EPI in the news

• Affordability and a Wealth Tax

  The top 1% in the United States all by itself has double the wealth of all income in a given year—about $60 trillion now. If we taxed only the wealth of the top 1% at the 2% rate now proposed in France, it could produce about $1.2 trillion a year in the US. Josh Bivens of the Economic Policy Institute recently did a very sophisticated study of various ways to tax the rich. He came up with a total of $1 trillion in additional revenue in 2026 if nine reforms were enacted. The wealth tax he used produced a little more than half of that. 

  Damage Magazine | February 9, 2026
• Trump’s BLS Pick to Contend With Leadership Vacuum, Staff Losses

  These factors could make Matsumoto’s job complicated if he’s confirmed.

  “He will be inheriting a bureau that has been knee-capped by these cuts,” Heidi Shierholz, president of the Economic Policy Institute and former DOL economist, said. “He will face incredibly difficult decisions over how to most strategically allocate the reduced resources.”

  While actual meddling with labor statistics would be called out by whistleblowers in the agency, erosion of the public’s trust through Trump’s rhetoric and the withholding of resources might be more damaging long-term, she added.

  Bloomberg Law | February 9, 2026
• Affordability and a Wealth Tax

  The top 1% in the United States all by itself has double the wealth of all income in a given year—about $60 trillion now. If we taxed only the wealth of the top 1% at the 2% rate now proposed in France, it could produce about $1.2 trillion a year in the US. Josh Bivens of the Economic Policy Institute recently did a very sophisticated study of various ways to tax the rich. He came up with a total of $1 trillion in additional revenue in 2026 if nine reforms were enacted. The wealth tax he used produced a little more than half of that. 

  Damage Magazine | February 9, 2026
• Trump’s BLS Pick to Contend With Leadership Vacuum, Staff Losses

  These factors could make Matsumoto’s job complicated if he’s confirmed.

  “He will be inheriting a bureau that has been knee-capped by these cuts,” Heidi Shierholz, president of the Economic Policy Institute and former DOL economist, said. “He will face incredibly difficult decisions over how to most strategically allocate the reduced resources.”

  While actual meddling with labor statistics would be called out by whistleblowers in the agency, erosion of the public’s trust through Trump’s rhetoric and the withholding of resources might be more damaging long-term, she added.

  Bloomberg Law | February 9, 2026
• Affordability and a Wealth Tax

  The top 1% in the United States all by itself has double the wealth of all income in a given year—about $60 trillion now. If we taxed only the wealth of the top 1% at the 2% rate now proposed in France, it could produce about $1.2 trillion a year in the US. Josh Bivens of the Economic Policy Institute recently did a very sophisticated study of various ways to tax the rich. He came up with a total of $1 trillion in additional revenue in 2026 if nine reforms were enacted. The wealth tax he used produced a little more than half of that. 

  Damage Magazine | February 9, 2026
• Trump’s BLS Pick to Contend With Leadership Vacuum, Staff Losses

  These factors could make Matsumoto’s job complicated if he’s confirmed.

  “He will be inheriting a bureau that has been knee-capped by these cuts,” Heidi Shierholz, president of the Economic Policy Institute and former DOL economist, said. “He will face incredibly difficult decisions over how to most strategically allocate the reduced resources.”

  While actual meddling with labor statistics would be called out by whistleblowers in the agency, erosion of the public’s trust through Trump’s rhetoric and the withholding of resources might be more damaging long-term, she added.

  Bloomberg Law | February 9, 2026
• February 17, 2026
  | February 9, 2026

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