Omar Ocampo

Omar is a researcher for the Program on Inequality and the Common Good. He graduated from the University ofMassachusetts Boston with a B.A. in Political Science and holds a Masters in International Relations from the American University in Cairo. His thesis focused on the politics of international oil and humanitarian intervention in Libya.

Prior to joining IPS, Omar was an intern for Congressman Stephen F. Lynch. He later entered the nonprofit sector where he worked in direct human and social services.

He is an arepa enthusiast and passionate about the Boston Celtics.

Latest

Billionaire Wealth Is Soaring. We Need Progressive Taxation Now.

Omar Ocampo | April 2, 2024

There are now 813 billionaires with $5.7 trillion in wealth, making the ten-figure club even more powerful economically and politically. We need a progressive taxation system to reverse inequality.

U.S. Billionaire Wealth Is Up 88% Since the Pandemic—Now Topping $5.5 Trillion

Chuck Collins, Omar Ocampo | March 25, 2024

Can we please just tax the rich?

a pile of one hundred dollar bills with three white strips of paper on top that read billionaires in black font.

Total U.S. Billionaire Wealth: Up 88% over Four Years

Chuck Collins, Omar Ocampo | March 18, 2024

Four years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States has 737 billionaires with a combined wealth of $5.529 trillion.

MEDIA AVAILABILITY: Experts Chuck Collins and Omar Ocampo on Taylor Swift’s Private Jet Travel Habits and the Cost of Private Jet Travel to Taxpayers and the Planet

Olivia Alperstein, Chuck Collins, Omar Ocampo | February 6, 2024

“Taylor Swift’s potential flight from Tokyo to Las Vegas just to attend the Super Bowl is the best argument for a tax on private jet travel.”

A Working Class Victory on Colombia’s Horizon

Omar Ocampo | January 9, 2024

An advancing labor reform bill could increase overtime pay, expand social security for delivery workers, and strengthen workplace rights.

Image of a B 52 bomber taking off in Germany

Heir Pollution

Omar Ocampo | October 4, 2023

By flying in private jets, America’s wealthiest engage in an indefensible form of waste on a warming planet: Heir pollution.

New Report Does A Deep Dive Into the High-Flying Excesses at Hanscom and Costs of Expansion

Chuck Collins, Omar Ocampo, Olivia Alperstein | October 2, 2023

Analysis Questions Hanscom’s 300% Private Jet Expansion

An image of the cover of this report, where an illustrated plane gives off exhaust. In the exhaust fumes reads "Hanscom High Flyers: Private Jet Excess doesn't Justify Expansion"

REPORT: Hanscom High Flyers

Chuck Collins, Kalena Thomhave, Omar Ocampo, Jiajin Wu | October 1, 2023

Private jet travel is a monumental example of private excess at public expense. Here’s a local case study.

REPORT: Still A Dream: Over 500 Years to Black Economic Equality

Dedrick Asante-Muhammad, Chuck Collins, Omar Ocampo, Sally Sim | August 16, 2023

60 years after the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, the racial wealth divide persists.

Boston’s Wealthy Real Estate Players Avoid Paying their Fair Share

Omar Ocampo, Jiaqin Wu | July 27, 2023

The state legislature has blocked the city’s luxury real estate transfer tax for nearly four years.

How to Raise $1.8 Billion for Green Transit

Chuck Collins, Omar Ocampo | July 26, 2023

A proposed tax hike on private jet fuel could raise $1.8 billion a year for sustainable transit.

Wealth Inequality, Trade Agreements & How a Progressive Annual Wealth Tax Could Help Promote Economic Democracy

Omar Ocampo | June 12, 2023

Omar Ocampo joins Bringing Light into Darkness (BLID) to discuss IPS’ Report: “Extreme Wealth: The Growing Number of People With Extreme Wealth and What an Annual Wealth Tax Could Raise.”

Want To Slash the National Debt? Tax Billionaires

Omar Ocampo, Chuck Collins | June 2, 2023

Lawmakers need to advance policies that reduce deficits without undermining expenditures that provide us with a safety net and public services.

Private Jets Are Dirty Luxuries for the Ultra Rich. Let’s Tax Them.

Omar Ocampo, Kalena Thomhave | May 9, 2023

The private jet industry is destroying the climate and intensifying inequality. Rather than providing subsidies, we should tax the hell out of it.

The Ultra-Wealthy Have a Private Jet Problem

Omar Ocampo | May 8, 2023

This expensive, carbon-intensive form of travel is bad for both the earth and the taxpayers who subsidize it for the ultra-rich.

Report: High Flyers 2023: How Ultra-Rich Private Jet Travel Costs the Rest of Us and Burns Up the Planet

Chuck Collins, Omar Ocampo, Kalena Thomhave | May 1, 2023

In this report, we assess the environmental, economic, and security risks of private jet travel — and lay out tax reforms to offset them.

How Investors Accelerate the Affordable Housing Crisis

Omar Ocampo | March 21, 2023

Investor purchases accounted for 24 percent of all residential real estate sales in Boston in the fourth quarter of 2022. A 10 percent tax on those sales could yield $82 million in revenue.

people holding signs that say make billionaires pay

Report: “Extreme Wealth: The growing number of people with extreme wealth and what an annual wealth tax could raise”

Chuck Collins, Omar Ocampo | January 17, 2023

An annual wealth tax on the world’s richest could raise $1.7 trillion globally.

Close up shot of Brazilian president Lula da Silva, who's wearing a white shirt, a tie, and a dark suit.

For Lula, Fighting Against Fascism and For Economic Justice is Nothing New

Omar Ocampo | January 9, 2023

Having fought for labor rights under a dictatorship, the Brazilian president once again faces a violent far-right movement bent on blocking his pro-worker, pro-democracy agenda.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro speaking at a podium with his hand outstretched and a Colombian flag in the background.

How Colombia Will Tax the Wealthy

Omar Ocampo | December 13, 2022

President Gustavo Petro’s government plans to raise $20 trillion Colombian pesos through a hyper-targeted tax on less than one percent of the country’s top earners. Other nations should take notice.