Veteran labor journalist and Institute for Policy Studies associate fellow Sam Pizzigati co-edits Inequality.org, the Institute’s weekly newsletter on our great divides. He also contributes a regular column to OtherWords, the IPS national nonprofit editorial service.

Sam, now retired from the labor movement, spent two decades directing the publishing program at America’s largest union, the 2.8-million-member National Education Association, and before that edited the national publications of three other U.S. trade unions.

Sam’s own writing has revolved around economic inequality since the early 1990s. His op-eds on income and wealth concentration have appeared in periodicals all around the world, from the New York Times to Le Monde Diplomatique.

Sam has authored four books and co-edited two others. His 2004 book, Greed and Good: Understanding the Inequality that Limits Our Lives, won an “outstanding title” honor from the American Library Association’s book review journal. His 2012 title, The Rich Don’t Always Win: The Forgotten Triumph over Plutocracy that Created the American Middle Class, 1900-1970, explores how average Americans ended the nation’s original Gilded Age. Sam’s most recent book, The Case for a Maximum Wage, offers a politically plausible path toward ending that Gilded Age’s second coming.

Latest

America’s Construction Carnage

Some of the same factors that make Wall Streeters fabulously rich are making construction work tragically unsafe.

Mnuchin’s Misplaced $100 Million

Trump’s pick for treasury secretary isn’t the only one rich enough to lose track of millions. There’s an enormous disparity in corporate pay and some states are ready to take action.

UK Labour Party Proposes a Maximum Wage Gap

The UK Labor Party has revived an FDR-era aspiration of imposing a maximum wage on the highest earners, among other radical proposals to stem inequality.

Trump and His CEO Pals are Ready to Wage Class War

Donald Trump and the business kingpins populating his inner circle want to slice the tax bill of America’s top 0.1 percent.

Trump’s Cabinet Will Be the Richest In American History

These deep pocket picks reflect the harsh reality of America’s unequal distribution of wealth.

Should We Assign the Super-Rich Their Own Tax Collectors?

America could learn a lot from Britain’s handling of high-end taxpayers.

Why We Need to Worry about Wilbur Ross

America’s next secretary of commerce may be a private equity kingpin who owes his fortune to a career of manipulating American workers.

 Inequality Gave Rise to Donald Trump’s Presidency

 But few of the 60 million Americans who cast their votes for Trump want to see a more top-heavy America.

Homes Are Getting Smaller While the Wealth Gap Gets Larger

Tiny house advocates say they’re reducing their ecological footprints, but the extremely rich beneficiaries of this concentration pose a greater threat to our environment.

Why 2016 May See a Record Top 1%

America’s top earners will be rushing to maximize their 2016 income if Democrats gain a sweep in November. But what happens next will be what really matters.

Why Our Kids Are Coming in Last Place

New global research links income inequality to the poor fitness of America’s youth.

Still Feeling the Great Recession?

A more equal distribution of wealth would make downturns in the economy less devastating.

Executive Excess 2016: The Wall Street CEO Bonus Loophole

A new Institute for Policy Studies report is the first to calculate how much taxpayers have been subsidizing executive bonuses at the nation’s largest banks.

Executive Excess 2016: The Wall Street CEO Bonus Loophole

This 23rd annual report reveals how taxpayers are subsidizing financial crisis windfalls.

Big Pharma Needs a Cure for its Tax Allergy

Pharmaceutical execs are getting incredibly rich making life-saving medications incredibly expensive.

How Corporations Became Their CEOs’ Personal ATMs

For today’s top corporate executives, the contemporary corporation has become a personal ATM — with no limits on withdrawals.

This Tax Law Professor is Taking on the Super Rich

A new hire on Capitol Hill might be what we need to build a finance force that will close tax loopholes for the wealthy.

Brazil’s Biggest Folly isn’t Hosting the Olympics

The two top leaders of the Workers’ Party tried to find harmony with elites, but left the rest of the country behind in the process.

Banks Make Millions Playing Games with Your Accounts

As Americans are desperately trying to juggle their finances, bank CEOs are maximizing their profits through overdraft fees.

The Leaders of 1776 Philadelphia Would Be Appalled at Today’s Staggering Inequality

This Fourth of July, we should remember what the founders knew: wealth concentration is a threat to the success of the nation.