Global Economy

The Global Economy Program provides research, communications, and networking support to dynamic economic justice movements in the United States and around the world. Our goal is to speed the transition to an equitable and sustainable economy while reversing today’s extreme levels of economic and racial inequality and excessive corporate and Wall Street power. The program focuses its work on six inter-related areas:

Inequality and CEO Pay

The program collaborates with a broader IPS team to produce Inequality.org and a related weekly newsletter that highlights the latest data and the sharpest strategies to reverse extreme inequality in the United States and around the world. The program is also a leading resource on one key driver of inequality — runaway CEO pay. For more than two decades, our annual report series “Executive Excess” has drawn extensive media coverage to the issue of CEO pay and practical solutions. A newer report series, “A Tale of Two Retirements,” is the first to track the staggering gap in retirement benefits between wealthy CEOs and ordinary Americans.

Featured Resource

Toolkit: State and City Taxes on Extreme CEO-worker Pay Gaps

Recent Posts Related to CEO Pay

Trade, Investment, and Mining

The program works with grassroots activists around the world to advance alternative international trade and investment policies that elevate environmental, human, and labor rights above narrow corporate interests. In recent years program staff have played a lead role in supporting a successful campaign in El Salvador to defend against global mining corporations’ attempts to steamroll local resistance to harmful extractives projects.

Featured Article

How An International Grassroots Campaign Beat Metal Mining Corporations

Recent Posts Related to Trade, Investment, and Mining

Black Workers Initiative

The Black Worker Initiative aims to help expand opportunities for black worker organizing and thereby greatly contribute to the revitalization of the U.S. labor movement as a whole. This program is deeply committed to helping achieve both the historic and contemporary aims of the labor and civil rights movements.

Featured Report

“And Still I Rise”

Recent Posts Related to Black Worker Initiative

Wall Street and Global Finance

IPS staff play lead roles in coalitions working to restore the financial sector to its proper purpose of serving the real economy. We track the reckless Wall Street bonus culture, for example through our annual “Off the Deep End” report on the size of the financial industry bonus pool versus the cost of paying restaurant servers and domestic workers a living wage. We also advance innovative reforms such as a small tax on Wall Street speculation to curb short-term trading and generate massive revenue for urgent public needs, such as fixing our crumbling national infrastructure.

Featured Report

Republican Tax Plan Giveaways to Wall Street (co-published with Americans for Tax Fairness and the Take On Wall Street campaign

Recent Posts Related to Global Finance

Low-Wage Workers

Featured Report

Report: The Human Trafficking of Domestic Workers in the United States

Recent Posts Related to Low-Wage Workers

Inequality.org

Inequality.org and a related weekly newsletter are key resources for the public at large, journalists, teachers, students, academics, activists, and others seeking information and analysis on wealth and income inequality. Here, we collect the latest developments on inequality and keep readers abreast of relevant information concerning the widening wealth gap. We highlight stories from activists on the front lines of the fight against extreme inequality and share information that can be used for ongoing campaigns.

Latest Work

inslee-signing-long-term-care-trust-act-may-13-2019

Victory on Elder Care Equity Sets a Marker for 2020 Debates

Sarah Anderson | May 15, 2019

Of the 11 members of Congress running for president, eight have endorsed expanded public support for long-term care. Washington Governor Inslee can claim real action.

Mining Companies Use Excessive Legal Powers to Gamble with Latin American Lives

Jen Moore, Manuel Perez-Rocha | May 13, 2019

In more than two-thirds of the mining-related lawsuits against governments in the region, communities have been actively organizing against the mining activities.

How Wall Street Drives Gender and Racial Inequality

Sarah Anderson | May 7, 2019

If the minimum wage had kept up with Wall Street bonuses, it would be worth $33 today, instead of just $7.25.

The Reality Behind the ‘Surging’ U.S. Economy

Sarah Anderson | May 6, 2019

A tiny uptick in wages won't do much to help Americans squeezed by debt and facing rising prices for medicine, child care, housing, and other essentials.

The Economy is Thriving. Are You?

Sarah Anderson | April 30, 2019

Trumpeting rising GDP and disposable income ignores harsh economic realities for working class people.

Does Donald Trump Believe His Bizarre Bluster on Immigration?

Michael Paarlberg | April 15, 2019

The president hopes to punish sanctuary cities with his imagined flood of violent undocumented immigrants but the reality is very different.

IPS Expresses Deep Sadness and Sincere Condolences with Family, Friends, and Movements in Latin America at the Sudden Loss of Four Dearly Loved Defenders in Guatemala

Jennifer Moore, Manuel Perez-Rocha | April 10, 2019

Today we are reminded about how important it is to appreciate and care for eachother every day as part of long and challenging struggles for the health, dignity and self-determination of communities and peoples.

Scapegoating Unions for the Postal Service's Phony Crisis

Brian Wakamo | April 4, 2019

At a recent Senate hearing, some officials attempted to divert attention from the real cause of post office financial losses by blaming worker rights.

Enough Collusion Talk. It's Time to Focus on Trump's Corruption.

Michael Paarlberg | April 1, 2019

If there is a silver lining to the confusion and disappointment of Russiagate, it is that we can now pay attention to the real fleecing.

What’s Worse Than Ticket Scalpers? Stock Scalpers.

Sarah Anderson | March 5, 2019

A new Wall Street Tax proposal would crack down on the high frequency traders that are cheating the rest of us.

What States Can Do to Reduce Poverty and Inequality Through Tax Policy

Chuck Collins, Sarah Anderson | February 22, 2019

State governments have many options for recouping the windfalls large corporations and the wealthy received through the 2017 Republican federal tax law.

Bernie Sanders' 77 Percent Estate Tax for Billionaires is Not Enough

Bob Lord | February 17, 2019

The tax will raise revenues. But unless a glaring loophole is closed, the corrosive effects on our democracy will continue.

If You Hate Campaign Season, Blame Money in Politics

Sarah Anderson | February 13, 2019

The fact that 2020 candidates are announcing now is a testament to the huge expense of elections. Can a new law change that?

For Dell’s Billionaire CEO, Taxing the Ultra-Rich is a Joke

Sarah Anderson | January 29, 2019

Michael Dell falsely argues that top marginal tax rates as high as 70 percent have never worked.

U.S. Tax Policy Can Turn on a Dime. Has Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Just Turned It?

Sam Pizzigati | January 11, 2019

The youngest lawmaker in Congress delivers a history lesson America has needed for years.

The Postal Worker’s Christmas

Sarah Anderson | December 18, 2018

My grandfather was part of a long tradition of postal workers who sacrificed Christmas Eve with their families to deliver holiday packages.

AMLO Goes Full Throttle Against Neoliberalism — But What About NAFTA?

Manuel Perez-Rocha | December 17, 2018

Mexico’s first left-wing president gave a fiery inaugural speech against neoliberalism in Mexico. But he barely mentioned NAFTA.

Businessman with a briefcase full of money

Corporations Should Share the Wealth Before Buying Back Stock

Sarah Anderson | November 15, 2018

Senator Sanders has introduced a bill that would ban Walmart and other big corporations from repurchasing their stock unless they narrow the gaps between CEO and worker pay.