Economic Policy Institute

1 month ago | epi.org | David Cooper |Josh Bivens

Conservative lawmakers’ preference to cut taxes is nothing new, but Missouri state lawmakers are currently considering a tax measure that would privilege the state’s wealthiest individuals in ways no other state with an income tax has done—by fully exempting all capital gains income from taxation. This change would exacerbate an already regressive state tax system, forcing low- and middle-income Missourians to shoulder a larger share of financing for state public services.

1 month ago | epi.org | Heidi Shierholz

President Trump dismantling collective bargaining rights from more than a million federal workers is pure political retribution. The administration has selectively revoked collective bargaining rights from federal workers represented by unions that are fighting against the administration’s efforts to tear down the federal government and the core services it provides. This is the behavior of an autocrat who grants rights to those who bow down to him and strips the rights of those who challenge him.

1 month ago | epi.org | Heidi Shierholz

In a move that starkly exposes just how disingenuous the Trump administration’s pro-worker rhetoric really is, President Trump rescinded the Biden administration’s executive order that increased the minimum wage for workers on federal contracts. The Biden-era rule implementing that executive order raised the minimum wage for workers on federal contractors to $15 an hour in 2022 and indexed it to inflation going forward. As of January 1, it was $17.75 an hour.

1 month ago | epi.org | Josh Bivens

Many of Donald Trump’s economic plans put forward during the presidential campaign seemed extremely unwise even to the corporate leaders who supported him and care about profits over everything else. Universal and large tariffs and mass deportations, for example, were clearly anti-growth policies that could hurt profit growth.

1 month ago | epi.org | Josh Bivens |Elise Gould |Hilary Wething |Ben Zipperer

Below is an excerpt from a piece originally published in The Briefing Book, a Substack publication. Read the full commentary here. Rising inequality has been a major social and economic problem for the United States for decades. The policy agenda to stop or even reverse this inequality must start with a clear understanding of what drove it.