After demonizing undocumented immigration, Trump’s new public charge rule targets legal immigrants on the basis of income and race.
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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
Red States Cut Worker Pay By $1.5 Billion
If you’re a minimum wage worker in a conservative state, your state lawmakers may have cut your paycheck by over $4,000.
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‘Slowbalization’: Is the Slowing Global Economy a Boon or Bane?
Some economists worry the world has passed “peak globalization.” But that could be good for the planet.
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Mass Shootings, Economic Inequality, and a Racist President
Three mass shootings in one week, homelessness abound, and a liar who hurls racist rhetoric from the White House stoop. America needs a course correction.
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How States Can Better Care for Direct Care Workers
A new report offers recommendations for state policymakers looking to strengthen the backbone of the care economy — the direct care workers themselves.
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Out of Ottawa, Some Deflating New Stats on Life in the World’s Richest Nation
An innovative binational analysis details how plutocracy is squeezing low and middle income Americans.
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Global Labor Movement Loses a Champion
Former AFL-CIO international affairs director Barbara Shailor fought for the rights of working people around the world.
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The Bipartisan $738 Billion Military Budget Deal
America needs to cut military spending and reinvest that money into good jobs, clean energy, health care, and education access for all.
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For True Climate Justice, Abolish ICE and CBP
Lawmakers say frontline communities should be at the heart of the Green New Deal. They must include current and future undocumented immigrants.
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5 Ways the Economy Is Stacked Against Millennials
Millennials suffer stagnant wages and high expenses in an economy not designed for them — but there’s hope.
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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.