This past Monday was Tax Day, which is undoubtedly no American’s favorite holiday. But the pain of Tax Day is not shared by all. While the typical American pays a good amount of every paycheck in taxes and hopes to get a refund after submitting their return, the ultra-wealthy have a variety of tools at their disposal that allows them to keep Tax Day virtually … Continue reading Why Billionaires Don’t Stress About Tax Day
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
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
Yesterday, the United States celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day. We hope that you were able to take some time to honor and celebrate King’s legacy, just as we hope Senate Democrats do by changing the filibuster to pass essential voting rights legislation. Because of the federal holiday, you might have missed the release yesterday of Oxfam’s new bombshell report Inequality Kills. The report lays … Continue reading Inequality Kills
Patriotic Millionaire Abigail Disney has been one of the most outspoken advocates on our issues for years, and we are excited to share the news of yet another incredible and impactful piece of work that her and her team have produced. The nonprofit Sundance Institute recently announced that The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales – a film that Abigail co-directed and co-produced – will … Continue reading PM Abigail Disney’s film premieres at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival
Last week we told you about the 2022 World Inequality Report, which outlines in stark detail just how bad income and wealth inequality have gotten around the world. In the US alone, the top 10% of earners now take home 45% of all income, while the bottom 50% takes just 13%. Wealth inequality is even worse, with the top 10% of wealth holders in the … Continue reading Tax Avoidance is Making Inequality Worse
If the last year has taught us anything, it’s that we can no longer ignore the widening disparity between the richest Americans and the rest of the country. We’ve seen billionaire wealth (and some billionaires themselves) skyrocket to unprecedented levels, while most Americans are just struggling to get by. This is simply unsustainable – we are reaching a point where inequality is so extreme that … Continue reading Inequality is Out of Control
As Democrats in the Senate continue to debate the final details of what should be included in the Build Back Better Act, we want to take this week to shine a spotlight on why this piece of legislation is so important. Inequality in the United States and around the world is out of control. The recently-released 2022 World Inequality Report details just how bad this problem has gotten, and … Continue reading Inequality will not be solved with tax breaks for the rich
This year, the incoming chill of fall is carrying more than just autumn leaves – it’s bringing with it the winds of change. Workers across America are saying enough is enough in response to stagnant wages, brutal working conditions, and mistreatment of workers in the midst of a recession, global pandemic, and skyrocketing corporate profits. Over 100,000 organized workers from across the country have authorized … Continue reading Striketober
Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, millions of Americans have faced financial hardship and economic instability. Some have lost their jobs or been furloughed, many have been uprooted from their homes or have even become homeless (not to mention the millions that have gotten severely ill and hundreds of thousands that have died). Even well beyond the peak of the pandemic, 24 million adults … Continue reading Wealth Gap on the Rise
Yesterday, Jeff Bezos went to space. In response, the Patriotic Millionaires released the following statement on the morning of launch day from one of our members, Stephen Prince: “Sixty years ago, we sent the first American into space, and the top income tax rate was 91%. Today, a billionaire launched himself into space after paying a true tax rate of less than 1% for years. … Continue reading If Jeff Bezos Can Afford to Go to Space, He can Afford to Pay more in Taxes
Our history of space travel is a catalog of humanity’s greatest achievements. When the Soviets put a satellite in orbit, that was a first. Yuri Gagarin and Alan Shepard touched space 60 years ago, our first-ever star voyagers. NASA – a publicly funded agency staffed with the best and brightest American minds – put Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong on the moon, and got them … Continue reading Don’t Be Impressed with the Space Billionaires
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
Last week the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) released a bombshell report that showed CEO pay skyrocketed while worker compensation barely budged over the course of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. This report comes on the heels of Sarah Anderson’s Institute for Policy Studies’ report that revealed just over half of 100 S&P 500 companies who pay the lowest median worker wages broke their rules to give … Continue reading Despite the Pandemic CEOs Made a Killing in 2020
Last week Governor Kemp made an appearance on Fox News to defend his state’s decision to reduce voting rights throughout Georgia while comparing his actions to my state of Colorado. While listening to Governor Kemp speak, I was disgusted although not surprised. Kemp’s spin was misleading, lacking real context and in areas, blatant lies. Equally important, Kemp and his conservative Georgia lawmakers seem to have … Continue reading Shame on Governor Kemp
Our democracy is under attack. As of today, more than 300 different pieces of voter suppression legislation have been introduced across the country. Just last week, in Georgia, the state that tipped the Senate for Democrats in January, Governor Brian Kemp signed a sweeping 98-page omnibus “election” bill (aka voter suppression bill), into law surrounded by white male legislators under a painting of a slave … Continue reading Use The For The People Act to Fix The Damage of Anti-Voter Legislation
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
We’re living in troubled times, but we’ve gone through troubled times before and come out better for them. I’m not discouraged by the challenges this country faces – I’m hopeful. Despite all of the issues this country currently faces, we have been moving in the right direction, albeit very slowly.
There’s an old saying that as California goes, so goes the nation. It comes from the late 20th century when California led the nation in social and economic reform, with many of those laws going on to influence national law. But this coming election will give that old phrase new weight for the future of labor rights across the nation, as Californians cast their votes … Continue reading California’s Proposition 22: So goes the nation