Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the Twenty First Century has been praised across the ideological spectrum for its extensive database of income statistics and economic theory. But his policy proposal—a global tax on wealth—has no chance of happening.

Why describe such a serious problem and then offer such an un-serious solution? If Piketty’s conclusion is correct, than the United States must look for politically realistic ideas, not “utopian” ones, as Piketty describes his global wealth tax. Here are five achievable ideas with support in both parties:





1. Supplement wages for low-income workers

Few policy ideas have received such bipartisan support in recent months as expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). The EITC increases the wages of low-income workers. In 2012, it lifted 6.5 million people out of poverty, but under the current system, childless workers can barely collect any EITC benefits.

Policymakers from both sides of the aisle—including President Barack Obama and Senators Patty Murray and Marco Rubio—have offered proposals to close that hole, but disagree on who should pay for the increase. Expanding the EITC under President Obama ‘s plan, for instance, would lift 500,000 people out of poverty and help another 10.5 million people, according to the Treasury Department. That’s minor compared to Piketty’s wealth tax, but would help many people nonetheless.