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

Sick of Outrageously Excessive CEO Compensation?

If you care about health, you certainly should be.

Our Rich: Fooling Themselves and Fouling Our Planet

Electric air taxis aren’t going to save the world. Really taxing the rich, on the other hand, could.

The Global Significance of the UAW’s Win

The watershed agreements America’s auto workers won could inspire working people here and abroad. And that’s by design.

Is a ‘Mayday!’ Now Looming for Our Billionaire Class

The disaster the global super rich fear most may now actually materialize — in 2028, with U.S. auto workers leading the way.

A New Portrait of the World’s Wealth — and Wealthiest

In the United States and globally, our richest are still flourishing at everyone else’s expense.

Amid Discouraging New Inequality Stats, Some Encouraging Rays of Hope

In California, a trailblazing move to a much more union-conscious tomorrow.

Share the Wealth vs. Waste the Wealth

So far the wasters seem to be winning. But some change may be coming.

Private Yachts As Long As Football Fields

In what universe can this energy-guzzling reality possibly make any sense?

How About a General Strike Against Dollar General?

Execs at massive ‘dollar store’ chains are making fortunes off America’s top-heavy distributions of income and wealth.

A Telling Tale of Two Press Lords

Rupert Murdoch made the world safe for grand fortune. E.W. Scripps had a better idea.

America’s Auto Workers: On Strike Against Inequality. Again.

UAW activists years ago helped usher in a vastly more equal society. Can history repeat?

America’s Auto Workers: On Strike Against Inequality. Again.

UAW activists years ago helped usher in a vastly more equal society. Can history repeat?

The Tie That Truly Binds Grand Fortune and Great Talent

Our world’s richest are increasingly monopolizing the smarts of our smartest.

Which Nation Has Taxed the Rich the Most?

Britain and the United States once competed for that honor. Times have changed.

New Stats, Old Story: Our Rich Are Raking

From Swiss bank researchers, an alarming update on our global maldistribution of wealth

The Tesla Take on ‘Sharing’ the Wealth

Detroit’s automakers are lusting after the massive executive rewards in the Musk corporate empire

Have Our Corporate Chiefs Become Expendable?

Analysts across the political spectrum are challenging more than oversized CEO paychecks

Can We Measure Inequality Without Tallying the Wealth of Our Wealthy?

Hundreds of prestigious economists don’t think so. The World Bank, unfortunately, does.

The Most Ludicrous Argument Ever Against Taxing the Rich?

Why are our planet’s finest hoopsters bricking free throws? Pals of plutocrats have a convenient explanation.

A Good Year’s Pay for a Good Day’s Work?

A Good Year’s Pay for a Good Day’s Work?