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Given that low-income households often don’t have the luxury of professional tax preparation, the tax system might be a particularly brutal delivery mechanism for them. Nowhere is this more apparent than how we currently subsidize the cost of college at tax time.

President Obama this week touted new ways to help students pay for college, but he also proposed stripping away a popular benefit: a significant tax advantage of college savings plans used by millions of American families.

Much of the buildup to President Obama’s State of the Union address made it sound as if he was going to read chapter and verse from French economist Thomas Piketty’s book, Capital in the 21st Century—you know, last year’s 700-plus page best seller, the one that was unexpectedly all the rage as it argued that vast economic inequality is as much about wealth (what’s owned) as it is about income (what’s earned). That one.

Five years ago this week, in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the Supreme Court decided to allow unlimited amounts of corporate spending in political campaigns. How important was that decision? At the time, some said criticism of the decision was overblown, and that fears that it would give outsize influence to powerful interests were unfounded. Now, the evidence is in, and the results are devastating. [...]

Today marks five years since the Supreme Court's infamous Citizens United decision--and perhaps nothing tells the story of the results better than a New York Times article from yesterday called "'Koch Primary' Tests Hopefuls in the G.O.P."

(NEW YORK, NY) – Last night, the President’s annual State of the Union highlighted policy proposals and reforms the administration will pursue in the coming months. In response, Demos President Heather McGhee issued the following statement:

For too long these issues, and many others that would tackle inequality to ensure a thriving American economy, have been placed on the back burner due to two issues that the President touched too briefly upon: our unequal democracy and our racial divisions.

How would you fare with President Obama’s State of the Union middle-class economics proposals to “turn the page” if you’re 50 or older? It depends. [...]

On the day before the fifth anniversary of Citizens United, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in Williams-Yulee v. The Florida Bar, which asks whether a rule that prohibits candidates for judicial office from personally soliciting campaign funds violates the First Amendment. At its core, the case raises the question as to what measures we will be permitted to take to protect the integrity of our justice system from the influence of big money.

Today, Obama will deliver the State of the Union address, which will focus on inequality, which he has previously called, “the defining issue of our time,” and which was recently highlighted by a proposal by Chris Van Hollen.