Publishers of donor-advised fund data are including hundreds of thousands of workplace giving accounts in their averages. That skews the picture.
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Economic Justice
Combating inequality means both lifting up and building power at the bottom, and breaking up concentration of wealth and power at the top. That’s why we work at the intersection of economic and racial justice through projects designed to build leadership and self-empowerment of black workers, immigrant workers, and low-wage workers, youth and families affected by incarceration, along with projects aiming to reverse the rules that criminalize poor people of color, and projects fighting to ensure that the wealthy and Wall Street corporations pay their fair share of taxes.
Latest Work
Institute for Policy Studies calls on Salvadoran government to release from prison leading Water Defenders arrested on January 11
Hundreds of groups around the world worked with the Salvadoran Water Defenders in the successful campaign to save the country’s rivers from toxic gold mining. They join in demanding the release of the five Water Defenders and to allow them to await their trial in their community.
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Inside Southwest’s Horrific Holidays
Blame the wealthy, not the weather.
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Before COB on the First Workday of 2023, CEOs Will Make More Than the Average Annual Pay for All US Workers
Before happy hour, the typical CEO will have pocketed more than home health aides, firefighters, pre-K teachers, and other workers will make the whole year.
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A Big Year for the Charity Reform Movement
Our 2022 findings, publications, conversations, and political prospects made it clearer than ever that we need meaningful charity reform – and that a strong majority agrees.
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The Top 10 Inequality Victories of 2022
Champions of a more egalitarian society made important strides, building the power of workers while reducing the power of wealthy tax dodgers and greedy pharma execs.
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Can We Talk Sensibly about Inequality and Ignore the Rich?
Not if we want to see a safe, decent, and sustainable future, say UN researchers
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The Crypto-Populist Pyramid Scam
Here’s how to connect Donald Trump and Nayib Bukele to Sam Bankman-Fried and Bored Ape Yacht Club.
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How Colombia Will Tax the Wealthy
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.
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An Invulnerable Financial Fortress on the Sand
Qatar has our world’s attention, but nearby — and deeply unequal — Dubai might be charting our future
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Reports
REPORT: The Warfare State: How Funding for Militarism Compromises Our Welfare
Nearly two-thirds of the federal discretionary budget goes to militarized federal programs, leaving just over a third for our communities — a sliver some lawmakers want to cut even further.
REPORT: A Tale of Two Retirements 2023
Our tax code helps CEOs retire in luxury while ordinary workers struggle. Here’s how to fix it.
Report: High Flyers 2023: How Ultra-Rich Private Jet Travel Costs the Rest of Us and Burns Up the Planet
In this report, we assess the environmental, economic, and security risks of private jet travel — and lay out tax reforms to offset them.
Tax Day 2023: Where Your 2022 Tax Dollars Went
IPS’s National Priorities Project takes a look at where American taxpayers’ money went in 2022, and how skewed our national priorities are.
Wall Street Bonuses Decline But Still Dwarf Worker Pay Increases Since 2008 Crash
Since 2008, the average Wall Street bonus has climbed by more than 75 percent, compared to just a 54 percent increase in average earnings of all private sector workers and a 42 percent rise in manufacturing wages. If the minimum wage had increased as much as Wall Street bonuses since 1985, it would be worth $42.37 today.