Tag Archives: Income Inequality

It’s Time for Pennsylvania to Raise its Minimum Wage

Earlier this month, Pennsylvania hit a shameful milestone: 15 years since the state’s minimum wage was last raised. Governor Tom Wolf and Democratic state lawmakers took this opportunity to call on the state’s Republican-led legislature to join them and take action in addressing Pennsylvania’s wage crisis. Gov. Wolf has pushed for policies that would immediately raise the state’s minimum wage to $12/hour, with subsequent $.50 … Continue reading It’s Time for Pennsylvania to Raise its Minimum Wage »

It Is Time We Reexamine the Cost of Reaganomics

President Ronald Reagan was a popular United States President. Upon leaving office, 63 percent of Americans overwhelmingly approved of the job he had done during his 8 years in office. His post-presidency popularity was solidified with efforts led by lobbyist and anti-tax activist Grover Norquist to convince local governments and private associations to name public spaces after Regan to preserve his legacy— particularly his tax … Continue reading It Is Time We Reexamine the Cost of Reaganomics »

Life Without A Living Wage

Unsplash | Dan Smedley

Being poor in America is expensive. The 16% of our population that lives in poverty faces a daily barrage of hidden fees, fines, and predatory interest rates almost perfectly designed to keep them trapped in poverty.  To be poor in America is far more difficult and complicated than it is often presented as. Things can quickly spin out of control when hidden costs start to … Continue reading Life Without A Living Wage »

Explaining The Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act

On Monday, March 1, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, and Rep. Brendan Boyle took a stand against out-of-control wealth inequality by introducing The ‘Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act’ to Congress. So what will this tax do? It’s a virtual copy of the wealth tax that Warren ran on in her 2020 presidential campaign. A wealth tax is a yearly tax on the net worth, essentially assets … Continue reading Explaining The Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act »

Parliamentarians, Byrd rule, and reconciliation

With only 50 Democrats in the Senate, supporters of President Biden’s COVID relief package don’t have the 60 votes necessary to overcome the filibuster and pass it as standard legislation. They also haven’t demonstrated a willingness to abolish the filibuster, leaving Senate Dems with one option: budget reconciliation. This process allows a simple majority to pass legislation by incorporating it into the budget, but it … Continue reading Parliamentarians, Byrd rule, and reconciliation »

COVID- 19 Relief Cannot Be a Short-Term Fix

Unsplash | Bp Miller

In a major report this year, global anti-poverty charity Oxfam estimates that the poor could take over a decade to recover from the economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis. Meanwhile, their wealthier counterparts have already recovered – and then some – after just nine months of the pandemic. COVID undoubtedly played a role in expediting the increasing wage inequality in our country, with U.S. Billionaires … Continue reading COVID- 19 Relief Cannot Be a Short-Term Fix »

Economic Recovery and The Fight for $15

Now that Joe Biden has been officially sworn in as the 46th President of the United States, we have a Democratic Congress in lockstep with the new administration on an array of critical economic relief measures. We can now begin the real work toward economic recovery. That starts with raising the minimum wage. President Biden has already made his stance on the job and wage … Continue reading Economic Recovery and The Fight for $15 »

Republicans Have Failed Essential Workers for Months. Don’t Do It Again.

For the past two months, Republicans twiddled their thumbs in the Senate doing nothing as the worst crisis in a century wreaked havoc on their country. Over that same period, millions of front-line workers were experiencing the nightmare of COVID-19 each and every day: indignant customers refusing to observe health protocols, hospitals overflowing with sick and dying patients, demanding delivery and factory quotas, corporate bosses … Continue reading Republicans Have Failed Essential Workers for Months. Don’t Do It Again. »

A Wealth Tax Is the Perfect COVID Stimulus Measure

If you think back to the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis in the US in March, you might remember all the doomsday headlines about the stock market tanking to record lows and investors losing millions of dollars as a result. Three months later, those headlines have entirely disappeared, and there’s a reason for that: the stock market has recovered almost all of the losses incurred … Continue reading A Wealth Tax Is the Perfect COVID Stimulus Measure »

Inequality Propounded

Post originally appeared on WalkerViewPoints on 3/26/20 Inequality has steadily escalated since the days of Reagan and Thatcher. It’s now deeply ingrained in every aspect of our society. And, no matter what the major problem of the world, the less fortunate always get the short end of the stick. The environment is a good example. As we continue to pollute our water, who is forced to … Continue reading Inequality Propounded »

Year In Review: 2019

As 2019 comes to a close, let’s take a moment to look back at the major events that impacted the state of the economy – and the national conversation around our three core issues – as we enter the new year, and the many policy developments this year that are giving us hope for better, brighter decade to come. 

The Bare Minimum Series: Marginal Utility

Raising the federal minimum wage to at least $15 an hour will lift millions of Americans out of working poverty – and it’s scaring a lot of special interests who profit from keeping people poor. In this series, we’re dismantling the myths, one by one, that Raise the Wage opponents use to try and stop 40 million workers from making the money they deserve.  This … Continue reading The Bare Minimum Series: Marginal Utility »

“The Triumph of Injustice” and How to Tax Our Way Back

Every year, the gap between the wealthiest Americans and the rest of the country grows wider and wider. While 40% of Americans would be unable to come up with $400 in an emergency, a select few wonder where they’ll park their next yacht. But we didn’t arrive to a reality where the richest 10% of Americans hold 70% of the countries’ wealth by accident.   In … Continue reading “The Triumph of Injustice” and How to Tax Our Way Back »

The Fed Proves Raising the Minimum Wage Doesn’t Kill Jobs

The myth that raising the minimum wage kills jobs has proven to be wrong, again. A new report from the US Federal Reserve found that there is no link between raising the minimum wage and job loss. The report compared low-wage leisure and hospitality workers in an area spanning the border of New York (which had raised its minimum wage) and Pennsylvania (which had not). … Continue reading The Fed Proves Raising the Minimum Wage Doesn’t Kill Jobs »

We Have to Fix What Reagan Broke

There’s a lot of (welcome) discussion about taxing the rich these days, but so far, there hasn’t been substantive talk about the structural problems that got our country to its current inequality crisis in the first place. I think this is an absolutely vital narrative to communicate to the American public, because if we want to create lasting, sustainable change, voters need to know just … Continue reading We Have to Fix What Reagan Broke »

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 »

The Fight For $15 (Finally) Comes to Congress

The end of this month will mark a full decade since Congress has raised the federal minimum wage since it was first established in 1938. That’s 10 years that millions of workers across the country have gone without a single raise, trying to eke out a living on $7.25 an hour amidst surging rent and housing, rising costs of living, and inflation. It’s a shameful … Continue reading The Fight For $15 (Finally) Comes to Congress »

The Economy Has Changed. Why Hasn’t the Minimum Wage?

This Sunday, June 16th 2019, Congress will add a dubious new record to its long history. This date will mark the longest ever period that the legislature has gone without raising the minimum wage since it first enacted a federal wage floor in 1938. Congress enacted the last hike, to the current minimum of $7.25 an hour, on July 24th, 2009. That means it’s been … Continue reading The Economy Has Changed. Why Hasn’t the Minimum Wage? »