Live chat Thursday with Robert Reich on ‘Inequality for All’ film

The average chief executive in America made 354 times as much as the average worker in 2012, according to the AFL-CIO. And the 400 richest Americans are worth more than the entire bottom half of the economy, Forbes recently reported. Former Labor Secretary Robert B. Reich says that’s not just a problem of fairness, it’s a threat to the U.S. economy and to democracy.

Join us at 10:30 a.m. Thursday as consumer columnist David Lazarus hosts a live chat with Reich about his new documentary, “Inequality for All,” which looks at the situation and possible solutions. Check out the trailer above.

“Inequality for All” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January and won a special jury prize in the documentary competition for director Jacob Kornbluth.

The film, which some have dubbed “ ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ for the economy,” asks how the country got to this point after several decades of relative equal wealth distribution after World War II. It also looks at what might happen if things don’t change.

Kornbluth and Reich dissect issues including wage stagnation, consolidated wealth, manufacturing, globalization and election politics, and document the struggles of regular working Americans. But it’s hardly all dry statistics and charts. L.A. Times film critic Kenneth Turan says Reich is “a supremely entertaining economic guide.”

Reich and Kornbluth sat down with L.A. Times film writer Steven Zeitchik at Sundance to talk about the film, here’s a look at that conversation:

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