It’s always amusing to see what happens when a coalition of big banks and their associates tries to pose as Friends of the Common Man. So it’s definitely worth scoffing when the headline “Working-class Americans Depend on Credit Card Rewards” appeared in a Politico ad from the so-called “Electronic Payments Coalition,” linking to a blog post which is part of their ongoing effort to lobby against proposed federal rules which would limit how much they can charge retailers in credit card fees. 

Yes, their communication style lacks a certain common touch — for example, they use LMI in their headline to refer to “Low to Moderate Income” cardholders, as if that’s a well-known acronym. But what’s really galling is their claim that “the most financially vulnerable households depend on cashback rewards to help make ends meet” and that such rewards “served as a lifeline” in times of record inflation. Yes, they’re talking about the supposed life-saving value of credit card rewards programs. And no, they’re not mentioning the 30% interest rates they are charging borrowers with one hand while they give back 1% in “rewards” with the other. Tie customers to a massive anchor, follow it with a tiny flotation device, and call yourself a savior.

Make it make sense.

We’ve spent plenty of space in Tapbacks past on various charts illustrating the extraordinary inequity of our tax system, and how that inequity has grown over time. But this one, recently featured in The New York Times, may be the most striking yet. Quite simply, it compares the changes in tax rates over time between the bottom half of income earners in the US, and the 400 very richest people in the country. And recently, for the first time ever, the richest few people are paying a lower effective tax rate than the bottom half.

Notably, that’s not because tax rates have changed very much for the bottom half: they were paying a 22% effective tax rate in 1960, and a similar 24% rate in 2018. But the billionaires have seen a windfall: their rate has plunged from 56% all the way down to 23%. It all adds up to a potent graphical case for a global minimum tax on billionaires.

This past October, the local government in San Juan County, Washington, launched a trial reducing the workweek for County workers to 32 hours, with no loss in income. Six months later, the early results are in — and it looks promising. The County is finding it much easier to recruit workers, and fewer people are quitting, so they no longer have to wrestle with a high job vacancy rate. Job satisfaction is up dramatically. And employees are spending their extra time on errands, appointments, hobbies, and with their families.

While adjustments will need to be made in some areas, and the reduced workweek isn’t permanent yet, add the results from San Juan County to the growing pile of evidence: when we reduce the workweek so people have more control over their time, workers thrive, productivity increases, and everyone does better. Now, it just needs to spread. (Or we all need to move to San Juan County.)

Civic Action
119 1st Avenue South Suite 320
Seattle, WA 98014
United States

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