In case you were not keeping up with us online over the past few days, we are pleased to report that the Patriotic Millionaires’ seventh annual Spring Symposium was a smashing success this week!
Over the course of two days, our members engaged in critical dialogues with thought leaders, activists, journalists, and policymakers about the urgent need to tax the rich. For this week’s Closer Look, we’d like to share some of the highlights of our annual meeting with you.
We kicked things off on Tuesday with “HOW WE WIN, Tax the Rich, and Save the World.” In a packed ballroom in Washington, DC, our millionaire members engaged in high-level dialogues with business leaders, policy experts, candidates, and elected leaders about the need to raise taxes on the rich in order to solve the affordability crisis and reduce the existential threat posed by extreme wealth concentration to our economy and democracy.
Our incredible lineup of speakers and panelists included: Holli Woodings, John Driscoll, Erica Payne, Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen, Randi Weingarten, Kira Lerner, Dominic Rushe, Samantha Oltman, Jacob Brooks, Andy Berndt, Brittany Newton, Congresswoman Delia C. Ramirez (IL-03), Dr. Kimberly Hardy, Troy Jackson, Dr. Kaitlyn Henderson, Vanessa Williamson, Jayati Ghosh, Igor Volsky, and Scott Ellis. Click HERE to learn more about our incredible speakers and their backgrounds.
We covered a lot of ground at “HOW TO WIN.” Among other things, our speakers and panelists spoke about the Patriotic Millionaires’ history and our legislative platform, The MONEY Agenda; the Working Americans’ Tax Cut Act and the way it can stabilize the economic lives of working people; the Equal Tax Act and the way it can establish basic fairness in our tax code; the labor movement’s and education sector’s critical roles in the fight for economic justice; corporate responsibility and the growing influence of artificial intelligence on work; our Team MONEY’s grassroots organizing work in rural “red” zones; campaigning for office in “red” zones; the connection between democracy and taxation; the popularity of taxing the rich; and the question of how much wealth is “enough.”
If you weren’t able to catch the livestream of Tuesday’s “HOW TO WIN” event, check out the full recording of the program below:
The next day on Tax Day, dozens of our members took our message directly to Capitol Hill. We met with no less than 19 congressional offices to encourage them to get behind our MONEY Agenda. We found the lawmakers and staff that we met with to be largely receptive to our message, and we look forward to continuing our conversations in the weeks and months ahead.
In the afternoon, our members also participated in two press conferences on the Hill to call for tax fairness. At the first, our Chair, Morris Pearl, joined Senator Edward Markey (MA), Congresswoman Delia C. Ramirez (IL-03), and AFT Secretary-Treasurer Fedrick C. Ingram to speak in support of the Equal Tax Act. The Equal Tax Act would establish basic fairness in our tax code by taxing labor and capital income at the same rates and closing common loopholes used by the wealthy to avoid paying their fair share. You can watch a full recording of the press conference HERE, and check out a photo of Morris speaking below:
Afterwards, we participated in the “Tax the Rich, Make Life Affordable” rally. One of our members, Scott Ellis, spoke alongside Senator Chris Van Hollen (MD), Senator Edward Markey (MA), Rep. Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Rep. Don Beyer (VA-08), Rep. Chris Deluzio (PA-17), Washington State Senator Noel Frame (36th district), and representatives from many of our allied organizations. Speakers promoted various revenue-raising solutions that have the potential to both ensure tax fairness and make life more affordable for working Americans, including the Working Americans’ Tax Cut Act and Equal Tax Act. You can watch a full recording of the press conference HERE, and check out a photo of Scott speaking at the rally below:
Throughout the day on Tax Day, Patriotic Millionaires also sponsored a mobile billboard to spread our tax-the-rich message far and wide—and also to call out some specific billionaires for their tax avoidance schemes. It drove around Washington, DC nearly all day, making stops at the National Mall, Jeff Bezos’ Kalorama mansion, and other notable landmarks.
Here is a picture of the mobile billboard in action:
Getty Images | Brian Stukes
Finally, we closed out our Symposium on Wednesday evening at our annual “Taxation & Libations” cocktail party. Over good food and drinks, our members and invited guests enjoyed remarks from a number of elected officials, including New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, California Senator Adam Schiff, Rep. Chris Deluzio (PA-17), Rep. Shri Thanedar (MI-13), Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (NM-03), Rep. Laura Friedman (CA-30), Rep. Bill Foster (IL-11), and PA State Rep. Chris Rabb (200th district). The party was so well-attended it even got a shout-out in POLITICO!
Because our members lead such busy lives and are spread out all over the country, we cherish our time together each year at our annual Symposium. As in years past, the conversations we had this week with each other and so many critical actors in the economic justice space gave us the energy and inspiration we needed to continue our fight. These highlights can’t possibly do the whole Symposium justice, but we hope they inspired you as well to spread the word far and wide about the need to tax the rich and save the world.