WhatsApp with the Estate Tax?

WhatsApp with the Estate Tax?

What does Facebook’s recent purchase of WhatsApp have to do with the estate tax? Actually, a good bit, if you’re concerned about America’s concentration of wealth. Why? Because an economy needs effective checks and balances. A tax on inherited...
Close the Paris Hilton Loophole

Close the Paris Hilton Loophole

If our leaders want to balance the budget, here’s a suggestion: Congress can scrap a new “Paris Hilton” giveaway that’s draining billions of federal tax dollars. This giveaway takes the form of a complex tax loophole designed to circumvent the...
Lobbying to Sustain Inequality

Lobbying to Sustain Inequality

Congress will soon vote on a measure that would raise the national minimum wage to $10.10 and bring the tipped wage to 70 percent of the full minimum. The Fair Minimum Wage Act would give millions of American workers a long-overdue raise. Today’s $7.25-per-hour...
The Power Politics behind a Long, Gilded Life

The Power Politics behind a Long, Gilded Life

Let us pause now to pay our respects to Bunny Mellon. She died in mid-March on her Virginia horse-country estate. But no tears, please. Bunny — nobody called her by her given name Rachel — lived a long and rich life. Very long. Very rich. One hundred and three at her...