In case you missed it, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its April jobs report last week. For today’s Closer Look, we’d like to highlight both the good news and the bad news from the report and offer our take as to what can be done about the bad news. The good news is that the economy continues to rebound from the pandemic. Last month, no … Continue reading Want to keep workers around? Pay them more
Nearly everyone is feeling the effects of inflation these days. With an 8.5% inflation rate over the last year, prices are rising in almost every sector of our economy, and millions of American families are having a harder time affording the essentials. While this is a widespread crisis, it’s one that is particularly devastating for our nation’s low-wage workers. The federal minimum wage currently sits … Continue reading Facing Inflation, Congress Must Raise the Minimum Wage
After a four-decade-long onslaught of anti-union propaganda at the hands of mega-corporations, we are finally beginning to see a resurgence of the American labor movement. Labor unions have historically used the power of collective bargaining to demand many of the rights we now take for granted. Things like the 40-hour workweek, overtime pay, workplace safety regulations, and the right to organize and negotiate with employers … Continue reading The New Generation Labor Movement
As we approach nearly two years of a pandemic, a booming stock market, and massive profits for numerous corporations, many American workers are finding themselves falling further behind as wages continue to stagnate and inflation rises. With pressure mounting, Americans are fed up. From Hollywood to Holler, American workers are rising up to demand better pay and better working conditions. I hope we are witnessing … Continue reading Choose the Side Fighting for American Workers
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
As we come out of Labor Day weekend, let’s talk about labor. More specifically, let’s talk about the way the law treats labor. You’ve likely heard dozens of politicians talk endlessly about how American workers are the backbone of our country, and how the value their labor creates for their communities is what makes America great. But talk is cheap. When it comes to what … Continue reading The Value of Labor
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
The last time our nation was in the midst of mass unemployment, with a few people getting very rich and millions losing everything, our leaders stood up and took drastic action and changed the world.
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.
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: Jobs and Businesses
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: Regional Variation
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: Wage Compression
There are loopholes in the laws that allow employers to take advantage of their workers and avoid paying them or giving them benefits that they by rights are owed. As our economy changes in the face of automation, the gig economy, and new corporate employment schemes, we need to focus not just on how employees are treated, but on who counts as an employee at all.
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
Last week, the House passed the Raise the Wage Act of 2019. If successfully passed by the Senate, this legislation would be the first time in a decade that Congress has raised the minimum wage. Our economy has fundamentally changed over the last ten years, but for too many Americans their wages have not. The current minimum of $7.25 an hour was inadequate when it … Continue reading House Passes Historic Vote to Raise Minimum Wage to $15
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
On Wednesday, May 15th, Patriotic Millionaire Abigail Disney appeared before the House Committee on Financial Services Subcommittee on Investor Protection, Entrepreneurship, and Capital Markets to testify on out-of-control executive compensation in corporate America.
It’s Tax Day, so by now Americans have had a chance to see how their filings stack up against Trump’s promises. Working folks are largely unimpressed, but millionaires like us made out like bandits. When Republicans pitched the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA), they sold it as a tax break for the middle class, but despite lower income tax rates and a … Continue reading Thanks, But No Thanks: Stop Bleeding the Middle Class to Cut Our Taxes
For years, opponents of raising the federal minimum wage have argued that we don’t need to raise the minimum wage because most low-wage workers are just teenagers trying to earn a little spending money. We’ve known that’s not true for years, but as the fight for $15 ramps up across the country, a new study shows just how far from reality that “common knowledge” really … Continue reading Adults and Breadwinners, Not Teens, Benefit Most from Raising Minimum Wage
The manner in which taxes are computed vastly favors the wealthy. Workers pay higher taxes on wages than those living on investment income — and workers also have to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes on their wages but investment income recipients do not. A comparison of taxes due for 2018 for two married couples illustrates the gross inequities: Couple No. 1: Trust Fund Babies. … Continue reading Workers Pay While Trust Fund Babies Play