Happy 4th of July! We hope that you and those close to you can spend time today celebrating America’s 248th birthday and everything that makes our country so special. We here at the Patriotic Millionaires like to use Independence Day to remind ourselves what patriotism means and why we go about calling ourselves “patriotic” in the first place. And judging by recent events at the Supreme Court, … Continue reading Happy 4th of July!
We’ve known for a while now that our desire for lawmakers around the world to raise taxes on wealthy people like us isn’t fringe. But now, we officially have the numbers to back it up – and a blueprint for how international leaders can institute minimum standards for taxing the global rich. The last time we discussed our international work was back in April. A lot has … Continue reading We Need A Coordinated Minimum Tax on Billionaires
Happy Juneteenth! Today marks the third year that the United States has celebrated Juneteenth – which commemorates the final enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Galveston, Texas at the end of the Civil War – as an official federal holiday. Juneteenth is an opportunity to appreciate the progress we’ve made on the path toward racial justice over the last 159 years. In doing so, we see plainly … Continue reading Happy Juneteenth!
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 … Continue reading That’s a Wrap: Patriotic Millionaires’ 5th Annual Spring Symposium
We always knew that corporations and their C-suite executives were hoarding profits and driving inequality through the roof, and now our friends at Oxfam, the Institute for Policy Studies, and Americans for Tax Fairness have fresh data to prove it. This week, Oxfam published its analysis of the largest 200 public companies’ contributions to inequality in the US, aptly called the Corporate Inequality Footprint. In short, … Continue reading Corporations are Supercharging Inequality
As of this writing, Merriam-Webster’s dictionary does not have a definition for the word “trillionaire.” But they may want to start drafting one because experts are predicting we’ll need it in about 10 years’ time. Last week, we told you about Oxfam’s new eye-popping report, Inequality Inc. All of the top-line findings were jaw-dropping, but one in particular has generated a significant amount of buzz: if … Continue reading The Definition of a Trillionaire
If there’s one thing that we want the world leaders at Davos to know, it’s this: we would be proud to pay more in taxes. This week, over 2,800 elites from business, academia, politics, civil society, and the arts are attending the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland – better known as simply “Davos.” The theme of this year’s conference is “Rebuilding Trust,” with many discussions centering around geopolitical … Continue reading Proud to Pay More
My name is Bob Lord and I’m the Patriotic Millionaires’ Senior Advisor on Tax Policy. Before my time here, I practiced tax law for forty years and also ran for Congress back in 2008. We usually write this newsletter in the collective voice of the Patriotic Millionaires’ membership. This week though, I’d like to take the reins and give you my perspective on the new … Continue reading The real reason we want to raise taxes on the rich
In the lead up to the 1992 Presidential election, James Carville famously coined the phrase “It’s the economy, stupid.” It soon became a mantra for Bill Clinton’s successful campaign. That was thirty years ago. With how much our country has changed since then, we’d like to suggest updating the famous refrain to “It’s the inequality, stupid.” Economic inequality has exploded in the US since Bill Clinton took office. … Continue reading It’s the inequality, stupid
There is perhaps no greater symbol for our current age of extreme wealth, inequality, and environmental devastation than private jets. Earlier this month, the Patriotic Millionaires co-released a report – High Flyers 2023: How Ultra-Rich Private Jet Travel Costs the Rest of Us and Burns Up Our Planet – with the Institute for Policy Studies about the negative impacts of the private jet industry on … Continue reading High Flyers – The Cost of Private Jets for the Rest of Us
Last week’s 2023 Annual Spring Meeting was a smashing success! Over the course of two days, we hosted policymakers, experts, and activists in conversations about the need to restructure the economy to reduce inequality, and held dozens of meetings with key lawmakers on Capitol Hill to advocate for higher taxes on ourselves and other wealthy Americans. While we were hard at work fighting to transform … Continue reading Why We Don’t Just Send a Check to the IRS
If you grew up in America, then you almost definitely have heard some variation of the refrain: “America is the greatest country in the world.” It’s an idea that’s so commonplace that it’s more or less taken for granted. We boast of inventions like the airplane, the light bulb, the internet, and even the humble chocolate chip cookie. We are home to some of the … Continue reading The Deadly Consequences of Inequality
This week, over 2,700 world leaders are attending the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland – better known as simply “Davos.” Every year, elites from business, politics, and civil society meet at this annual conference held at an exclusive and luxurious Swiss ski resort to discuss humanity’s most pressing problems. And every year, they fail to make any real change because they refuse to … Continue reading Survival of the Richest
We talk a lot about the American economy and the effect that decisions made by the federal government have on the lives and well-being of Americans all across the country. Because of that, it can be easy at times to think of the fight for economic justice as a purely national issue, something that just happens in Washington or in Congress and the White House. … Continue reading Fighting Inequality at the State Level
Last week, we introduced you to our take on “The Tale of Two Billionaires.” For this week’s Closer Look, we want to take this story wider, and look at the billionaire class as a whole. There are only about 735 billionaires in the United States, but despite the fact that they could all fit on a single Airbus 380 jet, this group holds an immense amount of … Continue reading Don’t Trust the “Good Billionaires”
Below is a letter sent to Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, on July 28, 2022 by Jeffrey R. Huggett, a member of the Patriotic Millionaires. Dear Bill, Like so many others recently, I read your blog announcing substantial personal contributions to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Whereas I am thrilled about the important work you fund … Continue reading A Letter to Bill Gates
This week all eyes have been on the JP Morgan market manipulation trial, where three former employees are accused of manipulating valuable metals futures to make a boatload of money for themselves and the bank. While ‘market manipulation’ sounds like some complicated white collar crime, it’s really just a business term for ripping someone off. These men would create the illusion of a larger demand … Continue reading Market Manipulation Is Just a Fancy Name for Fraud
Nearly everyone is feeling the effects of inflation these days. With an 8.5% inflation rate over the last year, prices are rising in almost every sector of our economy, and millions of American families are having a harder time affording the essentials. While this is a widespread crisis, it’s one that is particularly devastating for our nation’s low-wage workers. The federal minimum wage currently sits … Continue reading Facing Inflation, Congress Must Raise the Minimum Wage
This past Monday was Tax Day, which is undoubtedly no American’s favorite holiday. But the pain of Tax Day is not shared by all. While the typical American pays a good amount of every paycheck in taxes and hopes to get a refund after submitting their return, the ultra-wealthy have a variety of tools at their disposal that allows them to keep Tax Day virtually … Continue reading Why Billionaires Don’t Stress About Tax Day
By this point, you all know that the economy isn’t fair. It’s clear that it’s overwhelmingly skewed in favor of the rich and powerful, and that’s no accident. It’s been designed to keep a disproportionate amount of money and power in the hands of a small number of people no matter how poorly it affects everyone else. As we look at this week’s news, it’s … Continue reading Inequality is a choice