Sam Pizzigati
@sgp.bsky.social
Co-editor, Inequality.org
Institute for Policy Studies associate fellow and author, ‘The Rich Don’t Always Win: The Forgotten Triumph over Plutocracy that Created the American Middle Class, 1900-1970’ and ‘The Case for a Maximum Wage’
Institute for Policy Studies associate fellow and author, ‘The Rich Don’t Always Win: The Forgotten Triumph over Plutocracy that Created the American Middle Class, 1900-1970’ and ‘The Case for a Maximum Wage’
Yes, Peter Thiel, the billionaire behind JD Vance, has left California to avoid a possible billionaire tax. So have Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. Good riddance! Higher taxes on our rich may be the “disinfectant” that purges our polities of our most noxious. robertreich.substack.com/p/memo-to-ka...
Memo to Kathy Hochul and Gavin Newsom: Why taxing the rich makes enormous sense
And why you shouldn't worry about the wealthy abandoning your states
robertreich.substack.com
February 19, 2026 at 1:44 AM
Yes, Peter Thiel, the billionaire behind JD Vance, has left California to avoid a possible billionaire tax. So have Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. Good riddance! Higher taxes on our rich may be the “disinfectant” that purges our polities of our most noxious. robertreich.substack.com/p/memo-to-ka...
Our #plutocracy at work: Billionaires in 2024 accounted for 16.5% of U.S. political campaign contributions, up from a mere 0.3% in 2008.
#inequality paulkrugman.substack.com/p/billionair...
#inequality paulkrugman.substack.com/p/billionair...
Billionaires Gone Wild
Understanding the oligarchs’ power grab and the dire threat to American democracy
paulkrugman.substack.com
February 18, 2026 at 9:12 PM
Our #plutocracy at work: Billionaires in 2024 accounted for 16.5% of U.S. political campaign contributions, up from a mere 0.3% in 2008.
#inequality paulkrugman.substack.com/p/billionair...
#inequality paulkrugman.substack.com/p/billionair...
Silicon Valley all-in on Election ’26: “If you’re an uber-zillionaire, you give money early and often. They have more wealth and resources than they’ve ever had before, so that allows them to play on both sides of the aisle and up and down the ballot.”
California’s billionaires pour cash into elections as big tech seeks new allies
As Gavin Newsom departs, ultra-wealthy flex wealth and influence to fight regulation and keep the boom going
www.theguardian.com
February 16, 2026 at 10:58 PM
Silicon Valley all-in on Election ’26: “If you’re an uber-zillionaire, you give money early and often. They have more wealth and resources than they’ve ever had before, so that allows them to play on both sides of the aisle and up and down the ballot.”
The Epstein class: an interconnected world of hugely rich, smug, powerful men, the by-product of an economy that has enabled this new elite to siphon off vast amounts of wealth.
#plutocracy #inequality robertreich.substack.com/p/the-squalo...
#plutocracy #inequality robertreich.substack.com/p/the-squalo...
The Squalor of the Epstein Class
Happy Presidents Day
robertreich.substack.com
February 16, 2026 at 3:52 PM
The Epstein class: an interconnected world of hugely rich, smug, powerful men, the by-product of an economy that has enabled this new elite to siphon off vast amounts of wealth.
#plutocracy #inequality robertreich.substack.com/p/the-squalo...
#plutocracy #inequality robertreich.substack.com/p/the-squalo...
Birds-of-a-Wall-Street-feather department:
Latest annual big bank CEO pay stats...
Goldman Sachs $47 million
Morgan Stanley $45 million
JPMorgan $43 million
Citigroup $42 million
Latest annual big bank CEO pay stats...
Goldman Sachs $47 million
Morgan Stanley $45 million
JPMorgan $43 million
Citigroup $42 million
Morgan Stanley CEO Ted Pick’s pay jumps to $45 million as Wall Street’s $40 million club expands
Morgan Stanley approved $45 million in total compensation for CEO Ted Pick for 2025, up from $34 million in 2024, according to a Wednesday filing.
ts2.tech
February 15, 2026 at 3:30 PM
Birds-of-a-Wall-Street-feather department:
Latest annual big bank CEO pay stats...
Goldman Sachs $47 million
Morgan Stanley $45 million
JPMorgan $43 million
Citigroup $42 million
Latest annual big bank CEO pay stats...
Goldman Sachs $47 million
Morgan Stanley $45 million
JPMorgan $43 million
Citigroup $42 million
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Friday at the Munich Security Conference: “Extreme levels of income inequality lead to social instability and drive in...authoritarianism, right-wing populism, and very dangerous domestic internal politics.”
@aoc.bsky.social youtu.be/o-cdYEo37ZM
@aoc.bsky.social youtu.be/o-cdYEo37ZM
AOC breaks down the crisis facing Democracy on the world stage
YouTube video by Daily Kos Media Desk
youtu.be
February 15, 2026 at 1:48 AM
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Friday at the Munich Security Conference: “Extreme levels of income inequality lead to social instability and drive in...authoritarianism, right-wing populism, and very dangerous domestic internal politics.”
@aoc.bsky.social youtu.be/o-cdYEo37ZM
@aoc.bsky.social youtu.be/o-cdYEo37ZM
“The world is perishing in luxury.”
One antidote: Taxes on the rich as robust as the South Korean inheritance levy that has collected 9 billion euros ($10.7 billion) on a single bequest from Samsung’s founding family.
@lenaats.bsky.social #inequality www.euronews.com/green/2026/0...
One antidote: Taxes on the rich as robust as the South Korean inheritance levy that has collected 9 billion euros ($10.7 billion) on a single bequest from Samsung’s founding family.
@lenaats.bsky.social #inequality www.euronews.com/green/2026/0...
Green MEP calls for Austria to tax the rich while on the red carpet
Lena Schilling used the Vienna Opera Ball to condemn Austria’s mega wealthy, and call for a return to a ‘fair’ inheritance tax model.
www.euronews.com
February 14, 2026 at 6:27 PM
“The world is perishing in luxury.”
One antidote: Taxes on the rich as robust as the South Korean inheritance levy that has collected 9 billion euros ($10.7 billion) on a single bequest from Samsung’s founding family.
@lenaats.bsky.social #inequality www.euronews.com/green/2026/0...
One antidote: Taxes on the rich as robust as the South Korean inheritance levy that has collected 9 billion euros ($10.7 billion) on a single bequest from Samsung’s founding family.
@lenaats.bsky.social #inequality www.euronews.com/green/2026/0...
How is Team Trump subsidizing huge tax cuts for the super rich? By squeezing struggling families that depend on SNAP food stamp benefits. @moreperfectunion.bsky.social @sarahanderson.bsky.social
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKRL...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKRL...
How Billionaires Captured Food Stamps to Pay Themselves
YouTube video by More Perfect Union
www.youtube.com
February 13, 2026 at 5:07 PM
How is Team Trump subsidizing huge tax cuts for the super rich? By squeezing struggling families that depend on SNAP food stamp benefits. @moreperfectunion.bsky.social @sarahanderson.bsky.social
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKRL...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKRL...
Since his 2013 purchase of the Washington Post — for a bargain $250 million — mega-billionaire Jeff Bezos has watched his overall personal fortune soar nearly ten-fold. The Post, meanwhile, just axed another 300 staffers. @greenpeace.org
February 13, 2026 at 4:37 PM
Since his 2013 purchase of the Washington Post — for a bargain $250 million — mega-billionaire Jeff Bezos has watched his overall personal fortune soar nearly ten-fold. The Post, meanwhile, just axed another 300 staffers. @greenpeace.org
In 2025, 4 states — Maine, Montana, New Jersey, and Rhode Island — made moves to increase tax revenue from owners of luxury residences. These moves included charging an additional tax on second homes. @itep.org #inequality itep.org/what-did-202...
What Did 2025 State Tax Changes Mean for Racial and Economic Equity?
The results are a mixed bag, with some states enacting promising policies that will improve tax equity and others going in the opposite direction.
itep.org
February 13, 2026 at 4:12 PM
In 2025, 4 states — Maine, Montana, New Jersey, and Rhode Island — made moves to increase tax revenue from owners of luxury residences. These moves included charging an additional tax on second homes. @itep.org #inequality itep.org/what-did-202...
The highly regarded CEO of Japan Airlines annually earns less than 5% of what her U.S. airline counterparts pocket.
aviationa2z.com/index.php/20...
aviationa2z.com/index.php/20...
Japan Airlines CEO Salary in 2026
Below is a detailed look at who Japan Airlines’ CEO is in 2026, how her compensation is structured, and what factors shape executive pay at one of Asia’s flagship airlines.
aviationa2z.com
February 13, 2026 at 1:14 AM
The highly regarded CEO of Japan Airlines annually earns less than 5% of what her U.S. airline counterparts pocket.
aviationa2z.com/index.php/20...
aviationa2z.com/index.php/20...
The International Luxury Travel Market annual expo in Cannes now boasts 2,500 exhibitors, 10x the 2001 total. The clients of #luxury concierge services now typically "pay an annual $3,000 fee for soup-to-nuts attention on trips that can cost up to $20,000 a night."
How the Ultra-Rich Travel
Inside the arms race to satisfy travelers for whom exclusivity is everything and money is no object.
www.nytimes.com
February 13, 2026 at 12:22 AM
The International Luxury Travel Market annual expo in Cannes now boasts 2,500 exhibitors, 10x the 2001 total. The clients of #luxury concierge services now typically "pay an annual $3,000 fee for soup-to-nuts attention on trips that can cost up to $20,000 a night."
Imagine you had to design a society without knowing your own place in it. Would you design a system where a tiny elite enjoys unimaginable wealth while 1/3 of children grow up poor? #inequality @profkepickett.bsky.social blogs.lse.ac.uk/inequalities...
Why my vision of a Good Society is evidence-based, not utopian
We have a choice about the kind of society that we build. A fairer, more prosperous society is possible, but requires moving away from “trickle-down” economics.
blogs.lse.ac.uk
February 12, 2026 at 5:20 PM
Imagine you had to design a society without knowing your own place in it. Would you design a system where a tiny elite enjoys unimaginable wealth while 1/3 of children grow up poor? #inequality @profkepickett.bsky.social blogs.lse.ac.uk/inequalities...
Another sign of our unequal times: Private school annual tuitions now top $70,000. But our wealthiest have no prob with that. Tax cuts have left them financially flush — while public schools face nonstop budget squeezes. #education
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
New York City private schools now cost more than some top colleges
One school is set to charge an eye-watering $71,852 for the upcoming school year
www.independent.co.uk
February 12, 2026 at 3:34 PM
Another sign of our unequal times: Private school annual tuitions now top $70,000. But our wealthiest have no prob with that. Tax cuts have left them financially flush — while public schools face nonstop budget squeezes. #education
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
Are billionaires about to flee en masse from a California that may this November enact a 5% wealth tax? Not likely. If they did all flee, the value of their existing California estates would plummet as the exiting billionaire sellers struggle to find buyers.
www.miamiherald.com/news/local/c...
www.miamiherald.com/news/local/c...
Do recent megamillion Miami real estate buys signal a coming billionaire wave?
“Birds of a feather flock together, and we’ve got the seal of approval with some of the best and brightest business minds.”
www.miamiherald.com
February 12, 2026 at 2:23 AM
Are billionaires about to flee en masse from a California that may this November enact a 5% wealth tax? Not likely. If they did all flee, the value of their existing California estates would plummet as the exiting billionaire sellers struggle to find buyers.
www.miamiherald.com/news/local/c...
www.miamiherald.com/news/local/c...
“Rather than creating an age of abundance in which most people no longer have to worry about money, new technologies have contributed to a two-tiered society comprising a relatively few with extraordinary wealth and a vast number of people barely making it.” robertreich.substack.com/p/the-bogus-...
AI and the Coming Jobless Economy
AI will make most of us poorer and a few fabulously wealthy — unless its productivity gains are allocated fairly. Here’s what we should we be considering now.
robertreich.substack.com
February 11, 2026 at 3:40 PM
“Rather than creating an age of abundance in which most people no longer have to worry about money, new technologies have contributed to a two-tiered society comprising a relatively few with extraordinary wealth and a vast number of people barely making it.” robertreich.substack.com/p/the-bogus-...
In 1982, the assets of America's 400 richest families added up to 2% of the nation's GDP. Their current share: 20%. #inequality #billionaires #plutocracy www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
How to Tax a Trillionaire
It’s time to move past the hysteria over wealth taxes and find a durable way forward.
www.bloomberg.com
February 11, 2026 at 1:21 AM
In 1982, the assets of America's 400 richest families added up to 2% of the nation's GDP. Their current share: 20%. #inequality #billionaires #plutocracy www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Indian economist Kaushik Basu: “If all the new income accrues to a few individuals, and the GDP grows, all citizens are expected to cheer. This is feeding hyper-nationalism, inequality and polarisation.” @theguardian.com
Global economy must move past GDP to avoid planetary disaster, warns UN chief
Exclusive: António Guterres says world’s accounting systems should place true value on the environment
www.theguardian.com
February 10, 2026 at 3:30 PM
Indian economist Kaushik Basu: “If all the new income accrues to a few individuals, and the GDP grows, all citizens are expected to cheer. This is feeding hyper-nationalism, inequality and polarisation.” @theguardian.com
The superyacht spare-no-expense mindset: “Even while being at sea, yachts have contacts everywhere — sometimes to the extent that helicopters deliver lobster tails to the boat while the vessel is anchored out in the ocean.” metro.co.uk/2026/02/09/l...
My life as a superyacht chef: 'Nothing is out of bounds'
Lobster tails delivered via helicopter is just one request Micaela gets.
metro.co.uk
February 10, 2026 at 3:18 PM
The superyacht spare-no-expense mindset: “Even while being at sea, yachts have contacts everywhere — sometimes to the extent that helicopters deliver lobster tails to the boat while the vessel is anchored out in the ocean.” metro.co.uk/2026/02/09/l...
Ched Myers: "The biggest single, core, root issue of violence is economic disparity — the cruel gulf between the have-too-muches and the have-not-enoughs. Concentrated wealth underlies every form of violence and is ruining our planet.” @ncronline.bsky.social www.ncronline.org/opinion/gues...
Podcast: Scripture scholar Ched Myers calls Christians to learn 'Sabbath economics'
On this week's episode of "The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast," John Dear hosts Ched Myers to speak about his new book on the Gospel of Luke and "Sabbath economics" that resist the idolatry of wealth, greed...
www.ncronline.org
February 10, 2026 at 2:45 AM
Ched Myers: "The biggest single, core, root issue of violence is economic disparity — the cruel gulf between the have-too-muches and the have-not-enoughs. Concentrated wealth underlies every form of violence and is ruining our planet.” @ncronline.bsky.social www.ncronline.org/opinion/gues...
The Epstein files offer a window into the world of our financial and political elite, a small number of “very, very rich people,” as Bernie puts it, “who really see themselves as above the law.” @jeetheer.bsky.social
From Epstein to Bezos, the Ruling Class Is Rotten to the Core
Let this week be yet another reminder that plutocrats are a threat to democracy, not its saviors.
www.thenation.com
February 10, 2026 at 12:15 AM
The Epstein files offer a window into the world of our financial and political elite, a small number of “very, very rich people,” as Bernie puts it, “who really see themselves as above the law.” @jeetheer.bsky.social
The uber-wealthy who fly on private jets “can skip lines, schedule their own takeoff time, and land as close as possible to their final destination, all while producing outsized carbon footprints.” @ashleynowicki.bsky.social @econliberties.bsky.social
Making Billionaires Pay Their Fair Share: How Private Jet Travel Congests America’s Airports - American Economic Liberties Project
This paper explains how private jets are crowding skies and congesting airports, including what political and policy considerations are exacerbating the problem, and details how to reform rules and…
www.economicliberties.us
February 9, 2026 at 9:51 PM
The uber-wealthy who fly on private jets “can skip lines, schedule their own takeoff time, and land as close as possible to their final destination, all while producing outsized carbon footprints.” @ashleynowicki.bsky.social @econliberties.bsky.social
Adam Smith actually rates as “the first economist to introduce the idea that the prosperity of a nation should be measured on how well the working majority are doing” and not by “measuring the opulence of the richest.” @maxlawsontin.bsky.social @oxfam www.equals.ink/p/adam-smith...
Adam Smith’s on Davos
Wherever there is great property, there is great inequality. For one very rich man, there must be at least five hundred poor.
www.equals.ink
February 9, 2026 at 9:43 PM
Adam Smith actually rates as “the first economist to introduce the idea that the prosperity of a nation should be measured on how well the working majority are doing” and not by “measuring the opulence of the richest.” @maxlawsontin.bsky.social @oxfam www.equals.ink/p/adam-smith...
Those among us who depend on paychecks face heavy tax burdens at the same time those with enough wealth to forgo a salary are avoiding taxes — and enjoying lavish lifestyles — by simply avoiding taxable income. @itep.org @uchicagopress.bsky.social
How the Wealthy Exploit the Tax Code: Q&A with Professor Ray Madoff, Author of ‘The Second Estate’
Her timely book, The Second Estate: How the Tax Code Made an American Aristocracy, walks readers through federal tax policy history and the modern-day legal maneuvers the wealthy use to pay little to…
itep.org
February 9, 2026 at 9:00 PM
Those among us who depend on paychecks face heavy tax burdens at the same time those with enough wealth to forgo a salary are avoiding taxes — and enjoying lavish lifestyles — by simply avoiding taxable income. @itep.org @uchicagopress.bsky.social
Concertedly pursuing worker ownership, Swedish labor activist and analyst Rudolf Meidner preached a half-century ago, could become a potent path to ameliorating wealth #inequality. @onlabor.bsky.social
onlabor.org/a-swedish-an...
onlabor.org/a-swedish-an...
A Swedish Answer to Labor’s $8 Trillion Question ✦ OnLabor
It may come as a surprise that a substantial portion of America’s economy is worker- and union-owned — technically. Private sector and public sector union members’ pension funds collectively manage ro...
onlabor.org
February 9, 2026 at 7:29 PM
Concertedly pursuing worker ownership, Swedish labor activist and analyst Rudolf Meidner preached a half-century ago, could become a potent path to ameliorating wealth #inequality. @onlabor.bsky.social
onlabor.org/a-swedish-an...
onlabor.org/a-swedish-an...