Rob Reich

Philanthropy and Democracy in the 21st-Century

LaTese Briggs, Chuck Harris, George Pavlov, Rob Reich, Amy Smith

Moderator Latisse Briggs hosted a panel featuring Chuck Harris, George Pavlov, Rob Reich, and Amy Smith to dissect the tension between rising inequality and philanthropic capital deployment strategies. The speakers critiqued the "dead hand" of perpetual wealth and the plutocratic nature of tax deductions, advocating instead for time-limited funding cycles, radical transparency, and collaborative "collusion for good" to replace isolated market-style philanthropy. Ultimately, the group consensus emphasized that private capital must shift from temporary fixes to scalable, evidence-based interventions that influence government priorities while respecting democratic accountability.