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
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
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
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
National context factors into the debate as well. Analysis from the Economic Policy Institute shows that 34 states and Washington, D.C., have some form of youth-specific wage rule.
Hoodline
February 9, 2026
A 2025 analysis from the (left-leaning, pro-labor) Economic Policy Institute found that if Trump succeeds in his goal of deporting 4 million people in four years, the number of direct care workers would shrink by 400,000.
The Bulwark
February 9, 2026
Since January 2025, overall women’s employment has fallen most in professional and business services, manufacturing and federal government, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
Public News Service
February 9, 2026
With the Trump administration dismantling labor protections, getting to this point was an uphill battle. “I think their struggle has also illustrated some of the existing, very persistent flaws in our labor law system,” said Jennifer Sherer, who directs the Worker Power Project at the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. “The fact that it took, you know, almost two years from their organizing victory to the first contract … workers should never have to wait that long.”
Union workers, broadly, enjoy higher pay and better job protections than nonunion workers do, so it’s no surprise that the agreement will instantly improve the Volkswagen workers’ lives.
New Republic
February 9, 2026
The Economic Policy Institute’s Fact Sheet argues that the Trump administration’s push to expand access to alternative investments in 401(k) plans would weaken long-standing retirement safeguards and expose everyday savers to higher costs, greater risk, and less transparency.
EPI challenges the administration’s “democratizing access” rationale, noting that many large pension funds are actually pulling back from alternatives due to concerns over fees, illiquidity, valuation opacity, and underwhelming returns—suggesting the industry is seeking new investors as institutional demand wanes.
401K Specialist
February 9, 2026