I'm in good company on this letter signed by 600+ economists & inequality experts from 70 countries supporting the call for a new Independent Panel on Inequality (like the IPCC on climate change). G20 leaders should support this. #G20SouthAfrica www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

Trump is boycotting the G20. Why should we care that he favors head-to-head dealmaking over multilateral cooperation? Like when the boss picks off workers 1-by-1, the powerful win & the rest of us, from Iowa farmers to Mexican factory workers, get the shaft.

🚨Calling all DC readers🚨 Come see Inequality.org editors Chuck Collins and Sam Pizzigati speak @politicsprose.bsky.social's wharf location this Friday! Collins will be interviewed by Pizzigati about his new book "Burned by Billionaires."

We're really proud to be part of this joint report with ‬ ‪@neweconomics.bsky.social‬, @cesr.bsky.social, Institute for Econ Justice in South Africa and Transforma in Brazil. With so much global upheaval, the world needs strong civil society solutions and solidarity.

In case you're having trouble keeping track of all of the POTUS deal-making, here's a great @prospect.org summary - and strong analysis of why this approach is more about consolidating power and rewarding friends than creating good jobs for US workers. Rule by Deal prospect.org/2025/11/10/t...

As the government shutdown entered its 6th week, the ~42 million Americans who rely on food stamps did not receive their benefits. But even when the shutdown ends, the threat to SNAP won’t be over. The “Big Beautiful Bill” passed in July includes the largest cuts in history.

Today's the day Tesla shareholders will vote on Musk's insane $1 trillion pay package. For a rundown of all the key resolutions on the company's annual meeting agenda, check out this piece by Natalia Renta of @ourfinancialsecurity.org

Peter Weiss was a fearless lawyer who cooked up wildly creative ways of going after the baddies, from Henry Kissinger to corporate criminals. He also had a wicked dry wit. Grateful to have had the chance to spend time with him during his 99 yrs. @ips-dc.org tribute: ips-dc.org/remembering-...

"Eilish’s comments are part of a growing realization that the rules of the economy favor those with assets over those who earn wages." -- @chuck77.bsky.social of @ips-dc.org

Happy Halloween. And Free DC!

NEW: As pet ownership grows more popular, billionaires and private equity firms are buying up an unprecedented share of pet services and hospitals. Today, the cost of veterinary care is 60% higher than a decade ago. IPS scholar @chuck77.bsky.social in @thenation.com:

For 1 minute, follow the Roadmap to Richistan to learn some of what I explore in my new book #BurnedByBillionaires: The ultra-wealthy got there by exploiting all of us, and we can stop them together. Read it, protest, put out the flames: www.burnedbybillionaires.com #Inequality

Bold change often bubbles up from the states...

For more info on the campaign to urge shareholders to vote "no" on Musk's $1 trillion pay package: takebacktesla.com

When neighbors are threatened by ICE, everyday Americans step in with lessons from history... NEW short film from director Ellen Gavin and immigrant labor icon Dolores Huerta: www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOgb...

grotesque

From my experience working on CEO-worker pay gaps for decades, I've always known that there is enormous common ground on this issue across the political spectrum.

In the United States, CEOs earn about 269 times more than average workers. But the U.S. public estimates that gap at only 18 times — and would prefer that CEOs make no more than five times average worker pay.

In this week’s newsletter: -How can progressives win back the working class? -RN union in Michigan wins hard-fought contract! -Chuck Collins' new book 'Burned by Billionaires' -People vastly underestimate wage inequality, see the real numbers -Much more!

Want to start researching the power of oligarchs, billionaires and corporations? Want to learn how to power map your local corporate power structure? Check out these resources: mapthepower.net

TWICE as much on work req admin costs as on medical aid?! Makes my blood boil.

HAPPY RELEASE DAY to Burned By Billionaires: How Concentrated Wealth & Power are Ruining our Lives & Planet! @laurenaratani.bsky.social says it; I'm "optimistic that there can be change," especially with coverage like this: www.theguardian.com/news/2025/oc... Buy now: thenewpress.org/books/burned...

Managers tried to keep people working at Amazon's Staten Island warehouse last month despite the unbearable smell of sewage. With help from their union - @teamsters.bsky.social - the workers banded together and got everyone sent home with pay. inequality.org/article/we-c...

h/t @epi.org

#ICYMI: Beginning in November, New Mexico will become the first state in the U.S. to offer free child care to all residents regardless of income. Every family should have access to affordable child care. https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/09/18/new-mexico-free-child-care-grisham

So much for "America first" finance.yahoo.com/news/bessent...

Demands to tax the ultra-wealthy are growing louder around the world.

Private equity is turning childcare into its next profit center, while independent programs vanish. This is a key piece of the skyrocketing childcare costs puzzle. We need public funding and community-run models to keep care accessible and accountable. rooseveltinstitute.org/publications...

We can build “an alternative media structure that does not rely on the goodwill of the rich” via tax credits similar to the charitable contribution deduction. Everyone would have $100 or so to support the journalism they choose. #democracy @deanbaker13.bsky.social www.patreon.com/posts/lesson...

We always appreciate new allies, especially when they represent 1.4 billion people around the world. Check out the analysis of Pope Leo's statements on CEO pay from our veteran exec comp analyst @sarahanderson.bsky.social

NEW: Missouri, following Texas' example, is attempting to redraw electoral lines to suppress Black and working class voters. But workers like Missouri mother, fast food worker, and @moworkers.org leader Fran Marion refuse to be silenced, she writes in @inequality.org:

For more on the Tax Excessive CEO Pay act, led by @sanders.senate.gov and @rashidatalib.bsky.social: www.help.senate.gov/dem/newsroom...

Woke up this morning determined to find some positive news to share amidst all the gloom. Great to see NM joining Quebec and many other places in the world that make child care affordable. apnews.com/article/univ...

In response to a question about how to solve the polarization that is tearing the world apart, Pope Leo raised the problem of the growing gap between CEO and worker pay. Nice to have a new ally on this front! Full interview: cruxnow.com/vatican/2025...

This is, of course, happening as the Trump administration ushers in crypto-friendly regulators and policy.

Drastic health care cuts are directly funding the climate crisis.

NEW: Coal burning in the U.S. has been in decline for decades. But millionaires like Jim Grech — who have bought favor from Trump — are blocking these costly, polluting plants from closing. We need to expose our "coal-igarchs." IPS scholar @chuck77.bsky.social in @thenation.com:

Have they completely lost their minds? www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

For details on the extreme disparities at all "Low-Wage 100" companies, check out the new report from our co-editor @sarahanderson.sky.social: ips-dc.org/report-execu...

For details on the obscene pay gaps at all "Low-Wage 100" companies, check out the new report from our co-editor @sarahanderson.bsky.social: ips-dc.org/report-execu...

“It’s a stunning message for Starbucks management to send to their workers…. It says a lot about who they really value at that company and who they don’t” @sarahanderson.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

🚨NEW REPORT🚨 The "abundance agenda" claims to offer prosperity for all. In reality, it props up corporate power, deregulation, and inequality. Today, we published a comprehensive critique + alternative vision with @openmarkets.bsky.social. READ:

This story about the biting new CEO pay report by our co-editor @sarahanderson.bsky.social will likely be unpopular with a lot of subscribers to @barrons.com. Good for them for running it. www.barrons.com/articles/wor...

The biggest winners in Las Vegas never have to place any bets. They just have to sit in the gaming industry’s choicest CEO seats. For every $1 typical workers at Caesars made last year, Caesars CEO Thomas Reeg pocketed $419. @ips-dc.org @sarahanderson.bsky.social nevadacurrent.com/2025/08/21/f...

OK, I can't claim to have solved our overpaid CEO problem with my decades of exposés. But I have created headaches for their PR flacks. Starbucks declined multiple requests from @msainato.bsky.social of @theguardian.com to comment on our latest report. Ulta and Lowe's flacks also took a pass.

Toplines from our 31st @ips-dc.org Executive Excess report on the 100 largest low-wage corps: CEO-worker pay gap: 632-1 Median pay: $35,570 Stock buybacks (2019-24): $644B CEO pay: $17.2M (⬆️ at 2x the rate of median pay since '19) Data on all Low-Wage 100 firms 👇 ips-dc.org/report-execu...

The fight against fascism and the fight against oligarchy need to go hand in hand

Last but not least! Installment #7 in Paul Krugman's recent series on #inequality. @pkrugman.bsky.social @thegraduatecenter.bsky.social

NEW: Rapidly rising CEO pay doesn't just worsen inequality — it hurts democracy, says IPS scholar @sarahanderson.bsky.social. “We’re seeing more and more signs of how ultra-wealthy people have too much influence over our political system.” Alexandra White in @financialtimes.com: