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

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.

Rising Inequality Hit us Twice: Once During Recession and Again in Recovery

New research shows that the same inequality that gets us into economic messes, significantly slows the clean-up.

Don’t let Koch’s New “End the Divide” Ad Fool You

The only thing Koch’s new campaign is missing is the truth: we need policies aimed at redistributing wealth.

It’s Up to Us to Level CEO Pay

Let’s stop waiting for corporate insiders to fix staggering executive pay inequality.

It Doesn’t Help the Rest of Us When the Wealthy Go Shopping

Inequality apologists want you to believe that when the rich buy expensive new products, we all benefit. But our wallets tell a different story.

The Awesomely Affluent are Cheating Average Americans of More Than $400 Billion a Year in Federal Taxes

Congress needs to subject the super rich to the same reporting and withholding standards as the rest of us.

History Shows us we Don’t Need Billionaire Doctors to Make Medical Breakthroughs

Our tax codes incentivize medical entrepreneurs to go for gold while patients are left juggling what’s best for them versus what they can afford.

The Death Gap is Widening With the Wealth Gap

The richest Americans now live 10-15 years longer than the poorest.

Did This Star CEO Deserve Mega Millions For His Work?

The passing of Intel’s Andy Grove has much of the business world claiming that corporations owe their success to their chief executives.

Hillary vs. Bernie vs. the 1 Percent

The two Democratic Party White House hopefuls agree on cutting back the after-tax incomes of America’s rich. They disagree significantly on how much.

Populism and Plutocrats: Two Very Different Tax Plans

Infographic: The media calls Trump an outsider, but his presidency would have the one percent winning even bigger.

Why the Right Should Fear Inequality

Conservative assumptions about the link between freedom and inequality don’t add up.

Do We Really Need a Billionaire Class?

Veteran analyst Gar Alperovitz is helping America see how we can create wealth without creating a super wealthy.

Game Changers: How We Can Unrig the Rules and Reverse Runaway Inequality

Eight bold solutions, rooted in social movements, that can break through our broken political system.

What Do Our Wealthiest Deserve?

Our world’s billionaires don’t merit either their billions, suggests Oxfam economist Didier Jacobs, nor the right to claim we’re all living in a ‘meritocracy’.

Here’s What the Millionaires at Davos Can Do About Global Inequality

Instead of just talking about inequality, the global business elites gathering in Switzerland can do something about it: Stop dodging their taxes.

Free Tuition for Donald Trump’s Kids?

Making college tuition free for everyone, some claim, would waste scarce tax dollars on rich households that don’t need them. Does that claim hold water?