Jen Abella

Raising taxes on the ultrarich: A necessary first step to restore faith in American democracy and the public sector Summary   The public has supported raising taxes on the ultrarich and corporations for years, but policymakers have not responded. Small increases in taxes on the rich that were instituted during time...

The public has supported raising taxes on the ultrarich and corporations for years, but policymakers have failed to act.

→ Raising taxes on the rich makes good economic and political sense.

EPI’s latest report from @joshbivens-econ.bsky.social 1/

It's that time of the week #econsky when @elisegould.bsky.social and @joe-fast.bsky.social dig into unemployment insurance claims ↴

Clear out toys now!

Love being reminded to do this every year. It's a win/win all round

800+ flights cancelled today because Elon took a chainsaw to the federal government and Trump won’t pay the remaining airport personnel.

Elon’s on his way to becoming a trillionaire.

Trump’s net worth has more than doubled inside a year.

Glad everything worked out for them.

How about you?

The guy who did this just got a $1 trillion pay package.

Tomorrow marks the first time the federal government has failed to release a jobs report two months in a row. Without these data, unemployment insurance claims provide the most up-to-date read on the labor market. As the shutdown drags on, continued UI claims by federal workers hits 30k.
#EconSky

JD Vance claims that diversity weakens unions, as people end up distrusting each other and not organizing.

Let me tell you two menswear stories related to this claim. 🧵

The depth of the shame of a country this wealthy and abundant allowing its people to go hungry is impossible to measure. The fact that a handful of people could fix this by paying their fair share of taxes while still remaining obscenely wealthy makes it even worse.

Get the butter directly in your veins

Amid the shutdown data blackout, state unemployment insurance claims continue to shed light on the labor market On Friday, October 3, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) did not publish the September Employment Situation Summary report. The monthly “jobs report” provides policymakers, businesses, and the ...

Nothing replaces the comprehensive, trustworthy, and timely labor market data found in monthly jobs and JOLTS reports, but unemployment insurance claims—collected at the state level—offer a useful read on one key angle of the labor market.
#EconSky #NumbersDay
www.epi.org/blog/amid-th...

Senate Republicans poke holes in the filibuster despite vowing to protect it Facing Democratic opposition, the GOP has discarded a series of precedents and weakened minority power in order to vote through Trump's nominees and legislation.

Y’all. Republicans are FINE with poking holes in the filibuster. They did it ten days ago so they could confirm 48
Trump appointees at once. Don’t let them tell you they can’t pass a CR without Dems. www.nbcnews.com/politics/con...

Menopause, without the noise We’re talking about it, in your inbox every Tuesday.

I am SO excited that tomorrow we launch our new newsletter about all things perimenopause, menopause, and the culture of aging. For the next 12 weeks, I’ll be in your inbox weekly talking symptoms, research, + what it means to age in our society today. Subscribe today!

19thnews.org/newsletters/...

A chart titled "How Rich is Donald Trump: $7.3 billion," showing his wealth skyrocketing in 2025

Look at that huge jump in Trump's wealth in 2025.

Americans can't afford groceries or health care.

But the Trump presidency is working out great for Donald Trump.

www.forbes.com/sites/danale...

Please - stop doing the screenshot no link thing on Bluesky. This platform does not punish you for posting a URL. You picked up the habit from Meta apps? Stop doing Mark Z's bidding. Link ESPECIALLY to authors, reporters, bloggers, etc. where you quote the work.

A copy of the newly released Who’s Got The Power: The resurgence of American unions by Dave Kamper ready to be read! Get your copy at your favorite local (unionized?!) bookseller or at bookshop.org

Fall ✊ book list read just arrived @dskamper.bsky.social 😍 Can’t wait to dive in!!

The labor market continues to soften, according to the latest #JobsReport out this morning from the BLS. Payroll employment grew only 22,000 in August and revisions now show employment losses for June (-13,000). Over the last three months, job growth has slowed to just 29,000 on average.
#EconSky

This is worth sharing far and wide. Federal Employees and contractors oral history project. Im not involved in this. Just got the link, idea seems to be to create a record of the assault on the American Repuvlic after Jan 2025. www.fecohp.org

Quote tweet by Charlie Kirk that reads "President Trump is going out on patrol tonight in DC. Shock and awe. Force. We're taking our country back from these cockroaches. Just the start." The quoted tweet is by Todd Starnes and says that Trump has told him in an interview that this news is true. He is referring folks to the full interview with Trump on his show at noon Eastern Time.

A reference to "cockroaches" is telling. They see Black citizens of DC, migrants, and the unhoused as pests in need of removal, never mind the preceding centuries of inequality, slavery, death and terror. Please stay vigilant and feel free to report anything you see to us or tag us in your post

Trump plans raids on DC's homeless tonight, sources say Advocates are scrambling to relocate people from tent encampments before imminent arrests.

🚨 BREAKING 🚨: The Trump administration is planning citywide sweeps of dozens of homeless encampments in DC starting tonight.

“Arrests will occur at night, in an effort to avoid news cameras,” Jesse Rabinowitz, communications director at National Homelessness Law Center, said via email.

Article by my EPI colleagues David Cooper and Nina Mast, published Feb 6, 2025, with headline: "'No tax on tips' will harm more workers than it helps: Proposals in Congress and now 20 states could encourage harmful employer practices and lead to tip requests in virtually every consumer interaction". Source: https://www.epi.org/blog/no-tax-on-tips-will-harm-more-workers-than-it-helps-proposals-in-congress-and-now-20-states-could-encourage-harmful-employer-practices-and-lead-to-tip-requests-in-virtually-every-co/

News headline - "Tips to replace full wages for rest stop workers along PA turnpike". Source: https://keystonenewsroom.com/2025/08/12/pa-turnpike-rest-stop-worker-wages/

How it started / how it's going:

(links to sources in image description)

Meta’s AI rules have let bots hold ‘sensual’ chats with children An internal Meta policy document reveals the social-media giant’s rules for chatbots, which have permitted provocative behavior on topics including sex and race.

My God: “An internal Meta Platforms document detailing policies on chatbot behavior has permitted the company’s [AI] creations to ‘engage a child in conversations that are romantic or sensual,’ generate false medical info & help users argue that Black people are ‘dumber than white people.’” 1/

President Trump has seized control of D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department. He’s also mobilized the D.C. National Guard to end what he calls a crime problem.

Crime in D.C. is at a 30-year low. But you know what is a true statement? Trump’s name is mentioned in the Epstein files.

Ahead of the job numbers coming out next month, folks to follow for RELIABLE AND ACCURATE INFORMATION include:

@elisegould.bsky.social
@aaronsojourner.org
@gbenga-ajilore.bsky.social
Jessica Fulton (who isn't on here, but someone to follow)
@epi.org if you want a breakdown by race and gender

(Fun) union school is in session with fave prof @dskamper.bsky.social if you’re not following him yet like + see why you should

“The president cut your health care so he could build himself a golden ballroom” is a pretty easy message to sell

To me, today's jobs report is what entering a recession looks like. Could we pull up? Sure. But if we look back and end up dating an official recession that starts 3-6 months from now, this is what it would look like today - rapid softening/deterioration in the labor market.

Big news in today's #jobs report are the revisions. The labor market is much weaker than originally reported the last two months. While payrolls grew 73k in July, May and June data were revised down a total of 258k to 19k and 14k, respectively, bringing 3-month average growth down to 35k.
#EconSky

Tipped workers want to work hard, earn a living wage, and take care of their families - this is a case where good governance can ensure that without hurting the restaurant industry or overriding the will of DC voters.

And I-82 hasn’t hurt the DC restaurant industry in the ways often anecdotally cited — full-service restaurant establishment and restaurant employment in the District have both grown since passage and outperform the region and country.

Family Budget Calculator EPI’s Family Budget Calculator measures the income a family needs in order to attain a modest yet adequate standard of living. The budgets estimate community-specific costs for 10 family types (one or...

Tipped workers are nearly 3 times as likely to live in poverty as non-tipped workers. Find out what would constitute a living wage (in DC and anywhere else in the US) with our Family Budget Calculator