It’s Not Just Congress – States Must Tax The Rich Too
State taxes make the meat-and-potatoes work of government possible, but nickel-and-diming poor people on their meager incomes is not the way to raise them.
Tag Archives: Economics
Wages Don’t Kill Jobs, Corporations Do
Last week, the House of Representatives passed the Raise The Wage Act, which would increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour and tie it to inflation, with near-unanimous support from Democrats and near-unanimous opposition from Republicans. This is a momentous victory for workers, but self-proclaimed “grim reaper” Mitch McConnell casts a long shadow on any celebration. Surprising no one, McConnell promptly vowed not to … Continue reading Wages Don’t Kill Jobs, Corporations Do
Can’t Get Fooled Again: Trump’s New Tax Cut For The Rich
According to insider reporting at the White House, the Trump administration is considering a tax cut that will almost exclusively benefit the rich. If you’re experiencing déjà vu, rest assured, you’re not alone. We have in fact been here before. In 2017, Republicans assured Americans that their $1.9 trillion tax cut for corporations and the rich would create jobs and give workers a $4,000 raise. … Continue reading Can’t Get Fooled Again: Trump’s New Tax Cut For The Rich
Tax The Rich By Taxing The Riches
Simply put, wealth is wasted on the wealthy.
Rich People’s Charity Won’t Save The World
From time to time, a news story about a very wealthy individual doing something very kind with their money goes viral. Billionaire Robert F. Smith recently paid off the student debt of the entire Morehouse College class of 2019. Hamdi Ulukaya, CEO of Chobani, paid off student lunch debts for an entire Rhode Island school district. Last year, Patagonia CEO Rose Marcario pledged to donate … Continue reading Rich People’s Charity Won’t Save The World
Protect Retirees From Profiteering Vultures
Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted Regulation Best Interest, sold as a measure to protect everyday Americans’ retirement accounts from shady brokers. In reality, it’s a watered-down reboot of the Obama administration’s fiduciary rule, which was axed in 2017. The original fiduciary rule set concrete requirements to make sure retirement advisers put their clients ahead of their own profits and disclosed key … Continue reading Protect Retirees From Profiteering Vultures
The Republican Witnesses We Would Have Heard Today
While they still control the legislative agenda, Republicans on the House Education and the Workforce Committee planned to use their power to falsely claim that raising the minimum wage would somehow be bad for workers. To do so, they planned a hearing on the federal minimum wage titled “Mandating a $15 Minimum Wage: Consequences for Workers and Small Businesses,” with a full list of biased … Continue reading The Republican Witnesses We Would Have Heard Today
Trump’s Anti-Immigrant Policies Will Hurt the American Economy
We all know the moral arguments for a fairer, less cruel immigration system. But while the merits of not putting immigrant children in cages should be obvious, they don’t seem to be as persuasive as they should for a certain segment of the population. To those who are unconvinced by the moral argument, I would offer up the economic argument for a better immigration system, … Continue reading Trump’s Anti-Immigrant Policies Will Hurt the American Economy
Hollowing Out the Economy
Make no mistake, the trillion-dollar tax cuts for the wealthy proposed by Trump and his friends in Congress will create deficit dollars. Sooner of later those deficit dollars will be repaid by cutting “entitlements”, i.e. taking from working families and the poor.
My Tax Philosophy
When we discuss economics there are, very broadly, two types of people: First, there are regular people. They mostly need to work, and a lot of them try to save enough so that they can retire someday. Some of them succeed, but increasingly, many do not. Being a regular person means spending most of your income. Some live very well, and some live very poorly. … Continue reading My Tax Philosophy
Patriotic Millionaires Chair Takes Down AIC on the Carried Interest Loophole
Yesterday evening, Monday August 21, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin made a statement that effectively reversed Donald Trump’s campaign promise to close the carried interest loophole.
Like a Public Utility, the Government Should Serve the People
Language is powerful. We have come to believe certain things about our government because we have been fed a steady diet of metaphors that embed scary images in our minds.
There is No Debt to Have a Ceiling
Our lawmakers’ arguments over raising the debt ceiling aren’t just reckless – they’re pointless. Congress should end its outdated budget control rules.
We Pay for it Either Way
There is a reason that the United States spends 17% of our GDP on health care, when other developed nations spend dramatically less. It’s not because we have a higher quality of care.
In the Name of Equality, Close the Loophole
I’m an investor, researcher, and the great-grandson of the meatpacker Oscar Mayer. I’m deeply concerned by the extreme inequalities of income, wealth and opportunity that have opened up in U.S. society.
Success! Bill to Close Carried Interest Loophole Passes IL Senate
Tuesday the Illinois State Senate took a bold step in fighting inequality by becoming the first state chamber in the country to vote in favor of closing the carried interest loophole.
Raising the Minimum Wage is Good for Cities
Last week the Wall Street Journal Published an opinion piece by Michael Saltsman decrying San Francisco’s minimum wage hike.
The Case for the Corporate Tax Rate
It is absurd to think that corporations, particularly large, multi-national corporations who pay millions in stockholder dividends and corporate bonuses, should pay a lower tax rate than most working Americans.
We Can’t Afford to Return to Regressive Taxation
I am outraged. “45” spent his entire campaign claiming that he would stand up for everyday Americans, and yet his recent tax proposals are nothing more than thinly disguised handouts for the wealthy. Not the wealthy…the super wealthy!
The American Wage Problem
We have a wage problem in the United States. Our current system is not working. It is harming our economy and money is not going to those who need it most but to the wealthiest.