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Any political movement that is going to succeed in America needs to be able to credibly promise that it can raise living standards for ordinary Americans. For the past forty years, this imperative didn't dog the right as much as it might have because non-material "wedge issues" proved so potent. As long as the culture war was going at full tilt, the right could keep separating working class voters from their more natural allies in the Democratic Party.

Also, parts of the conservative economic message -- especially about lower taxes -- sounded good to many people.

A new study looking at changes in wages and salaries, capital income, and in taxes found that capital gains and dividends made the largest contribution to income inequality. As the study states:

Despite millennials' lingering reputation as financial delinquents, it turns out not everyone drowning in credit card debt has a newly-printed college diploma and a stack of student loan bills.

A recent article by Reuters' Chris Taylor reveals baby boomers are facing an even steeper road to financial freedom. 

In a surprising move from one of the Affordable Care Act's staunchest opponents, Florida Governor Rick Scott has endorsed the Medicaid expansion component of the healthcare law-- at least for the next three years.

Already, the biggest banks in the U.S. are huge. The largest 0.2 percent of institutions — just 12 mega-banks — control 69 percent of total bank assets. The 20 biggest banks hold assets equal to 84.5 percent of the nation’s entire economic output.

Tax reform may be moving to the front burner of Congress this year, if two powerful committee chairs get their way, according to Politico. Should this happen, get ready for a fierce battle over the charitable tax deduction, a large and obvious target for reformers looking for revenue. The Congressional Research Service has estimated that the U.S.

China's environmental tax policy is moving in an interesting direction. It was announced yesterday that a new set of tax polices focused on preservation, rather than use, will be introduced, including a tax on carbon dioxide emissions. While the specifics have not been released, the government intends to collect environmental protection taxes, instead of pollutant discharge fees. China is also looking at taxing energy-intensive products, such as batteries and private aircraft, and increasing coal taxes.

If tax reform goes forward this year, as some leaders in Congress hope, one thing is certain: It won't be an elegant exercise in representative democracy. Think more interest group feeding frenzy. 

During the first half of the Twentieth Century, as America became an industrial power, the most important battles for labor rights unfolded at steel plants, coal mines, oil refineries, and at manufacturing plants around the country, particularly in the auto industry.