What is Democracy Worth to Billionaires?

We’ve always wondered how much billionaires would be willing to pay for American democracy, and now we have the answer: $4.6 trillion. Last Thursday, Donald Trump became the first former president to be convicted in a criminal trial after a Manhattan jury found him guilty of falsifying business records to conceal a hush-money payment to a porn star. It’s too early to tell what kind of impact … Continue reading What is Democracy Worth to Billionaires? »

What’s behind America’s “vibecession”?

It’s the biggest political head-scratcher of the season: President Biden has gotten a lot of questions right on traditional economic tests, but voters refuse to give him passing marks. By all conventional measures, the economy under Biden has thrived. Since Biden took office, 15 million jobs have been created. Unemployment has been below 4% for two and a half years – the longest stretch in over fifty years. Inflation … Continue reading What’s behind America’s “vibecession”? »

Political Power Cannot be a Family Heirloom

Family businesses – from restaurants to hardware stores to plumbing companies to hair salons – make up the beating heart of America. But when the “family business” is wielding unfathomable wealth to influence our democracy, it becomes a problem. Last week, our allies at Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF) published a report, “The Billionaire Family Business,” which revealed the enormous sums that billionaire families have … Continue reading Political Power Cannot be a Family Heirloom »

All Roads Lead to Raleigh, Part II

Last week, our Closer Look explained how North Carolina found its way into the center of the political universe. Both Joe Biden and Donald Trump are campaigning hard in the state as its economy rapidly evolves with uneven results, huge demographic shifts are underway, and organized labor attempts to upend the South’s broken economic system. As we said, the Tar Heel state has become something of … Continue reading All Roads Lead to Raleigh, Part II »

All Roads Lead to Raleigh, Part I

If you weren’t paying close attention, you might have missed that North Carolina has quietly become the center of the political universe. While simultaneous international crises in Ukraine and Gaza have dominated headlines, here at home, several intersecting storylines have converged on the Tar Heel State and elevated it as the most important battleground in the upcoming election. The news cycle on all things North … Continue reading All Roads Lead to Raleigh, Part I »

Happy May Day!

The United States may not officially recognize International Workers’ Day – more commonly referred to as May Day – but the Patriotic Millionaires will never skip an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of workers and their contributions to America and our economic prosperity. May Day is recognized as an official public holiday in most countries around the world and is traditionally celebrated on May 1st every … Continue reading Happy May Day! »

The Cold Hard Facts about the TCJA

If you’re a regular reader of our newsletter, you know how often we talk about the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), which is former President Trump and Republicans’ signature tax bill from December 2017. And if you know how much we talk about the TCJA, you know how often and how loudly we say the package delivered a massive windfall to the ultra-wealthy and corporations. We … Continue reading The Cold Hard Facts about the TCJA »

The G20 must act. Tax us, the super rich!

The Patriotic Millionaires have a message that the G20 finance ministers literally can’t miss: “The G20 must act. Tax us, the super rich! We are proud to pay more.” The leaders of the world’s leading economies are in town for the Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank. So naturally, we took it upon ourselves to project our simple message onto the … Continue reading The G20 must act. Tax us, the super rich! »

What Patriotism Means on Tax Day

Here we are again: Tax Day. Every year, millions of Americans gather their W-2s and 1099s, compile their receipts, their mortgage interest 1098s, and a dizzying array of other tax forms. Then, the vast majority fire up tax filing software from the likes of Intuit or H&R Block. Taxpayers in a few states may take advantage of the IRS’s new Direct File pilot program. Others will … Continue reading What Patriotism Means on Tax Day »

That’s a Wrap: Patriotic Millionaires’ 5th Annual Spring Symposium

We are happy to report that the Patriotic Millionaires’ fifth annual Spring Symposium, “How to Fix Everything,” was a smashing success! Over the course of three days this week, we engaged with activists, policy experts, and lawmakers about the critical need to raise taxes on the rich, raise the wage floor, and strengthen American democracy. Now that it’s over, we’d like to share some of … Continue reading That’s a Wrap: Patriotic Millionaires’ 5th Annual Spring Symposium »

How to Fix Everything

Next week, members of the Patriotic Millionaires will gather in Washington, DC for our fifth annual symposium, “How to Fix Everything.” The three-day event has become the highlight of the Patriotic Millionaires’ annual calendar. Our members gather together for strategy sessions with academics, activists, and lawmakers to discuss how to transform the economy and make it work for every American, and not just a wealthy … Continue reading How to Fix Everything »

Patriotic Millionaires to United Nations: Tax the Rich, Save the World

If you’re serious about taxing the rich, you have to think globally. Over the last few years, the Patriotic Millionaires have made an urgent case for immediate international cooperation on tax fairness. Slowly, but surely, we are breaking through. And last week, we took our unique message to an audience who had never heard it quite the way the Patriotic Millionaires tell it: the United … Continue reading Patriotic Millionaires to United Nations: Tax the Rich, Save the World »

Corporations are Supercharging Inequality

We always knew that corporations and their C-suite executives were hoarding profits and driving inequality through the roof, and now our friends at Oxfam, the Institute for Policy Studies, and Americans for Tax Fairness have fresh data to prove it. This week, Oxfam published its analysis of the largest 200 public companies’ contributions to inequality in the US, aptly called the Corporate Inequality Footprint. In short, … Continue reading Corporations are Supercharging Inequality »

Taxes are having a moment

Taxes are having a moment. Tomorrow night, President Biden will deliver his annual State of the Union address before both houses of Congress. He is expected to touch on a number of critical issues, but early reports suggest the President will emphasize economic populism, and in particular, call for the ultra-wealthy and corporations to pay more in taxes. In what may be his biggest televised appearance before … Continue reading Taxes are having a moment »

Our First Endorsements of 2024

We hate to kick things off with a cliché, but it’s an important one: elections have consequences. While cynics will dismiss elections as a rubber stamp on the status quo, the reality is that two starkly different realities are possible in January of 2025. In one of those realities, a newly inaugurated President Trump kicks off his second term with a series of vengeful abuses of … Continue reading Our First Endorsements of 2024 »

You’re Not Imagining It

No, you’re not going crazy: your favorite snacks and household products really are diminishing in both size and quality. The new phenomena of “shrinkflation” and “skimpflation” are very real, and they are becoming huge problems for millions of working Americans. Although inflation has cooled considerably since its peak in 2021 and 2022, prices are still ticking up at a faster rate than they were before the COVID … Continue reading You’re Not Imagining It »

Boeing and the Failure of the Invisible Hand

The United States often touts itself as a capitalist economy, wherein each person operates according to their best interest. In theory, we are all mutually dependent, and people make money when they provide goods or services that are valued by other people – and for which they are willing to pay. Adam Smith, writing generations ago in Wealth of Nations, coined the term “Invisible Hand,” … Continue reading Boeing and the Failure of the Invisible Hand »

If Durbin Crows About Subpoenas, He Needs to Issue Them

It’s encouraging that the Senate Judiciary Committee has decided to get to the bottom of questions regarding billionaire influence and corruption at the Supreme Court. Now, it’s time they rolled up their sleeves and got their hands dirty to actually make it happen. The last time that we told you about the ethics controversy at the Supreme Court was back in August. We outlined a number of … Continue reading If Durbin Crows About Subpoenas, He Needs to Issue Them »

Breadcrumbs for the Poor and Bread Baskets for Corporations

The new bipartisan tax deal is just the first of many battles that will ensue over the next year with the expiration of a number of the 2017 Trump tax cuts. Unfortunately, Democrats just can’t seem to help themselves. Instead of standing up and demanding what America really needs – a smart tax code that incentivizes the society they want – they have once again gone … Continue reading Breadcrumbs for the Poor and Bread Baskets for Corporations »