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
Democrats in Congress are close to finalizing a deal on the Biden Build Back Better Agenda, and they’re considering including one of the most significant tax changes in decades – the Billionaires Income Tax – in their reconciliation bill. This tax, also known as mark-to-market, would target only about 700 billionaires (forget the top 1%, this is the top 0.0002%), and force them to start … Continue reading Pass the Billionaire Wealth Tax
Things are getting interesting in Washington, where Democrats are considering including one of the most significant tax changes in decades – a Billionaires Income Tax – in their budget reconciliation bill. This Billionaires Income Tax, also known as mark-to-market, would mark a historic change in the way that the ultra-wealthy are taxed. It targets only the absolute richest Americans, about 700 billionaires (forget the top … Continue reading Defending the Billionaires Income Tax
Last Friday, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), an international organization of countries working together toward economic progress, announced that 136 countries, including the United States, have agreed to a global minimum corporate tax rate of 15%. This is huge news. For far too long, countries around the world have engaged in a “race to the bottom” with regards to corporate taxes. Countries … Continue reading A Victory for International Tax Fairness
This week, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists released The Pandora Papers, a scathing exposé that details how the world’s wealthiest take advantage of international tax loopholes and tax havens to hide their wealth across the globe. While the report largely focuses on the finances of international leaders and elites, the fact that the wealthy are using loopholes to dodge their taxes is nothing new … Continue reading Tax Havens and Tax Reform
Last week conservative Democrats attempted to sabotage the President’s agenda and they were solidly defeated. Their demand that the House vote on the bipartisan infrastructure package before details of reconciliation were finished, in direct opposition to a deal agreed upon by Democrats in the House, Senate, and White House, would have sabotaged any attempts to pass the desperately needed funding and tax hikes on the … Continue reading Conservative Dems Can’t Handle the Truth
With a contentious debate in Congress regarding the reconciliation bill and its passage, it would seem that the bill and its contents (pulled straight from President Biden’s Build Back Better Agenda) are controversial among the American people as well. Instead, polls have demonstrated that the vast majority of voters support the bill and its provisions. The only group that consistently opposes the bill and actively … Continue reading Congress Should Represent All Americans- Not Just the Rich
Last night, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced to her caucus that she plans to bring the bipartisan infrastructure bill up for a vote this Thursday, separate from the budget reconciliation package. This stands in direct contrast to the agreement reached within the Democratic caucus that both bills would proceed simultaneously, and must be rejected by all Democrats who care about advancing the party’s full … Continue reading No Infrastructure without Reconciliation
Tensions are rising in Congress as we near September 27th, the date centrist Democrats are demanding a vote on their bipartisan infrastructure bill. They want to pass infrastructure first at the expense of the much larger, more impactful reconciliation bill, but progressives are promising to vote down infrastructure until the two pass at the same time. With all the fuss, you would think that the … Continue reading The American People Want to Tax the Rich
The fight between various factions within the Democratic party over the outcome of the infrastructure and budget reconciliation negotiations is coming to a head. For months the Caucus has been working on a strategy that would put both the infrastructure bill and a budget reconciliation package up for a vote at the same time, satisfying both centrists and progressives. Unfortunately, corporate interests have been out … Continue reading Progressives Must Hold Strong
Earlier this week the House Ways and Means Committee, led by Rep. Richard Neal, released their rewrite of the federal tax code as part of the Democrats’ budget reconciliation proposal. The committee’s proposed changes are, to say the least, completely inadequate. Their proposal preserves the preferential treatment the rich currently receive in the tax code, ensuring that billionaires in America will continue to pay a … Continue reading Neal’s Tax Plan Has Billionaires Popping Champagne
It’s time to get down to business. After months of leadup and preliminary negotiations, committees in the House are just days away from releasing the first official details of the Democrats’ multi-trillion-dollar reconciliation bill. There’s a lot at stake here, with trillions of dollars of support for American families and tax hikes on the rich hanging in the balance as a few centrist Democrats seek … Continue reading Reconciliation Negotiations Are Heating Up
Recently, a group of nine moderate and conservative Democrats voiced their opposition to the tactics Democrats are using to pass two bills simultaneously: a limited bi-partisan infrastructure package, and a more ambitious reconciliation package designed to pass with only Democratic votes. In a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, they stated they planned to withhold their vote on the budget package if the infrastructure bill was … Continue reading America Needs Democratic Unity
We’re finally reaching the point where real economic change is on the horizon through the upcoming infrastructure and reconciliation bills. During this time it can be hard to clearly see progress with all the confusion and noise of Washington. Debates about government spending have often been dominated by concerns from conservatives and moderate politicians. Even still, we have to remember that making investments that will … Continue reading Spending versus Investments, the Great Debate
Earlier this week, after months of negotiations, a bipartisan infrastructure bill passed in the Senate. This was followed quickly by a $3.5 trillion budget that sets the stage for Democrats to pass a reconciliation bill that would make one of the largest investments in American families in the last half century. But while we’re in a moment of great opportunity, there are, as always, many … Continue reading Overcoming the Opposition
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
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
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
President Biden and his team have announced that about $1.9 trillion of additional money is needed due to the problems caused by the current pandemic. That is about 9% of the size of the entire US economy — anyway you think about it, that is a big deal. The benefits of that are fairly well articulated by the administration, but because many on the right … Continue reading Don’t Let Inflation Fears Stop COVID Relief