Billionaire Campaign Spending is Out of Control

American billionaires spent $880 million on the midterm elections by the end of October, with the final total spent likely approaching an astronomical $1 billion. That’s a game-changing amount of money, and with the lion’s share of it going to Republican candidates and groups, the billionaires were confident they would be able to get their money’s worth. Fortunately for most regular Americans, a “red wave” was largely … Continue reading Billionaire Campaign Spending is Out of Control »

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 »

State Tax Policy: The Growing and Unsustainable Divergence

Regressivity, defined as the opposition to progress or returning to a former, less advanced state, is not a description to which policymakers should aspire. Yet, overall, state and local tax policy is regressive, in many cases obscenely so. According to the most recent report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the state and local tax burden, as a percentage of income, of those … Continue reading State Tax Policy: The Growing and Unsustainable Divergence »

Republicans Are Campaigning on Protecting Wealthy Tax Criminals

When Democrats passed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) over the summer, they were expecting it to be a major factor in their favor in the upcoming midterm elections. They probably weren’t expecting that Republicans would also see the IRA as an opportunity to help win elections. In recent weeks, Republican candidates for the House and Senate have spent millions on ads targeting the IRA, in which they single out … Continue reading Republicans Are Campaigning on Protecting Wealthy Tax Criminals »

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? »

Why Do Billionaires So Love Owning Newspapers?

Is centi-billionaire Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos now writing the paper’s editorials himself? Of course not. But the Post editorial board’s recent rant, Meta’s stock plunge shows the right – and wrong – way to tax wealth, could make the objective reader wonder otherwise. It’s not that the Post’s arguments against current proposals to tax the rich so obviously would favor Bezos. Editorial board members shouldn’t abstain from opining on an issue … Continue reading Why Do Billionaires So Love Owning Newspapers? »

Reframing the Inflation Debate

The federal government is making a huge mistake in its fight against inflation. We’ve talked a lot about inflation recently, and how important it is for the government to help working people provide for themselves and their families as prices continue to rise. But we haven’t talked much about the one thing the federal government is actually doing to fight inflation – raising interest rates … Continue reading Reframing the Inflation Debate »

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 »

Brainwashed by Arthur Laffer

In the byline of his recent Forbes op-ed, Michigan’s Romney Was Brainwashed – By The Income Tax, writer Brian Domitrovic identifies himself as a “scholar.” Michigan, Domitrovic explains, supposedly did itself in by enacting a state income tax 55 years ago and that its then governor, George Romney, was brainwashed when he agreed to sign it into law. But it seems Domitrovic is the one … Continue reading Brainwashed by Arthur Laffer »

Howard Schultz should be in favor of Starbucks workers organizing

Last week, Greg Jaffe of the Washington Post penned an excellent exposé on Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz and his efforts to stop the recent wave of unionization at his franchise. (You can read the piece HERE.) The Starbucks unionizing campaign began in Buffalo in August 2021 and has since spread to more than 225 Starbucks cafés across the country. Like thousands of other workers in … Continue reading Howard Schultz should be in favor of Starbucks workers organizing »

What’s at Stake in November for the Minimum Wage

The Patriotic Millionaires spend a significant amount of time and energy working to change federal policy for the issues we work on. Fighting economic inequality at the national level is the most impactful way to make change – but unfortunately, in many cases, it’s not always the quickest or most effective. Sometimes change has to happen at the state or local level. Just look at … Continue reading What’s at Stake in November for the Minimum Wage »

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 »

A Republican Congress Would Serve The Rich

Republicans have been busy in recent months cooking up plans for exactly what they want to accomplish if they retake Congress in the upcoming elections. It should come as no surprise that those plans are exactly what we’ve come to expect from the GOP for decades – tax breaks for the rich elite, crumbs for regular Americans, and the slashing of benefits and social services … Continue reading A Republican Congress Would Serve The Rich »

Corporate America is Ok with Paying Taxes… So Long As Those Taxes Allow Them To Pay Executives Mega-Millions

by Bob Lord and Emily McCloskey This piece was first published on Inequality.org. This past May, The Wall Street Journal released a bombshell report on trends in American CEO pay. According to their analysis, in 2021, median pay for CEOs at American S&P 500 companies rose to a record-setting $14.7 million, with the 25 highest grossing CEOs earning $35 million and the top 9 earning … Continue reading Corporate America is Ok with Paying Taxes… So Long As Those Taxes Allow Them To Pay Executives Mega-Millions »

Fighting Inequality at the State Level

We talk a lot about the American economy and the effect that decisions made by the federal government have on the lives and well-being of Americans all across the country. Because of that, it can be easy at times to think of the fight for economic justice as a purely national issue, something that just happens in Washington or in Congress and the White House. … Continue reading Fighting Inequality at the State Level »

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 »