Why do cities keep giving away billions—and getting so little in return? Law professor Rich Schragger turns everything we think we know about city governance upside down.
The common belief that cities must compete for corporate investment is deeply flawed, Schragger contends. Instead of chasing stadiums and corporate HQs with tax breaks and giveaways, cities are most effective when they invest in people, infrastructure, and essential services.
Rich Schragger is a legal scholar and author of City Power. A Harvard Law graduate and former Harvard Law Review editor, he clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals and has taught at leading institutions including Columbia, NYU, and the University of Chicago.
Robert Perkinson is an associate professor of American Studies and the director of the Better Tomorrow Speaker Series. His book, Texas Tough: The Rise of America’s Prison Empire, won the John Kenneth Galbraith Award.
Production: Willow Hutchison
Recording and Sound Editing Assistance: Adeel Meer