Policy Brief  

Information Inequality Can Be a Matter of Life or Death

In this paper, Mary W. Graham, co-director of the Center’s Transparency Policy Project, examines how unintended information inequities undermine critical health and safety alerts. Focusing on three key policies — wildfire alerts, drinking water reports, and auto safety recalls — she identifies common roots of these disparities and highlights efforts by policymakers to address them.

Cover photo of the report

Six years ago, when California’s deadliest wildfire killed 85 people in the town of Paradise, more than three-quarters of those who died were 65 or older or had disabilities. Many never received evacuation alerts. More recently, 93 percent of those who died in the tragic January 2025 Eaton and Palisades fires were 65 or older or had disabilities, according to the Los Angeles County medical examiner’s preliminary report.

In practice, information may not get to all Americans when and where they can access, understand, and act on it to protect themselves and their families. Wildfire alerts, drinking water contamination warnings, and auto safety recalls are among the nation’s enduring commitments to inform all Americans about hidden risks. A closer look at how they have served the public provides clues about the causes of information inequities and their remedies

More from this Program

More on this Issue

Why I’m Excited About the White House’s Proposal for a Higher Ed Compact
College students throwing graduation caps in the air with an American flag background.

Commentary

Why I’m Excited About the White House’s Proposal for a Higher Ed Compact

Last week’s leak of the U.S. Department of Education’s proposed “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” drew intense reactions across academia. Critics call it government overreach threatening free expression, while supporters see a chance for reform and renewed trust between universities and policymakers. Danielle Allen, James Bryant Conant University Professor at Harvard University, director of the Democratic Knowledge Project and the Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation, weighs in.

Setting the 2025-26 Agenda for the Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation

Commentary

Setting the 2025-26 Agenda for the Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation

Amid rising illiberalism, Danielle Allen urges a new agenda to renew democracy by reorienting institutions, policymaking, and civil society around the intentional sharing of power.