A Closer Look: The maliversary of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act
We imagine you have a lot going on in the lead-up to the Fourth of July and America 250 celebrations. Many of our friends and neighbors are putting the final touches on their parade floats, buying up hot dogs for their barbecues, or just trying to stay cool amidst the heat wave making its way across the country right now. As for us? We’re reflecting on the first anniversary of the signing of President Trump and congressional Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA).
A Closer Look: The path to our first trillionaire started 250 years ago
We feel it’s a bit ironic—and, frankly, eerie—that we’re witnessing the birth of our first trillionaire on the eve of America’s 250th birthday. For this week’s Closer Look, we want to highlight the Founding Fathers’ complicated role in delivering America its first trillionaire 250 years after they declared independence from the British monarchy.
A Closer Look: Young people need the Working Americans’ Tax Cut Act
As a still-young (kinda) person myself, and the mother of a young person who will be starting his college journey next year, I worry a lot about what we are doing—and more importantly, not doing!—to ensure that young people still have a chance at the American Dream.
It's only been five weeks, but the good news on unions just keeps piling up—so much so that we feel we are in for a repeat of the summer of 2023. You may remember that was what organizers called “Hot Labor Summer,” given the historic victories that unions notched for workers across a variety of industries.
Today is my birthday. Some people do not like their birthdays. I am not one of those people. I love my birthday. People have to be nice to you and you can pretty much do/say whatever you want (within reason). For my birthday this year, I asked the Patriotic Millionaires’ team if I could write this week’s Closer Look, our normally calm, measured, and eminently reasonable weekly thought piece about the economy. Shockingly they said yes, which I’m absolutely sure has nothing to do with the fact that I’m the boss.
On Wednesday morning, millions of Americans woke up to the news of a federal government shutdown. The government will remain closed until Senate Democrats and Republicans agree on a funding bill to pass, which isn’t looking likely anytime soon. While Trump can still do a lot of damage while the government is shuttered, it’s nonetheless a good opportunity to pause and reflect on the last nine months.
The “Good Billionaires” Abhor Anti-Oligarchy Tax Policy Too
Liberals often praise Warren Buffett for his statement about paying tax at a lower rate than his secretary, to show that not all billionaires are ridden with greed and won’t resist efforts to tax them more vigorously.
A Closer Look: The real culprit behind the Jimmy Kimmel fiasco is extreme inequality
It’s easy to point the finger at President Trump for all of the blatant attacks we’ve seen in recent days on the press and the right to free speech. We cannot ignore, however, that the real culprit behind the assaults on our democracy that we’re witnessing isn’t Trump, but rather the extreme concentration of wealth in America that enables him.
Adjusted Gross Income: The False Premise of Tax Apologists for the Ultrarich
This recent Youtube presentation by Steve Ballmer is a primer of sorts on taxation in the U.S. Ballmer, the 8th wealthiest American, whose wealth, depending on the day, is around $150 billion. He covers a lot of ground in the video, but focuses most on the federal income tax.
A Closer Look: Our money always wins in the tax arena
Last week, we told you the story about how our tax code pits our money against your sweat in a cage fight and how it’s crowned our money the winner. This week, we’re going to tell a different story about how our money always wins—even when there’s no cage fight at all.
A Closer Look: The Equal Tax Act is exactly what America needs
Yesterday, we teased that we would be sharing a forthcoming solution to the way our tax code unfairly pits our money against your sweat. Today, we’re happy to share what we’ve been working on to reach this very important moment.
A Closer Look: Here’s how lopsided the GOP megabill really is
Republicans have had a tough time this summer selling their big, ugly megabill to their constituents. But if people actually knew the full extent to which the bill benefits rich people like us, they’d doubtless find the task tougher, or flat-out impossible.
A Closer Look: We made the front page of The Washington Post!
We’re hitting your inboxes a little earlier in the week than usual with this week’s Closer Look. That’s because we have very exciting news that we could not wait to share with you all: The Patriotic Millionaires made the front page of The Washington Post!
A Closer Look: Tax the rich. Save the planet (literally).
It’s really easy to blame the rich for today’s problems, because frankly, they deserve it. The rich bear most of the blame for what’s wrong with our economy. They bear most of the blame for what’s wrong with our democracy. And, they bear most of the blame for what’s wrong with our planet too.
A Closer Look: Our definition of patriotism is different than Trump’s
We recognize in times like this, it can be challenging to feel patriotic when faux patriotism is being used to tout tax cuts for the rich at the expense of the most vulnerable in our communities. That is why we here at Patriotic Millionaires would like to use both this Independence Day and this week’s Closer Look to reflect on what patriotism actually means, and to remind ourselves why we call ourselves the “Patriotic Millionaires.”
