ICYMI – debt-to-GDP has passed 100% and reached WW2 levels, but debt-to-wealth in the US is 20% and ~half WW2 levels. @dsmitch28.bsky.social and I argue the most cited debt statistic doesn't account for all our resources.
David S. Mitchell
@dsmitch28.bsky.social
tax & regulatory policy @equitablegrowth. proud alum of @AspenFSP @SenSherrodBrown @GeorgetownLaw @PrincetonSPIA @TuftsUniversity. Opinions my own.
U.S. debt held by the public just topped 100% of GDP, and CBO says it'll break the WWII-era record (106%) before 2030. But measure debt against total private wealth instead, and it's only ~half its 1945 peak. A thread on why the yardstick matters. 🧵
🧵 Twin decisions from the Supreme Court this week could shake the U.S. economy by eroding confidence in federal policymaking. While SCOTUS rightly blocked the firing of Fed Governor Lisa Cook (for now), its removal of protections for other agency leaders could be disastrous.
Washington Center for Equitable Growth@equitablegrowth.bsky.social · last mo.Today, SCOTUS upheld a lower court’s order preventing President Trump from removing Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook without due process, reaffirming longstanding protections for the central bank’s independence. Read our full response below 🔗: equitablegrowth.org/press/equita...
My newest proposal in Democracy Journal explains that progressives need to focus less on corporations and more on partnerships. I'm proposing a new "Shell Company Tax" democracyjournal.org/magazine/81/...
Cracking Down on Pass-Throughs
In 2016, a consortium of journalists exposed how a global elite including associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the King of Saudi Arabia, drug dealers, and others hid their wealth (legally a...
democracyjournal.org
Elon Musk becomes the world’s first trillionaire today (unless the stock crashes!), not a bad day at the office. But because of our broken tax system, he won’t pay a cent more in taxes as a result of the SpaceX IPO. 🧵
Looking forward to speaking at this upcoming @fairtaxfoundation.bsky.social webinar on June 22 and sharing our @factcoalition.bsky.social perspective on corporate tax transparency in the US.
Fair Tax Foundation@fairtaxfoundation.bsky.social · 2mo ago🕑 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐓𝐚𝐱 𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐨𝐮𝐭! 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧. #FairTaxWeek 2026 kicks off on 21 June with a host of webinars, in-person events, blogs, celebrations and more. See what's in store ➡️ fairtaxmark.net/supporters/f...
Jeff Bezos says doubling his taxes won't help anyone. But let's talk about what the evidence actually shows. 🧵
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 3mo agoBezos on CNBC: "You could double the taxes I pay, and it's not gonna help that teacher in Queens. I promise you."
As wealth tax debates heat up — including a possible ballot measure in California — how can citizens separate fact from fiction? A thread on why taxing wealth is not only possible, but consistent with — and even necessary to restore — America's progressive tax tradition. 🧵
Happy #TaxDay! While you file, know that ultra-wealthy pass-through business owners may be paying a lower effective federal rate than you — sometimes far below even Warren Buffett. There's a hidden two-tiered tax system almost no one talks about.
Unsurprisingly, the RSC framework continues where last summer’s megabill left off on cutting taxes for the rich. The most ludicrous of these “affordability” tax cuts is ELIMINATING the estate tax—a tax only affecting heirs to fortunes worth over $30 MILLION DOLLARS per couple.
Trump defunding the tax police. Predictable, but still sad. This group within IRS was poised to generate astronomical returns on investment for the country. equitablegrowth.org/research-pap...
Tax avoidance among large, complex partnerships in the United States
The rise of large, complex partnerships in the real estate and finance industries has meant an explosion in tax avoidance strategies.
equitablegrowth.org
Techmeme@techmeme.com · 7mo agoSources and US tax lawyers: the IRS's planned audit of private equity and VC firms is faltering under President Trump, as many senior leaders leave the agency (Jesse Drucker/New York Times) Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
Was thrilled to join Jeff Hoopes & Scott Dyreng late last year on Tax Chats podcast to discuss the qualified small business stock exclusion. I am not a fan (of QSBS)! The podcast I like very much. taxchats.buzzsprout.com/1878989/epis... cc: @taxnotes.com coauthor @kylepomerleau.bsky.social
A Chat about the Small Business Stock Exclusion with David Mitchell - Tax Chats
Jeff and Scott chat with David Mitchel, a Senior Fellow at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, about the small business stock exclusion, recent changes to it, and an article that David wrote w...
taxchats.buzzsprout.com
Critics say distributional weighting in benefit-cost analysis is impractical But Dan Acland @goldmanschool.bsky.social proves otherwise—showing how weighting can overcome bias against low income & bridge divide b/w equity & efficiency equitablegrowth.org/research-pap... @equitablegrowth.bsky.social
Distributional weighting in benefit-cost analysis is practical and effective at assessing government rulemaking without bias against low-income individuals
Distributional weighting is feasible for many federal agencies and nonprofit organizations and is a tool for overcoming bias against lower-income individuals.
equitablegrowth.org
Overlooked tax justice win in Seattle! And possible model for federal reform: Give a break to the 90% of (actually small!) businesses (including independent contractors who file as businesses) that make less than $2 million in gross receipts each year, while raising rates on the larger firms.
G. Willow Wilson@gwillow.me · 9mo agoProgressive Seattle has some of the most regressive taxes in the country, owing to the fact that WA has no income tax. But I woke up to the news that the B&O tax threshold has been raised to 2 million/yr, which is something for us 1099s and small business owners
Colorado is doubling down on our super popular program to tax the rich and pay for free school meals for every single public school kid. Universal programs have herd immunity. Tax the rich and use the money to give everyone else something popular.
@chusak.bsky.social shows that expiring Affordable Care Act premium tax credits--which Dems are fighting to extend--mean more to true small business owners than so-called "small business tax relief" included in this summer's Republican megabill, which went almost entirely to the rich
Corey Husak@chusak.bsky.social · 9mo agoNew @americanprogress.bsky.social I find that 4.4 million small business owners and self-employed people face a $1,500 mean tax hike this year. When enhanced marketplace tax credits expire, businesspeople making <$150k, face a larger tax hike than eliminating the passthru deduction
In a new analysis, Chris Bangert-Drowns & Chiara Chanoi measure workers’ exposure to AI and assess how it affects wages. They find AI exposure is higher among people with higher levels of education who work in high-paying jobs, regardless of gender or race. 🔗:
Workplace exposure to artificial intelligence is higher among U.S. workers with higher wages, depending on how AI is used
A look at the continuing impacts of artificial intelligence on the U.S. labor market and avenues for future exploration.
equitablegrowth.org
Opposition to the qualified small business stock exclusion crosses ideological lines! @kylepomerleau.bsky.social & me on why QSBS-which Republicans just expanded-is inefficient, unfair & should be scrapped, or at least reformed to fix glaring defects. www.taxnotes.com/tax-notes-to... @taxnotes.com
taxnotes.com
CBO confirms that the retroactive corporate tax cuts included in the Republican budget bill this summer delivered a multi-billion dollar windfall to the largest multinationals this fiscal year. www.cbo.gov/publication/...
Monthly Budget Review: September 2025
The federal budget deficit was $1.8 trillion in fiscal year 2025, CBO estimates, $8 billion less than the shortfall recorded during fiscal year 2024.
cbo.gov
Great insights (and fun acronym reinterpretation!) from @itep.org. States should follow California's lead and decouple from the federal Qualified Small Business Stock exclusion. It sure doesn't seem like early-stage tech investment in CA has suffered without it... itep.org/qsbs-trump-t...
Quite Some BS: Expanded ‘QSBS’ Giveaway in Trump Tax Law Threatens State Revenues and Enriches the Wealthy
States should decouple from the federal Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS) exemption.
itep.org
Why would some business interests prefer for Congress to fly blind in tax policymaking? 🤔 Very good take from @howardgleckman.bsky.social @taxpolicycenter.bsky.social:
@howardgleckman.bsky.social · 11mo agoHow a House spending bill would block efforts to enhance disclosure of corporate tax payments: taxpolicycenter.org/taxvox/congr...
Ever wonder what brides & grooms really mean when they recite their wedding vows? My attempt at translation: weeklyhumorist.com/the-jaded-we... "I got really lucky and am marrying someone completely out of my league" = “I will be spending the next 20 years paranoid about you cheating on me”
The Jaded Wedding Attendee’s Translation Guide for Marital Vows – Weekly Humorist
weeklyhumorist.com
It’s dog days of summer, but tax scholarship doesn't take a vacation! New study out today by Balkir, Saez, Yagan, and Zucman finds 400 richest Americans pay just 23.8% in total (federal, state, foreign) taxes, less than the 30% paid by the average American. www.nber.org/papers/w34170 🧵
How Much Tax Do US Billionaires Pay? Evidence from Administrative Data
Founded in 1920, the NBER is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to conducting economic research and to disseminating research findings among academics, public policy makers, an...
nber.org
"We want them gone today." As Republican states send National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., organizer Keya Chatterjee of @freedcproject.bsky.social joins calls to end Trump's federal takeover of the nation's capital.
This is an opportunity for organizing... And for reminding/educating fellow Americans across the country, who will be reading news stories about yesterday's events, about the 700,000+ disenfranchised Americans living in DC without representation in Congress.
Michelle Chappell she/her@michellechap76.bsky.social · 12mo agoDC residents and allies!! It’s time to turn your anger at the federal takeover of law enforcement into action with @freedcproject.bsky.social 🧵
DC residents and allies!! It’s time to turn your anger at the federal takeover of law enforcement into action with @freedcproject.bsky.social 🧵
Economic threats ahead, courtesy of your president
Opinion | The Economy Is Starting to Pay for Trump’s Chaos
nytimes.com
My terrible ten! The 10 worst policies in the budget bill Trump signed earlier this month. 🧵
Washington Center for Equitable Growth@equitablegrowth.bsky.social · last yr.The 2025 #Reconciliation law touches almost every corner of the federal budget and U.S. economy. @dsmitch28.bsky.social analyzes 10 harmful policies included in the final bill. How will they impact Americans and economic growth over the next 10 years and beyond? equitablegrowth.org/the-10-worst...
Even before Senate made them worse, OBBBA's Medicaid & SNAP cuts projected to be economic equivalent of losing: 97% of food manufacturing in New Jersey's 7th district (Kean) 85% of farming in NE-2 (Bacon) 69% of hospitality (largest private industry in district!) in CO-3 (Hurd) ...
