Today, America’s 800+ billionaires hold more wealth than the 66 million households that make up the bottom half of the country. And yet, because of the way our tax code is structured, they somehow manage to pay lower tax rates than working people.
We started our campaign to urge lawmakers to right this wrong and restore some semblance of fairness to the tax system. There is no reason why investors like many of us should get to pay lower tax rates on the money we make from our wealth than nurses and firefighters do on the money they earn through their blood, sweat, and tears. There is no reason why we should get to pass down large fortunes to our children and grandchildren that have never and will never be taxed. And there is absolutely, positively, no reason whatsoever why billionaires like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos should be able to get away with paying $0 in federal income taxes. (Yes, that actually happened.)
“Tax cuts for the wealthy have never and will never stimulate the economy and create jobs. What they do is make rich trust fund kids like me even richer through utterly unfair means. Most of us are not going out and starting successful businesses, employing workers, or even buying that many goods. We're just sitting on our wealth and letting it accumulate.”
But the issue with taxes goes beyond just a question about fairness. It’s also about reducing extreme levels of economic inequality, putting a check on the ultra-wealthy’s power, and safeguarding our democracy.
The dirty little secret to having a lot of money is that it comes with power. On account of their wealth, billionaires have the ability to buy mainstream media outlets and entire social media platforms at the drop of a hat. They can spew tons of toxins into the atmosphere with their private jets, superyachts, and spaceships – setting our shared planet on fire in the process – and nobody will stop them. And most importantly, they can bankroll election campaigns, right-wing institutes that provide intellectual backing for policies that help their economic interests, and other political entities to the tune of billions, virtually guaranteeing that their preferred candidates come out on top on Election Day and that a network is already in place for those candidates to do their bidding once in office.
Inequality is a major problem, but the good news is that the solution is simple and staring us all right in the face: taxes. Reforming our tax code to ensure that wealthy people like us finally start paying what we owe is the simplest and single most important thing that lawmakers can do to put a check on democracy-destabilizing inequality. What’s even better is that there are already plenty of specific legislative solutions out there for elected officials to choose from to achieve this aim. The Patriotic Millionaires have offered a number of them ourselves through our legislative platform, AMERICA 250: The Money Agenda.
Let’s be clear: no one, including us, likes Tax Day. But we recognize that we have a patriotic duty to pay taxes along with our fellow citizens, and would be happy and proud to pay more if it means securing the future health and stability of our beloved country.
Tax the rich!
