Fiat Lux Redux: How to Tax the Ultrarich!

On the next Fiat Lux Redux, June 9 at 9AM, How to Tax the Ultrarich. In an era of unprecedented wealth concentration, how can the U.S. tax system be redesigned to address staggering inequality without being dismantled by the courts? A minuscule number of Americans now hold a greater share of the nation’s wealth than at any other point in U.S. history. With massive fiscal packages leaving the U.S. Treasury strained and further enriching the top 0.1%, the debate over taxation is no longer academic—it is an urgent societal necessity.

In this episode of Voices Carry, UC Berkeley Law Professor Brian Galle discusses his groundbreaking Roosevelt Institute monograph, How to Tax the UltraRich and provides actionable blueprints for systemic change. Co-author of the 2026 California Billionaire Tax Act, a landmark measure aiming for the November ballot to impose a one-time 5% tax on the worldwide net worth of the state’s wealthiest residents, Galle unpacks the fatal flaws of past tax frameworks and presents a revolutionary, constitutionally resilient path forward: the Fair Share Tax (FAST).  As Galles says, “This isn’t just about revenue; it’s about fixing an incentive system and an economy that is fundamentally failing the majority of Americans.”

Fiat Lux Redux presents previously aired lectures, conversations, and podcasts originating on the campus of UC Berkeley every other Tuesday from 9am to 9:30am. These often-lengthy original programs have been edited to a 30-minute format by experienced KALX producers. The show’s name, Latin for “Let there be light”, is a reference to the University of California’s motto, which is also Fiat Lux. The show’s goal is to provide listeners with a window into the intellectual and cultural life of UC Berkeley and to showcase the wide range of subjects and diversity of thought and ideas that are present at UC Berkeley.