American Agenda (The Money Part)

Next week is Tax Day, and you know what that means…

….(yes, you need to stop procrastinating and file your taxes, but that’s not what we’re talking about)….

…The Patriotic Millionaires are holding our Annual Spring Meeting! 

Every year around Tax Day, the members of Patriotic Millionaires host a conference in Washington, D.C. to gather economic justice advocates, top experts, and lawmakers to discuss how we should restructure the economy so that it serves the interests of working people, instead of just folks like us (which, by the way, we think is good for folks like us, no one here is trying to be a martyr).

Tune in online on Monday, April 17th, from 10AM to 12PM ET to watch our presentation: “American Agenda (The Money Part).” We’ll be live streaming straight from Washington, D.C. via our public Facebook feed. Be sure to tune in, and invite a friend or two!

We don’t want to give too much of the presentation away, but for today’s Closer Look, we at least want to give you an overview of some of the key parts of the program. You can click here to see a full list of our speakers.

The Great Economy Project

We’ll be kicking off the program with a look at one of the most exciting new Patriotic Millionaires initiatives, the Great Economy Project (GEP). We launched the GEP this past November in Whiteville, a small town in North Carolina. Over the course of five months, sixty people – all from a wide variety of backgrounds and  political persuasions – gathered regularly with our members,staff, and top experts to discuss the myriad ways in which the economy is rigged against the interests of working people, and what can be done about it.

The Spring Meeting will feature a sneak peek of a documentary on the GEP’s pilot program in Whiteville. Afterwards, they will hear from a panel of speakers, including Cat Hadley (Campaign Manager for the GEP), Sarah Anderson (Institute for Policy Studies), and Kaitlyn Henderson (Oxfam America). They will discuss their experiences with the project and what it might look like moving forward. One of our members, Ritchie Tabachnick, will then discuss the expansion of the GEP into other states.

Activism as Art. Art as Activism.

This panel will explore how to turn activism into art through film and how to use film to activate social change. Speakers will include Patriotic Millionaire Abigail Disney (The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales) and filmmaker Amy Ziering (The Invisible War), who will discuss the use of film in driving social change. We will also hear from DL Anderson, the filmmaker involved with the Whiteville Great Economy Project documentary.

Mini-Keynote – The Next 250 Years of American Greatness

Dr. Darrick Hamilton, the Henry Cohen Professor of Economics and Urban Policy at the New School, will explore the prosperous, inclusive future he envisions for America in a mini-keynote address. Dr. Hamilton is one of the nation’s leading economic scholars and has crafted a number of major policy proposals like Baby Bonds. He brings a uniquely creative insight into how we can reshape our economy to unlock centuries of prosperity for all Americans.

The American Agenda: Wages

This panel will explore the economic and societal reasons to legally require a wage floor sufficient to meet the essential needs of a full-time working adult. Patriotic Millionaire member and healthcare executive John Driscoll will discuss his personal experience with the benefits to his business of higher wages, and will preview his upcoming book, “Pay the People: How American Capitalists Can Save the American Dream (with the Government’s Help).” We will also hear from Heidi Shierholz (Economic Policy Institute), Saru Jayaraman (One Fair Wage), and Nabil Ahmed (Oxfam).

The American Agenda: Taxes

This panel will explore a vision for the American tax code for the next era of democratic capitalism. Bob Lord, Patriotic Millionaires Senior Tax Policy Advisor, will outline the organization’s tax agenda. (Check out the Closer Look next week for a full breakdown of this bold new agenda!). Amy Hanauer (Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy) will offer a global perspective. Vanessa Williamson (Brookings Institution) will provide historic analysis and insight.

The Truth About the Giving Pledge and The Cost of Billionaires

Chuck Collins, a board member for the Patriotic Millionaires, heir to the Oscar Mayer fortune, and a Senior Scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies, will give a special report on the cost of billionaires to our society. He’ll preview brand new research on the failure of the Giving Pledge – the campaign founded by Warren Buffett and Bill Gates to encourage their wealthy peers to give away the bulk of their fortunes to charity – and on the cost, both financially and environmentally, of private jets on our planet.

Billionaire Disruption

Gabriela Sandoval will discuss her work as the founding Executive Director of the Excessive Wealth Disorder Institute, an organization centered on the negative effects of extreme wealth and the ways in which effective tax systems can curb bloated fortunes around the world.

Escaping Big Money: Seizing the Constitutional Amendment Opportunity

Jeff Clements, the President of American Promise, will close out the program with a look at how we can overcome the primary political obstacle standing in the way of progress – money. Specifically, he’ll discuss both the need for, and the feasibility of, an amendment to the Constitution curbing big money in politics.

If you’re interested in the fight for economic justice, you can’t miss this exciting lineup of speakers and discussions. Be sure to tune into the event livestream on our Facebook feed on Monday, April 17, between 10AM and 12PM EST!

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