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

Happy Birthday, Dear Income Tax

Here are five lessons for progressives from our first century of income taxes.

The fiscal cliff … of ’32

Eighty years ago, just like today, a fiscal crisis almost totally dominated the nation’s capital.

In Fact, Fairly Taxing the Rich Won’t Scare Them Away

Recent research debunks some of the most common arguments against raising taxes on the richest Americans.

For Pete’s Sake, What’s Happened to Our Democracy?

One billionaire has the wherewithal to totally redirect America’s political discourse.

To Move Forward, We Must Learn from Our Progressive Past

Yesterday’s ideas about curbing the ultra-rich’s power remain just as relevant as ever.

Another Side of Inequality

A vast gulf between the rich and the rest of us is incompatible with democracy.

The Return on Those Bad Bets on Romney

Billionaires can win politically even when they lose on Election Day.

The Invisible Hand Won’t Stop Inequality in Its Tracks

We’ll have more economic and climate disasters on Sandy’s scale unless our political systems intervene.

The Dead-End Servant Economy

We’re going down the road toward becoming a nation of servants.

Where’s Joe the Plumber When You Need Him?

Without someone at least ranting about sharing the wealth, no one’s talking about sharing the wealth.

Empty Anti-Wall Street Rhetoric

Lots of office-seekers this fall are campaigning against the 1 percent, but will they govern that way?

Apparently, Suite Crime Does Pay

The executives responsible for the financial industry’s pervasive fraud are paying no personal price.

A Congressional Report Card for the 99 Percent

The grades are in, and you can see how lawmakers fare on the most important issue of our time: the grand divide between America’s rich and everybody else.

Inequality Report Card: Grading Congress on Inequality

We evaluate how well members of congress do in supporting legislation and measures to narrow America’s widening economic divide.

The ‘Self-Made’ Hallucination of America’s Rich

Like Mitt Romney, most Americans who amass grand fortunes have a substantial head start.

Chicago and the Psychology of Teacher Bashing

In a deeply unequal society, the affluent will always sneer at public services and the men and women who provide them.

Virtually, Anything Goes with Online Education

State officials are allowing tax dollars to underwrite K-12 virtual disasters.

Who’s Really Winning the Smartphone Wars?

We’re letting top executives of giant corporations expropriate public “property” for private gain.

A Bold New Call for a ‘Maximum Wage’

A national labor leader aims to expand the economic fairness debate.

We’re All Subsidizing Free Lunches for America’s CEOs

It’s time to close the tax loopholes that subsidize runaway executive compensation.