We are happy to report that the Patriotic Millionaires’ fifth annual Spring Symposium, “How to Fix Everything,” was a smashing success!
Over the course of three days this week, we engaged with activists, policy experts, and lawmakers about the critical need to raise taxes on the rich, raise the wage floor, and strengthen American democracy. Now that it’s over, we’d like to share some of the highlights with you.
We kickstarted events on Tuesday with a private screening of Red, Whiteville, and Blue, the feature-length documentary spotlighting the first cohort of the Patriotic Millionaires’ Great Economy Project. The film follows participants from the beginning of the program – where they learn the ins and outs of economic inequality – all the way through their transformation into leaders of a new movement to fix America.
The private screening for our members was well-timed, as the film made its world premiere at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival in Durham, North Carolina last weekend. In a week, the film will also premiere at the RiverRun International Film Festival in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It’s even caught the attention of local media: Border Belt Independent, a local news outlet in southeastern North Carolina, published a profile piece about the film today.
We’ll have more to say about Red, Whiteville, and Blue and the Great Economy Project in the coming weeks, but for now, we are pleased that the film has been successfully launched and has thus far received an overwhelmingly positive reception from audiences.
On Wednesday morning, we hosted our annual Policy Summit in Washington, DC. We had an exciting speaker lineup this year, which included several of our members and also a number of invited guests, including Jim Fallows, Natalie Foster, Jayati Ghosh, Amy Hanauer, Rep. Barbara Lee, Barry Lynn, Clara Mattei, Maurice Mitchell, Jamal Simmons, and Daniel Vincente. The discussions and presentations were all riveting and engaging, and highlighted both the harm that extreme wealth and inequality is wreaking on America and around the world and what can be done to guarantee a more stable and prosperous economic future for all. Click HERE to watch a full replay of the presentations.
On Wednesday night, we hosted our annual Taxations and Libations cocktail reception. It’s become such a who’s-who of the economic justice movement that it snagged a shoutout in POLITICO!) Over drinks and hors d’oeuvres, our members and invited guests heard remarks from a number of elected officials, including Representatives Jamaal Bowman (NY-16), Chris Deluzio (PA-17), Teresa Leger Fernandez (NM-03), Daniel Goldman (NY-10), Jonathan Jackson (IL-01), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Lucy McBath (GA-07), Pat Ryan (NY-18), Andrea Salinas (OR-06), and Melanie Stansbury (NM-01).
We kicked off Thursday by chasing down a mobile billboard sponsored by the Patriotic Millionaires. It was certainly making heads turn! Below is a picture of our members in front of the billboard:
Afterward, dozens of our members took our message directly to Capitol Hill and set the stakes for lawmakers regarding the impending tax battle of 2025 while presenting a proactive vision for what our tax code and our economy must look like to save our democracy. We met with nearly 30 Senate and House offices and left them with Crack the Code 2.0, the Patriotic Millionaires’ legislative agenda. We encourage you to take a look.
Our members are all very busy people, spread out all over the country, so it’s difficult for us to get together in person. That’s why our once-a-year gathering is so important. It’s our opportunity to celebrate our achievements, strategize about the fights ahead, and remind lawmakers, the media, and K Street: the only way to save America is to tax the rich, pay the people, and spread the power.
It really is that simple.