Dear Mr. Musk: I know you’ve been getting a lot of unsolicited advice about Twitter lately but nobody is asking the question that keeps running through my mind: who will inherit Twitter after you’re gone? Since you’re only 51, you might think the question premature, but as a behavioral economist who studies bequests, I think there is a lot to be said for considering your … Continue reading An Open Letter to Elon Musk
It’s been a full decade now since I first predicted or, really, warned, that America would have its first trillionaire before 2040. I stand by that warning today. Unfortunately, everything I said ten years ago has aged well. Too well, in my opinion. I explained how tax policy was supercharging the accumulation of obscene fortunes in America. Policy makers, I noted, had lifted the lid … Continue reading The First Trillionaire: No Cause for Celebration
Republicans are holding the economy hostage by refusing to raise the debt ceiling for one reason and one reason only: their determination to slash federal spending and make the poor poorer. President Biden and House Speaker McCarthy are still negotiating a deal to raise the debt ceiling before June 1, as Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned Congress yesterday that it is highly likely that the federal government will run … Continue reading Work requirements make the poor poorer
There is perhaps no greater symbol for our current age of extreme wealth, inequality, and environmental devastation than private jets. Earlier this month, the Patriotic Millionaires co-released a report – High Flyers 2023: How Ultra-Rich Private Jet Travel Costs the Rest of Us and Burns Up Our Planet – with the Institute for Policy Studies about the negative impacts of the private jet industry on … Continue reading High Flyers – The Cost of Private Jets for the Rest of Us
As President Biden and Speaker McCarthy wrap up a meaningless, unproductive meeting about the debt ceiling, the Patriotic Millionaires would like to offer our perspective on the absurdity masquerading as serious discussion among lawmakers and members of the media. Biden and the Democrats can’t rely on Republicans to come to their senses and do the right thing anymore. If Republicans are willing to let the … Continue reading Biden must not blink on the debt ceiling
Workers in America have made some strides over the last few years, but unfortunately the road to real and lasting economic security remains long. With a debt ceiling crisis poised to potentially crash the global economy, and the Federal Reserve willing to push millions of Americans out of work to combat inflation, there’s a lot of work to be done to ensure that the gains of the last … Continue reading There’s still work to do with wages
Last week’s 2023 Annual Spring Meeting was a smashing success! Over the course of two days, we hosted policymakers, experts, and activists in conversations about the need to restructure the economy to reduce inequality, and held dozens of meetings with key lawmakers on Capitol Hill to advocate for higher taxes on ourselves and other wealthy Americans. While we were hard at work fighting to transform … Continue reading Why We Don’t Just Send a Check to the IRS
Happy Tax Day! For millions of Americans, today is the last day to file federal, state, and local taxes. (If you haven’t already filed, get cracking!) But Tax Day is more than just a filing deadline – it’s the one day a year when everyone in America is thinking about taxes, and is an annual reminder of just how skewed in favor of the rich … Continue reading Patriotic Millionaires Head to Washington for Tax Day
Next week is Tax Day, and you know what that means… ….(yes, you need to stop procrastinating and file your taxes, but that’s not what we’re talking about)…. …The Patriotic Millionaires are holding our Annual Spring Meeting! Every year around Tax Day, the members of Patriotic Millionaires host a conference in Washington, D.C. to gather economic justice advocates, top experts, and lawmakers to discuss how … Continue reading American Agenda (The Money Part)
As Tax Day approaches, it’s a good time to examine some myths about how people – and the wealthy in particular – respond to higher taxes. As we all know, tax rates differ from state to state, in some cases dramatically. According to a report released last week, residents in New York, Hawaii, Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Maryland have the highest tax burdens in the … Continue reading Why Patriotic Millionaires Love High-Tax States
The state of Michigan is well-known for many things (cherries, sand dunes, and its famous mitten shape), but economically, Michigan is probably most distinguished by its connection to the automobile industry and, with that, its steeped history in the labor movement. In 2022, 14% of Michigan workers were part of a union, above the national average of 10.1%. Among all 50 states, Michigan boasts the 12th highest unionization … Continue reading Right-to-work is out-the-door in Michigan
Imagine what would happen if, six months after an internet-based election, we learned that the election had been hacked and the wrong people declared the winners? Or, if a group claimed to have hacked the election and we can’t be sure whether or not they succeeded? There are many positive uses of the internet in elections, e.g. online voter registration, providing polling place information, etc. … Continue reading Why Internet Voting is a Threat to Our Democracy
If you grew up in America, then you almost definitely have heard some variation of the refrain: “America is the greatest country in the world.” It’s an idea that’s so commonplace that it’s more or less taken for granted. We boast of inventions like the airplane, the light bulb, the internet, and even the humble chocolate chip cookie. We are home to some of the … Continue reading The Deadly Consequences of Inequality
My name is Morris Pearl. I am the Chair of the Patriotic Millionaires and a former managing director at BlackRock. We usually write this newsletter in the collective voice of our entire membership. This week though, I’d like to take the reins and give you my perspective on the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) failure that has been dominating the news over the last few days. (Two other … Continue reading The Silicon Valley Bank Failure Explained
It’s official: ultra-rich corporate executives are chicken plumping the American economy with stock buybacks. After a brief hiatus during the height of the pandemic, corporations have doubled down on stock buybacks. Last month, big public companies spent an incredible $132 billion on buybacks, more than triple what they spent in January 2022. By some estimates, in 2023, buybacks by S&P 500 companies alone are projected to top $1 trillion for … Continue reading Corporations are chicken plumping the economy with stock buybacks
In case you hadn’t noticed, there is very little that US employers won’t do to save a buck or two. As of late, that even includes breaking the law and hiring children as young as 12 to work dangerous jobs. Last Friday, news broke that Packers Sanitation Services, one of the country’s largest food sanitation service providers, paid $1.5 million in penalties for illegally employing 102 children to clean … Continue reading Child Labor is Not a Thing of the Past in America
For most Americans, Valentine’s Day is a lighthearted holiday filled with roses, chocolates, and maybe even a few of Cupid’s arrows. But for the 12 million workers in America’s restaurant industry, February 14th is one of their busiest days of the year. If you are one of the millions of Americans going out to eat tonight, you may be interested to know how much – or, more accurately, how little – your … Continue reading Give tipped workers raises, not roses, this Valentine’s Day
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
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
Earlier this week, the Department of the Treasury released its report, Disparities in the Benefits of Tax Expenditures by Race and Ethnicity, which outlines the differences in how tax deductions impact White, Black, and Hispanic families. The results show a troubling trend: there are clear disparities in how tax benefits and expenditures impact different racial and ethnic groups, and a significant amount of tax breaks … Continue reading How the Tax Code Makes the Racial Wealth Gap Worse