Inequality and the Economy
Observations from Census Data on Poverty and Income
September 12, 2018 • By Jenice Robinson
Today's poverty and income data show that income continues to concentrate at the top; in fact, the top 20 percent continue to capture 51.5 percent of income. Meanwhile, average income for the poorest 20 percent of households is less today than it was 18 years ago.
1964: Unconditional War on Poverty; 2018: Unconditional War on the Poor
August 15, 2018 • By Misha Hill
During his first State of the Union address in January 1964, Lyndon Baines Johnson declared a War on Poverty in response to a national poverty rate of more than 19 percent. The legislative result of this war was an early education program, expanded funding for secondary education, job training and work opportunity programs and the […]
Rigging the System and Poor Shaming (Rightly) Are Incompatible Political Strategies
June 27, 2018 • By Jenice Robinson
The absurdity of blaming poor and moderate-income people for their circumstances is close to running its course as an effective political tool, particularly as some elected officials more boldly assert their intent to cater to the whims of the wealthy. Take last year’s GOP-led drive to eliminate the Affordable Care Act (ACA), for example. House […]
Why We’re Not Eternally Grateful for $1,000 Crumbs
February 20, 2018 • By Jenice Robinson
Two narratives that intentionally obscure who benefits from the tax law are emerging. One focuses on the personal income tax cuts that will result in an increase in net take-home pay for many employees once their employers adjust withholding. Anecdotes abound of working people getting a $100 or more increase, after taxes, per paycheck, but the reality is that most workers will receive a lot less than that. Meanwhile, the wealthiest 1 percent of households will receive an average annual tax break of $55,000, an amount that nearly eclipses the nation’s median household income.
They Can’t Help Themselves: GOP Leaders Reveal True Intent Behind Tax Overhaul
December 4, 2017 • By Jenice Robinson
The hand-written scrawls in the margins of the hastily written 500-page Senate tax bill had barely dried when lawmakers began to reveal the true motivation behind their rush to fundamentally overhaul the nation’s tax code.
The Bottom 40 Percent Has Grown Poorer, So Why Are Tax Cut Plans Focused on the Rich and Corporations?
November 14, 2017 • By Jenice Robinson
The bottom line is that the rich and corporations are doing fine. We don’t need legislative solutions that fix non-existent problems. Only in a world of alternative facts does the top 0.2 percent of estates need to be exempt from the estate tax, for example.
Census Data Reveal Modest Gains for Working People; GOP Tax Overhaul Could Reverse These Gains
September 14, 2017 • By Jenice Robinson
On the surface, census poverty and income data released Tuesday reveal the nation’s economic conditions are improving for working families. The federal poverty rate declined for the second consecutive year and is now on par with the pre-recession rate. For the first time, median household income surpassed the peak it reached in 1999 and is […]
Avocado Toast, iPhones, Billionairesplaining and the Trump Budget
May 30, 2017 • By Jenice Robinson
A couple weeks ago, a billionaire set the Internet ablaze when on 60 Minutes Australia he chided millennials to stop buying avocado toast and fancy coffee if they wanted to buy a home. The backlash was swift and deserved. Twenty- and early thirty-something people rightly took offense to the suggestion that they haven’t purchased homes […]
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