By Adrian Aumen, College of Arts & Sciences
PULLMAN, Wash. – The pitchforks are coming, warns Nick Hanauer, a venture capitalist, entrepreneur and self-described plutocrat who will present Washington State University’s Thomas S. Foley Distinguished Lecture on Thursday, Oct. 2, in Pullman and Spokane.
Comparing the plight of American workers today to that of pitchfork-wielding French revolutionaries, Hanauer warns that the struggling U.S. middle class will eventually turn on wealthy elites unless dramatic changes in economic policy occur—and soon. He will speak on the topic and take audience questions at free, public sessions at 2 p.m. in the CUB auditorium at WSU Pullman and at 7:30 p.m. in the Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox in Spokane.
In “Saving American Capitalism: The truth about jobs, prosperity and economic growth,” Hanauer will explain who are the real job creators and why most current U.S. fiscal policies have failed. He will present ideas for generating prosperity, rebuilding the middle class and safeguarding the nation’s future.
Top–down economics fails
Unprecedented economic disparity critically threatens our capitalist democratic society and is robbing the country of prosperity, Hanauer says.
“To renew prosperity will require rethinking existing dogmas about economic policy. Instead of a trickle-down approach, which has succeeded only in concentrating wealth in the hands of a very few, capitalist policies must focus on ensuring that workers and the middle class share in the wealth that is produced,” he says.
“If workers have more money, businesses have more customers,” he says. “Capitalism must build from the middle out, not from the top down.”
Among solutions Hanauer advocates are raising the national minimum wage and increasing taxes for the richest Americans, including himself.
“Nick Hanauer is one of the wealthiest and most successful venture capitalists in the country and one of the most thoughtful civic activists and authors of our day,” says Cornell Clayton, professor of political science and director of the Thomas S. Foley Institute for Public Policy and Public Service (http://foley.wsu.edu/) at WSU. “His ideas about American economic policy are controversial because they challenge the views of both political parties and the tired orthodoxies about how a healthy capitalist system works.
“Agree or disagree with him, he will force you to think,” Clayton says, “and he does it in a disarming and engaging manner.”
The Foley Institute, sponsor of Hanauer’s Oct. 2 lectures, provides public affairs programming, education and research support in a nonpartisan, cross-disciplinary setting.
Entrepreneur, education advocate, author
With more than 30 years’ experience across a broad range of industries—including manufacturing, retailing, e-commerce, digital media and advertising, software, aerospace, health care and finance—Hanauer has produced an unusual record of serial successes. He managed, founded or financed more than 30 companies, creating aggregate market value of tens of billions of dollars, according to his website, http://nick-hanauer.com/.
He is a co-founder and partner in the Seattle-based venture capital firm Second Avenue Partners, which provides management, strategy and capital for early-stage companies. He is active in a wide variety of civic and philanthropic activities, including the League of Education Voters, a nonpartisan, statewide political organization focused on promoting public education.
With co-author Eric Liu, Hanauer has published two national bestsellers in politics: “The True Patriot” (2007) and “The Gardens of Democracy” (2010).
He is a frequent commentator for news media examining politics and economics. His TED talk about “the true job creators” went globally viral in 2010, and another TED talk (http://www.ted.com/talks/nick_hanauer_beware_fellow_plutocrats_the_pitchforks_are_coming) he delivered recently has drawn more than a half-million views.
The 2014 Foley Distinguished Lecture is supported by the WSU College of Arts and Sciences, WSU Student Programming Board, Spokane community members Ron and Debbie Reed and others. Learn more about the Foley Institute at http://foley.wsu.edu/about/index.asp.
Contacts:
Richard Elgar, Thomas S. Foley Institute at WSU, relgar@wsu.edu, 509-335-3477
Adrian Aumen, WSU College of Arts and Sciences (http://cas.wsu.edu/) communications, adriana@wsu.edu, 509-335-5671