Faux created the Economic Policy Institute.
• Robert L. Borosage is the founder and president of the Institute for America's Future and co-director of its sister organization, the Campaign for America's Future.
• Robert Pollin, co-director of the Political Economy Research Institute and economics professor at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. He has worked with the Joint Economic Committee and the U.S. Competitiveness Policy Council.
• L. Randall Wray, a professor of economics and research director of the Center for Full Employment and Price Stability at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and a Senior Scholar at the Levy Economics Institute.
• Stephanie Kelton, associate professor of Economics at the University of Missouri, Kansas City and a research scholar at the Center for Full Employment and Price Stability.

The need for major reforms at the Federal Reserve was driven home by the GAO findings announced Wednesday and in an earlier report issued on July 21. Both unprecedented audits of the Federal Reserve were required by a Sanders’ amendment to last year’s Wall Street reform law...

Influencing Obama's policies

Joseph Stiglitz’s 2003 book The Roaring Nineties was described by Bloomberg News as “a cornerstone of President Barack Obama’s blueprint to reshape the U.S. economy.”

Stiglitz, a Nobel Prize-winning economist, “mentored several members of Obama’s economic team, including budget director Peter Orszag, 40, and Jason Furman, 38, deputy director of the National Economic Council,” according to Bloomberg.

2008 European Socialists meetings

A Party of European Socialists Delegation with PES President Poul Nyrup Rasmussen; Par Nüder, MP, former Finance Minister, SAP, Sweden and Geir Axelsen, Vice Finance Minister, DNA, Norway visited New York and Washington D.C., on 4-8 February 2008, to meet with Congress members (Barney Frank, Chair of the House Committee on Financial Services and George Miller, Chair of the house, education and labour committee) and well known economists such as Joseph Stiglitz, Economy Nobel Prize, to discuss about Financial markets reform.

PES President Poul Nyrup Rasmussen visited New York and Washington on 10-16 November 2008 to meet with Dominique Strauss Kahn, Director General of IMF; Paul Volcker, Chairman of the Federal Reserve; Joseph Stiglitz, Co-President IPD; Barney Frank, US House of Representatives; Chair-House Financial Services Committee and many other people.

Federation of American Scientists

In 2009 Joseph Stiglitz served on the Board of Sponsors of the Federation of American Scientists.

Feb. 2009 EFCA statement

On February 24, 2009 Richard B. Freeman, Frank Levy and Lawrence Mishel, issued an Economic Policy Institute Employee Free Choice Act Statement on the Economic Policy Institute website, calling for the passage of the pro labor union Employee Free Choice Act.

Statement endorsers included Joseph Stiglitz, Columbia University.

Socialist International Commission on Global Financial Issues

On September 23 2008, the Socialist International Presidium adopted a statement on “the Global Financial Crisis and the G2o Pittsburgh Summit.” In addressing the current phase of the global financial crisis and the upcoming G20 Summit in Pittsburgh, the Presidium received a report on the work of the SI Commission on Global Financial Issues which had held its most recent meeting in New York two days before, on 21 September, under the chairmanship of Professor Joseph Stiglitz.

Strengthening automatic stabilizers through the enhancement of social protections and increasing the progressivity of the tax structure would contribute both to the stability of the economic system and a broader sense of social justice and solidarity.

This crisis has frayed many critical aspects of our social compact. Ordinary citizens have been asked to bail out wealthy banks, who have used some of the proceeds to pay bonuses to their executives. Workers have been asked to take cutbacks in wages, while the contracts of those of highly paid executives of financial institutions have been treated as if they are sacrosanct. In some cases, the profits of the banks have been based on exploitation of the least educated members of society. In some countries, growth has been based on exploitation of the environment; given the pace of climate change, the growth path of the world is clearly unsustainable. The crisis should be an occasion for reflection, for re-establishing the social contract among the members of society today, between the developed and developing countries, and between this generation and future generations.

March 2009 meeting

The Socialist International Commission on Global Financial Issues met in New York on 31 March in advance of the G-20 summit to be held in London to address the global financial crisis.

The Chair of the Commission Professor Joseph Stiglitz introduced the discussion, "which covered the global social democratic response to the crisis.| Considering the new phase of the crisis affecting emerging and developing countries and the urgency of the situation of many people around the world today, the Commission issued a message to the leaders of the G-20 calling for decisive international action.

Criticising the inadequacies and fallacies in the economic system which have led to unbridled financial practices, damage to the environment and inequality around the globe, the Commission called for a new set of rules for the world economy, a set in which citizens are not subservient to the market. It stated that it was necessary to guarantee that markets serve people’s needs, instead of letting them bear the worst of the crisis.

Demanding that global leaders act now to restructure, re-regulate, and reform the global financial system, the Commission called for new standards governing financial activities by function, the establishment of mandatory new standards for transparency and timeliness, as well as the chartering of a new World Finance Organisation to set global standards and globalise enforcement. The Commission also called for the closure of tax havens.

The Commission, established by the Socialist International Presidium at its meeting at the United Nations, New York, at the end of September 2008, brings together political leaders, ministers and experts from around the world. Attending in New York were: Professor Joseph Stiglitz from the United States, Nobel laureate and Chair of the Commission; Anatoly Aksakov, Member of the Board of the Russian Federation Central Bank and Member of Russian State Duma, For a Just Russia Party; Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas, Founder of the Party for Democratic Revolution, PRD, Mexico and Honorary President of the Socialist International; Elio Di Rupo, Leader of the Socialist Party, PS, Belgium, and SI Vice-President; Eero Heinäluoma, Finnish Social Democratic Party and SI Vice-President; Fathallah Oualalou, Former Minister of Finance, Socialist Union of Popular Forces, USFP, Morocco; Antolin Sánchez Presedo, Member of the European Parliament, Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party, PSOE, Spain, and Markus Klimmer, Senior Economic advisor to the Social Democratic Party, Germany; George Papandreou, President of the Socialist International and Luis Ayala, Secretary General of the Socialist International, worked alongside the members who took part in this second meeting of the Commission. The members of the Commission were also joined by a number of academics from the US and Europe, who assisted in an advisory capacity.

Initiative for Policy Dialogue

The Initiative for Policy Dialogue is a globalist group which is funded by George Soros’ Open Society Institute. Joseph Stiglitz is the co-founder and president of the Initiative.

Other Organizations

Stiglitz holds roles in the following organizations:

• Collegium International, a globalist group that proclaims in its official declaration “the Earth, home of humanity, constitutes a whole denoted by interdependence.”
• Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET)
• The United Nations' Commission of Experts on Reforms of the International Monetary and Financial System

Fundacion Ideas

The Fundacion Ideas, or IDEAS Foundation for Progress was created during the 37th Federal Congress of the Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE) in 2008 to establish a “think-tank with the capacity to bring novel progressive ideas to the arena of political and social debate in an ever changing world.” Its mission is to identify challenges and opportunities and offer innovative and imaginative solutions that are at the same time rigorous from a scientific point of view and politically deliverable.

American members of the Fundacion Ideas Scientific Committee include Joseph Stiglitz, Jeffrey Sachs, George Lakoff, Jeremy Rifkin, Pippa Norris.

Secret Meeting/Progressive Agenda

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio held a closed-door meeting at his mayoral residence on April 2, 2015, to create the Progressive version of the 1994 Republican “Contract with America.” De Blasio called his update the “Progressive Agenda” and its stated purpose was to address “income inequality” in the U.S. A dozen far-left leaders attended the closed-door meeting, including George Soros’ son Jonathan Soros. Jonathan claims to support removing money from politics, yet hypocritically serves on several boards at the Open Society Foundation (OSF). OSF has given more than $550 million to liberal organizations. Other liberal leaders at the April 2 meeting were Katrina vanden Heuvel of The Nation, “disgraced” former Obama advisor and 9/11 Truther Van Jones, Marian Wright Edelman, and liberal economist Joseph Stiglitz. In an April 6 interview on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, de Blasio confirmed that key elements of the Progressive Agenda included: a progressive tax (driven by the Buffett Rule -- which argues that wealthier individuals should have to pay higher taxes), universal free pre-kindergarten, and a $15 minimum wage. De Blasio said the full Agenda would be unveiled at the May 12 event in Washington, D.C.

According to Rolling Stone, other attendees included Sherrod Brown, the populist senator from Ohio, and Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy. The novelist Toni Morrison showed up, delighting de Blasio and McCray. Other attendees included Arizona Congressman Raúl Grijalva, chair of the House Progressive Caucus.]