Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer LIVE FROM DC: The Magic Wand Question — Policy Pitches for Working People
Feb 17, 2026
Rapid-fire policy pitches aimed at improving life for working people. Proposals include restoring time agency with predictable schedules and paid leave. Ideas to modernize Social Security funding and boost wages through payroll changes. Plans for employer-funded retirement accounts and stronger enforcement of labor rights in supply chains. Tactics to speed first-contracts and strengthen bargaining power are debated.
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Simplify And Progressivize The Tax Code
- Eliminate all personal income tax deductions except a much larger standard deduction to simplify and progressivize the tax code.
- Triple the standard deduction to roughly $65k single and $130k married while keeping rates to be revenue neutral.
Make Time A Core Economic Policy
- Make time an explicit policy goal with predictable scheduling, aligned school/work days, paid care leave, and reduced administrative burdens.
- Restore worker agency over time to reclaim hours for families and community life.
Extend Social Security Tax To All Income
- Cut the Social Security payroll tax to 6.2% and apply that rate to all income with no cap, including capital gains and dividends.
- This gives 95% of Americans an immediate ~6% take-home raise while stabilizing Social Security long-term.