Student Opinion: Gillian Tiley

We’ve heard from Hannah on why income inequality does harm democracy, but last Thursday we heard from both sides. Gillian Tiley, a senior at UVM and member of the Lawrence Debate Union, was on the side defending that income inequality is not a threat to democracy.

Here is what she had to say about the debate before it happened!

“Side opposition seeks to contextualize how income inequality interacts with democratic participation, both in examining the 2016 election as well as current political practices. Our discussion will consider the validity of the rust belt vote in electing President Trump, the positive benefits of wealthy liberal elites, the necessity of wealthy individuals for funding organizations that expand access and resources to marginalized populations and the very important notion that inequality exists in all forms, not just in terms of wealth—a world without income inequality is still a world with uneven access to democratic representation.”

Stay tuned for video coverage of the event!