This year’s tax season is upon us. Americans everywhere are printing out their W2s or firing up their tax software to make this year’s April 18 filing deadline. It’s an annual tradition that, while not the most enjoyable, is at least a universally shared pain. Except it’s not. There’s an important group of people who don’t have to pay their taxes every year (much less … Continue reading You pay taxes every year – why don’t billionaires?
By this point, you all know that the economy isn’t fair. It’s clear that it’s overwhelmingly skewed in favor of the rich and powerful, and that’s no accident. It’s been designed to keep a disproportionate amount of money and power in the hands of a small number of people no matter how poorly it affects everyone else. As we look at this week’s news, it’s … Continue reading Inequality is a choice
This week, Congress is working to pass an “omnibus” general funding bill before the government’s temporary funding runs out. If they fail to pass it before midnight on Friday, the government could shut down, making this a must-pass bill. Unfortunately, when everyone knows a bill has to pass, every lobbyist in Washington sees a golden opportunity to avoid debate and slide their own priorities at the last … Continue reading Will Congress Renew Tax Cuts for Corporations or American Families?
Over the weekend, in response to Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine under the direction of President Vladimir Putin, the US has joined Western allies in imposing economic sanctions on the Russian government and Russian oligarchs. These oligarchs, a small group of extremely wealthy (and infamously corrupt) individuals that have strong ties to Putin and the Russian government, are the target of a new task force … Continue reading Oligarchs aren’t just in Russia
Some of you might remember that, prior to the Trump tax cuts for the rich in 2017, you were able to claim a personal exemption on your taxes that eliminated income tax on the first $4,050 in income ($8,100 for couples). It was a big help to many of us, but Trump did away with the personal exemption for working Americans as part of his … Continue reading Billionaire Income Tax Could Eliminate Tax on First $17,500 of Income for All Americans ($35,000 for Married Couples)
Rising inflation continues to dominate headlines in the US and around the world. There is simply no getting around the fact that prices for rent, groceries, gas, and other everyday items are rising quickly. This has put most American households at a financial loss, especially since their wages have not risen fast enough to keep up. President Biden will undoubtedly discuss the inflation situation in his … Continue reading The White House needs to get serious about corporate greed
Billionaires just can’t seem to stay out of the headlines. This time, however, it’s not their space trips or superyacht squabbles that are making the news: it’s their tax avoidance strategies. We recently learned that Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and the world’s richest man, donated billions in Tesla shares to charity this past November and is set to pay roughly $11 billion in income tax. While this might seem like good news, … Continue reading We must end billionaire tax avoidance
Republicans have been working since the day President Biden took office to convince voters they should be given control of the House and Senate, but, for the first time, we got a look at what they’d actually do there. While Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has refused to answer questions about what the Republican platform might look like (When asked what he would do with control … Continue reading What’s in the GOP’s Horrifying Senate Platform
Last week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that inflation over the last year reached a 40-year high. The Consumer Price Index, a key measure for inflation, rose 7.5% between this year and last, which is the highest rate increase since 1982. This news probably doesn’t come as a surprise to most Americans: there is no escaping the fact that prices for rent, groceries, gas, … Continue reading We can’t talk about inflation without corporate greed
For the 8 years that I have been a member of the Patriotic Millionaires, my wealthy friends (almost all of whom are conservative Republicans) have asked me the same question over and over again: “So are you saying that because you believe that we wealthy people should be paying more taxes and I don’t agree, you think that makes you more patriotic than me?” My … Continue reading The Patriotic Millionaires Deserve Our Name
Is Maggie Hassan (NH) about to cost Raphael Warnock (GA) his Senate seat? The answer is, quite likely, yes. How? By personally blocking the $15 minimum wage bill that Sen. Warnock ran on – and that exit polls show he won on. To add insult to injury, Hassan patently refuses to offer an alternative to the bill that has already passed in the House. The … Continue reading Maggie Hassan Is Trying to Make Raphael Warnock Lose
Over the last two years of the pandemic, billionaires had a financial field day. As we previously reported, the world’s ten richest men doubled their collective fortunes – from $700 billion to $1.5 trillion – at the same time that incomes for 99% of humanity fell. America’s 740 billionaires also increased their combined wealth by no less than $2 trillion over the same period. This week, the ultra-rich are … Continue reading We Have A Billionaire Problem
On Friday, a group of Congressional staffers announced that they are organizing a union for employees that work for members and committees on Capitol Hill. This push for unionization comes on the heels of the rise of an Instagram account, Dear White Staffers, that exposes the extremely low pay and poor working conditions that junior employees experience in legislative chambers. Every worker deserves to be paid fairly and … Continue reading Congressional Staffers Deserve A Union
It’s no secret that the rich and powerful are able to avoid paying their fair share in taxes, but it’s still occasionally stunning to see just how much tax avoidance they get away with. This week, we saw two bombshell reports released by tax justice organizations laying out how both major corporations and ultra-wealthy families are able to pay basically nothing in taxes. On Tuesday, … Continue reading Netflix paid 1.1% in taxes last year
When people talk about economic statistics and how people in the country are doing, they tend to use the word “average” a lot. We hear about the average family’s wealth, or the average personal income, or the average amount of debt. But thanks to out-of-control inequality, the average, or the total amount divided by population, is actually a pretty unhelpful statistic. Let’s say we have … Continue reading Statistics Matter: Why Averages Aren’t Useful When Talking About the American Economy
Last week, the Commerce Department announced that the American economy had a strong showing in 2021. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew 1.7% in the last quarter of 2021. bringing total annual growth for last year to 5.7%, the largest change that the US has seen since 1984. The Labor Department also shared some positive news. According to the agency, unemployment is very low in the US, with … Continue reading The economy could be worse, but it could absolutely be better
I am joining the Patriotic Millionaires for one big reason: sitting on the sidelines and watching is no longer an option – at least not for me. An increasing number of our fellow citizens feel disparaged by an economy and a politics that offers little or no security, that rewards the few and ignores the many, and that erodes our confidence in those who are … Continue reading Why I’m a Patriotic Millionaire: Andrew Ellis
Today, our organization announced our endorsement of nine Democratic candidates for the House of Representatives, a group that includes seven previously endorsed incumbents, and, for the first time ever, two candidates facing off against Democratic incumbents in a primary challenge. The seven champions of our economic justice mission that our group is re-endorsing are Representative Colin Allred (TX-32), Representative Cindy Axne (IA-3), Representative Josh Harder … Continue reading Patriotic Millionaires Endorse Democratic Primary Challengers
Yesterday, The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales, a documentary-style film co-directed and co-produced by one of our very own members, Abigail E. Disney, premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. While the film isn’t available for public consumption (yet!), we wanted to take some time to discuss its contents along with the broader worker empowerment movement that is taking place in America today. The … Continue reading Economic justice starts with workers’ rights
Last week, Senator Sinema took to the Senate floor to declare her opposition to altering filibuster rules in order to advance the two Democratic voting rights packages: the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. By doing so, she once again betrayed the trust the people of Arizona placed in her, and made our country a worse place in the … Continue reading We Can’t Give Up On Voting Rights