Unmasking Jason Smith

The House Ways and Means Committee is one of the most important centers of decision-making in the entire federal government. It’s the House’s chief tax-writing committee, where members of Congress make calls about who gets taxed and how much and, in the process, decide how our economy should be structured. With so much power over our tax code, the House Ways and Means Committee has … Continue reading Unmasking Jason Smith »

The FairTax Act is Nowhere Near Fair

If you thought the GOP’s dedication to cutting taxes for rich people at any cost couldn’t get any more extreme, you might want to think again. The latest proposal out of the House takes their radicalism to a whole new level. Earlier this month, a group of House Republicans – including Earl “Buddy” Carter, Scott Perry, Matt Gaetz, and Marjorie Taylor Greene – re-introduced legislation … Continue reading The FairTax Act is Nowhere Near Fair »

The Other NRA is Exploiting Workers

We’ve known for a long time that the National Restaurant Association (the “other” NRA) is an awful organization. As a representative of some of the biggest, most profitable, and often most exploitative businesses in the restaurant industry, the NRA has fought for years to keep the tipped minimum wage for restaurant workers as low as possible. Unfortunately, it’s been largely successful and has kept Congress … Continue reading The Other NRA is Exploiting Workers »

Survival of the Richest

This week, over 2,700 world leaders are attending the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland – better known as simply “Davos.” Every year, elites from business, politics, and civil society meet at this annual conference held at an exclusive and luxurious Swiss ski resort to discuss humanity’s most pressing problems. And every year, they fail to make any real change because they refuse to … Continue reading Survival of the Richest »

Get Ready for a Debt Ceiling Showdown

Last week, after a historic five-day battle involving no fewer than 15 rounds of voting, Representative Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives for the 118th Congress. In order to win the gavel, McCarthy had to make concessions to a group of 20 far-right Republicans, the majority of whom belong to the House Freedom Caucus. We don’t know the details of many of these back-room … Continue reading Get Ready for a Debt Ceiling Showdown »

Blame Corporate Greed for the Southwest Fiasco

Happy New Year! We hope you and your loved ones enjoyed a peaceful, joy-filled holiday and are feeling optimistic about the new year. If you were traveling over the holidays, you might have been one of the hundreds of thousands affected by the flight cancelation chaos at Southwest Airlines. Between December 22 and December 29, Southwest canceled more than 15,000 of its scheduled flights, leaving customers and … Continue reading Blame Corporate Greed for the Southwest Fiasco »

Don’t Extend Trump’s Corporate Tax Cuts

Congress is facing an important deadline this week. By this Friday, December 16th, lawmakers must adopt a new spending bill to fund the federal government for the 2023 fiscal year, or they will face the prospect of a government shutdown. Both Republicans and Democrats are eager to get this done. They might not care equally about the need to prevent the economic fallout that would inevitably ensue with a … Continue reading Don’t Extend Trump’s Corporate Tax Cuts »

Eliminate the debt ceiling

Last week, we told you about many important issues that Democrats have on their plate in the lame duck session. For this week’s Closer Look, we’re going to dive a little deeper into one of the most important things Democrats should be prioritizing in the three weeks before they officially lose control of the House: fixing (AKA eliminating) the debt ceiling. Established by Congress in 1939, … Continue reading Eliminate the debt ceiling »

The clock is ticking on Democrats’ legislative agenda

This week, Congress has returned to work in Washington after the Thanksgiving break and will now finish out its “lame-duck session” – the legislative period between elections and the entry of a new Congress. This is crunch time for many important legislative goals for Democrats since they will lose control of the House come January. For this week’s Closer Look, we want to highlight a few of these legislative … Continue reading The clock is ticking on Democrats’ legislative agenda »

You can blame New York for the House

It’s hard to believe that it’s been a week since polls closed for the midterm elections. Some key races have yet to be called, but we can nonetheless see some broader patterns emerging that we’d like to highlight for you today. First, the good news: Democrats have officially retained control of the Senate! After incumbent Senator Catherine Cortez Masto defeated Adam Laxalt in Nevada’s hotly contested Senate … Continue reading You can blame New York for the House »

Are America’s billionaires oligarchs?

Are America’s billionaires oligarchs? It’s a strange question for many who see oligarchs as a uniquely foreign problem. But the answer is, without a doubt, yes. We’ve heard a lot about oligarchs in the news over the last year, as Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine has sparked a fierce international backlash against the aggressors and brought attention to the inner workings of the Russian state. Along with a … Continue reading Are America’s billionaires oligarchs? »

Elon Musk and the Oligarch Takeover of America

If you hadn’t heard, Elon Musk – Tesla and SpaceX CEO and the single richest man in the world – is just days away from closing his deal to buy Twitter for $44 billion. After a tumultuous, months-long legal drama, a judge finally gave Twitter and Musk an ultimatum: reach a settlement on your own by this Friday, October 28, or face trial in November. With the deadline … Continue reading Elon Musk and the Oligarch Takeover of America »

Democrats need to get real with voters about inflation

Last week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that consumer prices rose 8.2% over the past year through September. Inflation has cooled a bit since its peak in the summer, but not as much as most experts hoped. Prices are still rising at levels not seen since the 1980s. As prices for everyday essentials like food, gas, and rent continue to spiral out of control in America, … Continue reading Democrats need to get real with voters about inflation »

Two positive developments for American workers

It’s only Tuesday, but there have already been two big pieces of positive news for American workers this week. It’s not all good – CEO pay is on the rise, recent wage gains for workers have not kept pace with inflation, and billionaire Ken Griffin is bankrolling Republicans to the tune of $100 million in the 2022 midterms – but, for this week’s Closer Look, we want to focus … Continue reading Two positive developments for American workers »

Taxing the rich is really, really popular…everywhere

We normally use this space to talk about taxes, wages, and other issues from a purely American perspective, but this week we’re going to look across the pond to the UK, where Prime Minister Liz Truss’s disastrous tax cut proposal ended up being perhaps the biggest financial news in the world over the last week. Just 11 days ago, Kwasi Kwarteng, the Chancellor of the … Continue reading Taxing the rich is really, really popular…everywhere »

Don’t Trust the “Good Billionaires”

Last week, we introduced you to our take on “The Tale of Two Billionaires.” For this week’s Closer Look, we want to take this story wider, and look at the billionaire class as a whole. There are only about 735 billionaires in the United States, but despite the fact that they could all fit on a single Airbus 380 jet, this group holds an immense amount of … Continue reading Don’t Trust the “Good Billionaires” »

A Tale of Two Billionaires

America is writing a new chapter in its history books that could be entitled: “A Tale of Two Billionaires.” On one side of the story is Yvon Chouinard, the founder of the popular outdoor apparel company Patagonia. Chouinard made headlines this week when he did what most billionaires would consider unthinkable: he gave his entire fortune away. Chouinard transferred ownership of Patagonia, valued at $3 billion, to … Continue reading A Tale of Two Billionaires »

IRA Support Bodes Well for Democrats in the Midterms

Today, President Biden gathered thousands of lawmakers, activists, and supporters for a celebration at the White House to recognize Democrats’ successful passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) last month. Our very own Chairman, Morris Pearl, was among the President’s honored guests applauding the IRA as a win for tax fairness and economic justice. Today’s event at the White House is a celebration of last month’s victory, … Continue reading IRA Support Bodes Well for Democrats in the Midterms »

Let’s value work over wealth in the tax code

Yesterday, the United States celebrated Labor Day. First recognized as an official federal holiday in 1894, the day offers an opportunity for all of us to come together and celebrate the remarkable achievements American workers have made over the years. Labor Day also gives us a chance to reflect on how far we still need to go to protect and rightly reward workers in America. Unions … Continue reading Let’s value work over wealth in the tax code »