Inequality for All by director Jacob Kornbluth

Inequality for All is one of the most effective breakdowns of how income affects economics that I have seen to date. By presenting data through graphs and visuals in easily digestible amounts, the film manages to educate without overwhelming. Robert Reich best best-selling author, Berkeley professor, and former cabinet member of the Clinton administration, along with director Jacob Kornbluth, crack the code on what is going wrong with the economy and offer ideas for how to fix it, ideas that few are willing to discuss openly.

Starting with a short man taking on a very big world, the film walks us through the rise and decline of U.S. economics, dating back to the 1920s. Step by step, it guides us from the Great Depression to the present day, clearly outlining where the middle class begins and ends, and where the one percent diverges from there. Unlike a Michael Moore-style propaganda rally, this film does not attempt to pit the poor against the rich. Instead, it presents clear facts that demonstrate how both sides would benefit from a better understanding of how the economy actually functions.

From beginning to end, the film moves fluidly. It dances between personal life experiences and applicable economic facts in a way that brings clarity to what often feels like nonsense. The pacing and structure carry much of the tone found in Errol Morris’s The Fog of War, grounding complex ideas in a deeply human presence. The film’s central figure feels real enough to touch and intelligent enough to command attention without arrogance.

By the end, I found myself both falling in love with the storyteller and unsettled by the realities of his story. Inequality for All succeeds not by shouting, but by explaining, and that may be its most powerful achievement.

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