TAX CUTS OFTEN INCREASE ECONOMIC INEQUALITY

Small government advocates have worked to shrink government by cutting taxes. The results have been exploding economic inequality and federal budget deficits. They are now working to cut state income taxes and local property taxes. This will only expand economic inequality and feed the oligarchy.

SUMMARY: For over 40 years, small government advocates have worked to shrink government by shrinking its revenue, i.e., by cutting taxes. Despite their claims of strong economic growth benefiting everyone, the reality has been exploding economic inequality and federal budget deficits. Now, they are turning their focus to cutting state income taxes and even the local property tax. If they succeed, it will only expand economic inequality and feed the oligarchy that is trying to take over our democracy.

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For over 40 years, small government advocates, historically conservative Republicans, have worked to shrink government by shrinking its revenue, i.e., by cutting taxes. At the federal level, they have succeeded in dramatically reducing income taxes on corporations and high-income households.

Year Corporate tax rate Top personal income tax rate
1950s 50% 90%
1970s High 40% 70%
1980s 34% 50%
2026 21% 37%

Republicans and so-called supply-side economists promised that tax cuts would spur economic and job growth resulting in prosperity for all (aka trickle-down economics), but the reality has been exploding economic inequality. Everyday working Americans are struggling with the affordability of the cost of living and many middle-class Americans have seen their dreams and economic security vanish. Meanwhile, the wealth of the wealthy has skyrocketed. Note that if tax cuts did indeed stimulate economic growth, based on the tax cuts documented above, our economy should have been soaring for the last 50 years.

Despite Republicans’ and supply-side economists’ claims that tax cuts would actually increase government tax revenue due to strong economic growth, their tax cuts and increases in military spending have caused the federal budget deficit to explode. The annual budget deficits have grown from under $74 billion in 1980 to almost 30 times that or $2 trillion in 2025. The accumulated federal debt has grown from under $1 trillion in 1980 to $38.5 trillion in 2025. Although Republicans have offset their tax cuts’ increases in the deficit somewhat by cutting social spending, these efforts have met with limited success because of the need for and public support of a social safety net that includes unemployment benefits, food assistance, and subsidized health care when workers fall on hard times.

Republicans and their supply-side economists have also been trying to get states to cut taxes. The focus has typically been on personal and corporate income taxes and they’ve had significant success. Since 2021, twenty-six states have cut their personal and/or corporate income taxes. [1] Massachusetts will likely have two tax cut measures on the November 2026 ballot.

They are proceeding with these tax cut efforts despite the dreadful experience a decade ago in Kansas. In 2012, Kansas dramatically cut its personal and business income taxes based on the supply-side promises of booming economic growth. However, by 2017, state revenue was down hundreds of millions of dollars, economic growth was below average, and the state was having to cut funding for schools and roads. The Republicans in the state legislature voted to repeal the tax cuts, the Republican Governor who’d sponsored the cuts vetoed the repeal, and the Republican legislature voted with an over two-thirds majority to override the Governor’s veto.

Furthermore, in part because not every state has an income tax, the Republicans and their supply-side economists are now targeting the source of 70% of local government revenue, the property tax. They claim that state governments will step in to make up local government shortfalls through sales taxes and other state revenue sources.

Almost inevitably, tax cuts on personal or business income, as well as to property taxes, disproportionately benefit wealthy individuals and corporations. Although middle- and lower-income individuals may see some benefits, the larger benefits go to the well off. This expands the already growing economic inequality in the U.S. For example, one of the Massachusetts proposals would cut the state’s base income tax rate from 5% to 4%. While the proponents state that on average families would get a $1,300 tax break, low-income families would get about $70, those with incomes of roughly $1 million would get $1,000, and the wealthiest families would get $35,000 or more. Similar effects would occur with cuts to, let alone elimination of, property taxes as the wealthiest families have the properties with the highest values.

Note that replacing this lost income or property tax revenue with sales taxes or gambling revenue means using very regressive taxes to replace often progressive ones. Moreover, the loss of government services and supports due to loss of revenue will hit the lowest income families the hardest.

Therefore, these tax cut strategies that Republicans and their supply-side economists are pushing will further increase economic inequality, which will only strengthen the oligarchy that is working to take control of our democracy. If someone tries to tell you they can cut your taxes without cutting the services you get from government, such as schools, roads, public safety, and a safety net for hard times, don’t believe them. There is no such thing as a free lunch. And if they tell you you’ll save a little money, ask them how much the millionaires will save and what you’ll lose from your government in the bargain.

I encourage you to contact your state and local elected officials, as well as your U.S. Representative and Senators, to ask them to support progressive tax policies that support everyday working Americans. [2] Such policies include progressive income tax rates, wealth and unearned income taxes, and fair business taxes. (See this previous post for more on fair taxation.)

For lots of good news, see Jess Craven’s Chop Wood Carry Water blog’s most recent good news Sunday post here.

[1] Curry Wimbish, W., 4/8/26, “Live tax-free and die,” The American Prospect (https://prospect.org/2026/04/08/apr-2026-magazine-live-tax-free-and-die/)

[2] You can find contact information for your US Representative at http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/ and for your US Senators at http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm.

FAIR TAXATION IS ESSENTIAL FOR DEMOCRACY Part 2

Democracy requires fair taxation. The current U.S. tax system is unfair. Increased progressivity of individual and business income tax rates, especially on income from wealth (versus work), is one essential piece of re-establishing a fair tax system and reducing economic inequality.

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The American democracy described in the Declaration of Independence and further detailed in the preamble to the Constitution requires fair taxation linked to meaningful representation to produce a government of, by, and for the people. (See this previous post for more detail.)

Fair taxation requires individuals and businesses to pay their fair share. The current U.S. tax system is unfair based on common sense,an historical perspective, and the current experiences of everyday Americans. It has allowed wealth and income inequality to grow dramatically in the last 45 years, both among individuals and among businesses. To re-establish a fair tax system and reduce economic inequality, the U.S. must: [1]

Increase the progressivity of individual and business income tax rates, especially on income from wealth (versus work), such as interest, dividends, and capital gains on the sale of assets that have appreciated (i.e., increased in value).
Tax increases in wealth even if assets are not sold. These increases in wealth are effectively income even when the assets are not sold.
Tax existing wealth to slow or reverse the huge growth in wealth inequality and because the wealthy can (and do) maintain their extravagant lifestyles without having income by borrowing money and using their wealth as collateral for the loans. U.S. billionaires’ wealth has doubled since 2019 and in 2024 alone, the 19 richest billionaires added one trillion dollars to their wealth, an average of over $50 billion each. [2]
Tax intergenerational transfers of wealth because otherwise America will have a class of reigning, perpetual oligarch families.
Close loopholes in tax laws to prevent tax avoidance by wealthy individuals and corporations.
Establish an international tax system to prevent tax avoidance by wealthy individuals and corporations through the shifting of wealth and income streams to low-tax countries. [3] [4]
Give the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) the resources to enforce U.S. tax laws and dramatically reduce the hundreds of billions of dollars a year of tax dodging by wealthy individuals and businesses when they do not pay the taxes they legally owe.

Progressive income tax rates are fair (i.e., percentage tax rates that increase with increases in income) because the value of $1,000 of additional income to a millionaire is far less than it is to someone with a $50,000 or $100,000 income. Or from the perspective of taxes, a tax of $100 (10%) on that $1,000 of additional income has much less impact on the millionaire than the lower income individual.

What tax rates are fair across the income range is, of course, a matter of judgment. However, for a starting point, a relatively small increase in the top marginal personal income tax rate (i.e., the tax rate on the last dollar of income) back to its pre-2017 level (i.e., from 37% to 39.6%) would generate revenue of over $30 billion a year for the government to use to deliver public goods that people need or want. (Note: In 1980, the top rate was 70% and it was over 90% in the 1950s and the wealthy and the economy, nonetheless, did quite well.)

Returning the tax rate on large corporations to 35% (where it was before the 2017 Republican Tax Cut Act reduced it to 21%) would make sense, be fair, and generate over $250 billion a year in revenue for the government.

I encourage you to contact your state and local elected officials, as well as your U.S. Representative and Senators, and ask them to support enacting a fairer tax system with progressive income tax rates for wealthy individuals and businesses. You can find contact information for your US Representative at http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/ and for your US Senators at http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm.

For lots of good news, see Jess Craven’s Chop Wood Carry Water blog’s most recent good news Sunday post here.

My next post will discuss taxing wealth and the intergenerational transfer of it. It will also discuss the IRS and its role in enforcing a fair tax system.

[1] See this previous post on reducing economic inequality, which includes information on tax reforms proposed by the Economic Policy Institute and in the Money Agenda of a group called Patriotic Millionaires.

[2] Collins, C., 4/5/26, “Tax the rich across the land!” Common Dreams (https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/how-to-tax-the-rich)

[3] Johnson, J., 11/19/24, “Tax dodging by super-rich, big corporations costs nations half a trillion per year: Study,” Common Dreams (https://www.commondreams.org/news/global-tax-dodging)

[4] Conley, J., 11/19/24, “G20 leaders reach ‘landmark commitment’ for global tax on ultrarich,” Common Dreams (https://www.commondreams.org/news/global-wealth-tax-2669945403)

TACKLING THE AFFORDABILITY CRISIS Part 3

The U.S. affordability crisis is caused by low pay, high prices, economic inequality, and public policies skewed to favor wealthy individuals and corporations. Here are some strategies for tackling the affordability crisis.

THANK YOU to all of you who participated in or supported a No Kings rally (pro-democracy and anti-Trump) on March 28 in one way or another. Protests are a critically important strategy for tackling affordability and saving our democracy.

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The U.S. affordability crisis will require multiple strategies to effectively remedy it. My previous post discussed some longer-term strategies and an earlier post some short-term strategies. Here are some additional longer-term strategies. Generally, they require action by the federal government and, therefore, aren’t likely to happen soon.

Here are some strategies for addressing high prices:

Implement a windfall profits tax. The federal government should enact a windfall profits tax to stop price gouging by monopolistic businesses and by ones taking advantage of unusual market conditions. A windfall profits tax would tax away excessive growth in profits and, therefore, discourage price gouging because increased profits would be significantly reduced. However, if businesses continue to charge high prices and generate big profits, the tax revenue from the windfall profits tax could be used to provide assistance to working families facing economic hardship due to those increased prices.

With the spike in fossil fuel prices due to the Iran war, fossil fuel companies are likely to realize windfall profits. Other businesses may use the smoke screen of high fuel and energy prices as a pretext for raising prices beyond what’s justifiable and, therefore, generate windfall profits. The federal government should be prepared to tax those windfall profits and take other actions to keep prices down and protect consumers. [1]
Regulate surveillance pricing. With AI and high-powered computers, businesses gather extensive data on consumers and can then engage in sophisticated and opaque price manipulation to maximize what a consumer will pay (aka personalized or surveillance pricing). Sellers should be required to post prices clearly and provide the same prices to all consumers. This will prevent price gouging, discrimination, and bait and switch strategies that rip off consumers. Junk fees and other abusive pricing techniques should be banned.

For example, Uber and Lyft shouldn’t be allowed to charge you more (as they do) when your phone’s battery is low and they know you are in a hurry to book your ride. And landlords shouldn’t be allowed to collude through a large database of rental properties and AI analysis to jack up rents.

Here are some strategies for addressing affordability in general:

Eliminate the poverty wage business model. At least 16 U.S. billionaires owe their wealth to running corporations that pay workers poverty wages so the workers have to rely on taxpayer-funded public assistance to survive. Eight of these billionaires are associated with Walmart, two each with Amazon and Tyson Foods, and one each with Best Buy, Chipotle, Home Depot, and Starbucks. Large numbers of employees at these firms rely on Medicaid for health care and SNAP for food assistance. [2] Increasing the minimum wage would be one step in ending this public subsidy of corporate profits and shareholder wealth.
Reform the U.S. campaign finance system. Government policies are skewed to benefit the wealthy because of the way we allow election campaigns to be financed. The unlimited spending and lack of disclosure of who is contributing large sums of money have produced politicians and policies that favor the wealthy and their large corporations. This results in lower wages for workers and higher profits through higher prices that benefit shareholders and corporate executives. (See this previous post for more detail and ways to address this problem.)
Reduce economic inequality. Reducing economic inequality would tackle the affordability crisis in multiple ways. Extreme inequality destabilizes democracy, the economy, and society. Shifting some of the tax burden from low- and middle-class households to the wealthy could both reduces taxes for households struggling with affordability and increase the ability of the government to provide supports for working families such as affordable child care, paid family leave, housing subsidies, affordable health care, and a safety net when people hit hard times including unemployment benefits and food assistance. [3] Reduced economic inequality would also reduce the premiumization of the economy that drives prices up. (See this previous post for more detail.)

Many proposals to tax the wealthy are being considered at the state and local levels, [4] as well as at the federal level. At the federal level, the Billionaires Income Tax Act would tax the increase in value of assets (e.g., stocks) even if they aren’t sold. There are also two different wealth tax proposals, one from Senator Warren (D-MA) and Representative Jayapal (D-WA), the Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act, and another from Senator Sanders (I-VT) and Representative Khanna (D-CA), the Make Billionaires Pay Their Fair Share Act. There is also the Working Americans’ Tax Cut Act that would shift the income tax burden from low- and moderate-income households to those with incomes of over $1 million.

Reduced inequality benefits democracy and, when coupled with campaign finance reform, would produce politicians and policies that are more responsive to the needs of every day Americans, thereby addressing the affordability crisis. “Highly concentrated wealth leads naturally to concentrated political power.” [5] As Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis wrote almost 100 years ago, “We may have democracy, or we may have wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can’t have both.”

Every politician, at every level, local, state, and federal, who’s serious about addressing the affordability crisis should embrace these strategies. I encourage you to contact your U.S. Representative and Senators and ask them to endorse them. You can find contact information for your US Representative at http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/ and for your US Senators at http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm.

For lots of good news, see Jess Craven’s Chop Wood Carry Water blog’s most recent good news Sunday post here.

[1] Reed, B, 3/25/26, “Dems call for prosecution of corporations using Trump’s illegal Iran war as cover to hike prices,” Common Dreams (https://www.commondreams.org/news/iran-war-price-gouging)

[2] Anderson, S., & James, R., 3/25/26, “Meet the 16 billionaires making bank by underpaying their workers,” Inequality.org (https://inequality.org/article/billionaires-low-wage-workers/)

[3] Meyerson, H., 12/3/25, “The $79 trillion heist,” The American Prospect (https://prospect.org/2025/12/03/79-trillion-heist-worker-pay/)

[4] Meyerson, H., 3/12/26, “Democrats get serious about taxing the rich,” The American Prospect (https://prospect.org/2026/03/12/democrats-get-serious-taxing-rich/)

[5] Bivens, J., 11/17/25, “Raising taxes on the ultrarich,” page 5, Economic Policy Institute (https://www.epi.org/publication/raising-taxes-on-the-ultrarich-a-necessary-first-step-to-restore-faith-in-american-democracy-and-the-public-sector/)

THE PERVERSION OF CAPITALISM BY TRUMP

President Trump is perverting capitalism and the free market by asserting unprecedented influence over the private sector. His actions are not a coherent economic policy and make the U.S. economy look like China’s. They’re all about centralizing power and control, while undermining the rule of law and democracy. This is what fascism and oligarchy look like.

(Note: If you find a post too long to read, please just skim the bolded portions. Thanks for reading my blog!)

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President Trump is perverting capitalism and the free market by asserting unprecedented personal influence over and taking government ownership in private sector companies. His actions do not reflect a coherent economic policy. It is the power grabbing of a tyrant and bully who wants to control others and wants them to be subservient. Trump is using largely illegal financial (e.g., import tariffs and export fees), regulatory, and court-based actions to do this. He wants to influence the decisions of other countries and American businesses, including media corporations, financial institutions, law firms, and universities. He wants countries and companies to come to him begging for exemptions from his actions and threats. [1] This is, of course, a breeding ground for corruption and bribery.

Nothing even approaching this level of government interference in the private sector has occurred since the emergency mobilization of the private sector for World War II. This government interference in private companies, which is a type of state-controlled capitalism, has until now always been anathema to Republicans and the business community. If any president prior to Trump had attempted any of this, Republicans, business executives, and the mainstream media would be screaming about it being socialism or communism. The actions by Trump are making the U.S. economy look like that of China, where the government owns a stake in companies or has considerable influence over their decision making. [2] [3] Or like Leninist capitalism where the Communist Party controlled the state’s ownership of businesses. [4]

This alignment of an authoritarian leader and a nominally capitalist economy is classic fascism. While Republicans and business executives are supportive or mute, the Wall Street Journal simply calls it inefficient. The business executives and other wealthy investors that facilitate and participate in Trump’s actions are the American oligarchy.

Examples of Trump’s actions include:

Allowed Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices, makers of artificial intelligence (AI) computer chips, to export them to China on the condition that the companies pay the United States 15% of their profits. This poses risks to the U.S. AI industry and to U.S. national security (in part due to the chips’ use by the Chinese military). These payments are, for all intents and purposes, an export fee, which is unprecedented in U.S. history. Moreover, the Constitution explicitly bans export taxes (Article I, Section 9, Clause 5). [5]
Demanded that Intel’s CEO resign and then negotiated 10% government ownership of the company. This makes the U.S. government one of Intel’s largest shareholders. [6]
Proposed that the Defense Department take a 15% ownership stake in MP Materials, which mines minerals critical for chips and electronics.
Allowed Nippon Steel of Japan to take over U.S. Steel on condition that Nippon pay a “golden share” of the proceeds to the government and give Trump control over elements of corporate governance.
Reserved the right to personally direct some the $1.5 trillion in promised investments in the U.S. to be made by America’s trading partners as part of tariff negotiations.
Sued media corporations and negotiated approval of media corporation mergers to get money and influence over media content.

The government ownership in and influence over the private sector asserted by Trump has nothing to do with promoting the public interest, the well-being of American workers, or protecting national security. In fact, they undermine all these principles. They’re all about centralizing power and control in Trump’s hands as part of his efforts to undermine the rule of law and democracy. [7] Moreover, who holds the ownership stakes and who exercises the related rights is unclear.

Despite Trump’s bluster about being tough on China, his actions have been quite favorable to China. He has illegally extended the deadline for the sale of Chinese ownership of TikTok if it wants to do business in the U.S. He has shut down Radio Free Asia, which countered Chinese propaganda. He’s allowed the export of artificial intelligence computer chips to China, which was a key request from China in trade negotiations.

Please contact your members of Congress and ask them to assert their oversight of these deals Trump is making. Ask them to clarify who holds the ownership stakes, who is exercising ownership rights, and where the funds received are going. Ask them to ensure that the Trump administration’s economic policies and actions further the public interest, benefit workers, promote national security, and comport with the rule of law and democratic principles.

You can find contact information for your US Representative at http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/ and for your US Senators at http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm.

[1] Dayen, D., 8/11/25, “Tariffs to import and fees to export,” The American Prospect (https://prospect.org/blogs-and-newsletters/tap/2025-08-11-tariffs-to-import-fees-to-export-nvidia-chips-china/)

[2] Reich, R., 8/12/25, “Trump’s ‘state capitalism’,” Blog post (https://robertreich.substack.com/p/trumps-state-capitalism)

[3] Cox Richardson, H., 8/11/25, Letters from an American blog post, (https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/august-11-2025)

[4] Meyerson, H., 8/18/25, “When l’etat c’est Trump, the U.S. goes in for state capitalism,” The American Prospect (https://prospect.org/economy/2025-08-18-when-letat-cest-trump-us-goes-in-for-state-capitalism/)

[5] Dayen, D., 8/11/25, see above

[6] Liedtke, M., & Kurtenbach, E., 8/20/25, “US vying to own a big stake in Intel,” The Boston Globe from the Associated Press

[7] Reich, R., 8/12/25, see above

SHORT TAKES ON IMPORTANT STORIES 2/1/24

These short takes highlight important stories that have gotten little attention in the mainstream media. They provide a quick summary of the story, a hint as to why it’s important, and a link to more information.

The U.S. economy is performing better than any other major economy in the world. Workers’ wages have grown 2.8% over the last four years after adjusting for inflation. The overall economy is 7% larger than before the pandemic and unemployment has been at record lows. Inflation is down to a benign 2% and consumer spending, which drives the U.S. economy, is growing. This isn’t just happenstance; it’s been fueled by pandemic relief measures and economy-stimulating legislation passed by Democrats in Congress and the Biden Administration. The success of these policies suggests that in future economic downturns, stimulative spending (i.e., fiscal policy) may well be more effective in reviving the economy than the Federal Reserve’s adjustment of interest rates (i.e., monetary policy). (Lynch, D. J., 1/28/24, “You don’t have to look far for the world’s best economic recovery because it’s happening here. What is going on in the US?” The Boston Globe from The Washington Post)

In February 2023, a train derailed in East Palestine, OH, and created a toxic nightmare. The railroads promised to operate more safely and Congress promised to pass legislation to prevent future accidents. However, derailments have increased and no legislation has been passed. Congressional legislation, the Railway Safety Act, has been opposed by lobbyists for the railroads. (Eavis, P., 1/28/24, “Since Ohio train derailment, accidents have gone up,” The Boston Globe from the New York Times)

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has proposed limiting the overdraft fees big banks can charge. The proposal, which will probably take a year or two to finalize and go into effect, would reduce the $35 overdraft fee that’s the current standard to between $3 and $14 or just enough to cover banks’ costs. The proposal would only apply to the 175 largest banks (out of about 9,000), but those banks collect about 2/3 of all overdraft fees. In 2022, consumers paid $7.7 billion in overdraft fees; the CFPB’s proposal would save bank customers about $3.5 billion a year. CFPB will be accepting public comments until April 1. (Crowley, S., 1/17/24, “Consumer bureau proposes overdraft fee limits for large banks,” The Boston Globe from the New York Times; The CFPB website: CFPB Proposes Rule to Close Bank Overdraft Loophole that Costs Americans Billions Each Year in Junk Fees)

Republicans in 15 states are refusing to provide federally-funded food to 8 million very low-income children this summer when they don’t get free meals at school. In 2022, roughly one out of every six households with children did not have enough food (17.3%). This was up almost 50% from 2021 due to the end of emergency food assistance, which was a response to the pandemic. The states refusing the federal funding are: Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont, and Wyoming. (Gowen, A., 1/10/24, “Republican governors in 15 states reject summer food money for kids,” The Boston Globe from the Washington Post)

A record 20 million people have enrolled in health insurance under the Affordable Care Act (aka Obama Care) this year. This is up 25% over last year’s record of 16 million and is at least in part due to increased subsidies for health insurance’s costs. The need for and popularity of federally subsidized health insurance grows, despite Republican attempts to reduce the subsidies and statements denigrating the Affordable Care Act. (Weiland, N., 1/22/24, “20m signed up for Obamacare for the new year,” The Boston Globe from the New York Times; Weiland, N., 12/21/23, “Americans are signing up for Obamacare in record numbers,” The Boston Globe from the New York Times)

Intuit Inc., the maker of the Turbo Tax software for doing income tax returns, has lobbied aggressively against the IRS creating an easy, free, on-line system for Americans to file their income tax returns. It has claimed such a system would be too expensive and not a good use of taxpayers’ money. The IRS has estimated that it would cost between $64 and $249 million annually for it to offer a free E-filing system. Intuit got a federal research tax credit of $94 million in 2022, which would roughly pay for the cost of the free IRS filing system. (Business Talking Points, 1/4/24, “Lawmakers say break for Intuit could have financed free government tax filing program,” The Boston Globe from Bloomberg News; Senator E. Warren, 1/3/24, “Warren, Blumenthal, Sanders, Porter probe massive tax breaks received by Intuit while company fights free tax filing for millions of Americans”)