Trump’s SOTU Ignored the Root Cause of Affordability Problems

Source: In These Times
by Josh Bivens

“During President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday, he claimed to be working to improve affordability for U.S. families. But Trump didn’t talk about the root cause of these affordability problems: the long-running rise in inequality. And he didn’t call for the single most-effective way to reverse this inequality: raising taxes significantly on the ultra-rich families and corporations. In a new Economic Policy Institute report, I highlight how we got here and offer meaningful solutions to tackle growing inequality through wealth taxation. The link between inequality and affordability is clear: Affordability improves when incomes (mostly wages and public benefits for typical families) grow faster than prices. Rising inequality means that the economy’s average growth rate is buoyed by stratospheric growth at the top and hence no longer maps onto what is available to typical families to help them afford a secure and decent life.” (02/25/26)

https://inthesetimes.com/article/trump-state-of-the-union-income-inequality