Skip to content
Project 2025
Search

Latest Stories

Follow Us:
Top Stories
Supreme Court

The Supreme Court’s Voting Rights Act Decision Will Fuel the “Disuniting” of the United States and the Unraveling of American Democracy

Some MAGA loyalists have turned on Trump. Why the rest haven’t

Some MAGA loyalists have turned on Trump. Why the rest haven’t

America Is at an Impasse. What’s the Breakthrough?

America Is at an Impasse. What’s the Breakthrough?

Iran’s Exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi Believes in Iranian Regime Change — Experts Contradict Him

Iran’s Exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi Believes in Iranian Regime Change — Experts Contradict Him

A close up of U.S. Senator Cory Booker speaking.

Cory Booker Should Be Ashamed of Himself

Sanders pledges release of tax returns

The Fulcrum
By The FulcrumApr 10, 2019
The Fulcrum
The Fulcrum staff.
See More Writings by author

Bernie Sanders is a millionaire.

To celebrate, the Vermont senator says he plans to release 10 years' worth of tax returns by Monday, which just so happens to be Tax Day. Sanders, who officially announced his second run for the Democratic presidential nod last month and had been slow to release his most recent returns in 2016, goaded President Donald Trump to follow his lead.

"On the day in the very immediate future, certainly before April 15, we release ours, I hope that Donald Trump will do exactly the same," Sanders told The New York Times.

The Democrats' showcase legislation, HR 1, would require presidents, vice presidents and the major-party nominees for those offices to release 10 years' worth of tax returns.

Other 2020 Democratic hopefuls who have released either 2018 tax returns, or at least a decade of previous returns, include Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts as well as Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington.


Latest news

After Callais: The Amendment Agenda the Framers Built
Opinion

After Callais: The Amendment Agenda the Framers Built

Kalshi Wants to Help Americans Hedge Risk. Lawmakers Say It’s Just Gambling with a Different Name
Economy

Kalshi Wants to Help Americans Hedge Risk. Lawmakers Say It’s Just Gambling with a Different Name

A woman with an empty wallet spent on shopping. Bankrupted woman sitting with her shopping bags
Economy

Trump Says Americans’ Pain ‘Doesn’t Matter’ as $1.7B Aids His Allies

The dome of the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., stands tall against a blue sky with the American flag waving proudly
Governance & Legislation

Congress's Missed Opportunities on Redistricting Reform

Read More

A group of people wait in line to get their ballots to vote in the election.

The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact could reshape presidential elections as Midwest states debate Electoral College reform, political polarization, and the future of winner-take-all voting in America.

Getty Images, SDI Productions

700+ Proposed Amendments Failed, Midwest Voters Can Succeed

The Midwest served as the vanguard and ideological heartland of the Progressive Era, acting as a crucial laboratory for political, social, and economic reforms that later adopted national significance. Midwestern states (the cradle of the movement) pioneered anti-monopoly efforts, democratic, and social improvements.

After 770+ failed proposed U.S. Constitutional Amendments (the most on record for one issue) to remedy the factionalism (21st century polarization) feared by the Framers of the U.S. Constitution.

Keep ReadingShow less
Fueling the Future: The Debate Over California’s Gas Tax and Transportation Funding
person in red shirt wearing silver bracelet holding red and black metal tool
Photo by Wassim Chouak on Unsplash

Fueling the Future: The Debate Over California’s Gas Tax and Transportation Funding

This nonpartisan policy brief, written by an ACE fellow, is republished by The Fulcrum as part of our partnership with the Alliance for Civic Engagement and our NextGen initiative — elevating student voices, strengthening civic education, and helping readers better understand democracy and public policy.

Key Takeaways

Keep ReadingShow less
A person looking at social media app icons on a phone

Gen Z is quietly leaving social media as algorithmic feeds, infinite scroll, and addictive platform design fuel anxiety, isolation, and mental health struggles.

Matt Cardy/Getty Images

Gen Z Begs Legislators: Make Social Media Social Again

Lately, it seems like each time I reach out to an old acquaintance through social media, I’m met with a page that reads, “This account doesn’t exist anymore.”

Many Gen-Z’ers are quietly quitting the platforms we grew up on.

Keep ReadingShow less
Open Letter to Justice Roberts: Partisan Gerrymandering Is Unconstitutional
beige concrete building under blue sky during daytime
Photo by Ian Hutchinson on Unsplash

Open Letter to Justice Roberts: Partisan Gerrymandering Is Unconstitutional

The Supreme Court, in holding that partisan gerrymandering is permissible—unless it "goes too far"—stated that the argument made against this practice based on the Court's "one person, one vote" doctrine didn't work because the cases that developed that doctrine were about ensuring that each vote had an equal weight. The Court reasoned that after redistricting, each vote still has equal weight.

I would respectfully disagree. After admittedly partisan redistricting, each vote does not have an equal weight. The purpose of partisan gerrymandering is typically to create a "safe" seat—to group citizens so that the dominant political party has a clear majority of the voters. It's the transformation of a contested seat or even a seat safe for the other party into a safe seat for the party doing the redistricting.

Keep ReadingShow less
© Copyright 2026