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 always wondered how much billionaires would be willing to pay for American democracy, and now we have the answer: $4.6 trillion. Last Thursday, Donald Trump became the first former president to be convicted in a criminal trial after a Manhattan jury found him guilty of falsifying business records to conceal a hush-money payment to a porn star. It’s too early to tell what kind of impact … Continue reading What is Democracy Worth to Billionaires?
Family businesses – from restaurants to hardware stores to plumbing companies to hair salons – make up the beating heart of America. But when the “family business” is wielding unfathomable wealth to influence our democracy, it becomes a problem. Last week, our allies at Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF) published a report, “The Billionaire Family Business,” which revealed the enormous sums that billionaire families have … Continue reading Political Power Cannot be a Family Heirloom
It’s encouraging that the Senate Judiciary Committee has decided to get to the bottom of questions regarding billionaire influence and corruption at the Supreme Court. Now, it’s time they rolled up their sleeves and got their hands dirty to actually make it happen. The last time that we told you about the ethics controversy at the Supreme Court was back in August. We outlined a number of … Continue reading If Durbin Crows About Subpoenas, He Needs to Issue Them
If you need more proof that America is slipping further and further into oligarchy, look no further than recent revelations about the Supreme Court. Oligarchy is a form of government in which a small group of typically wealthy and corrupt people wield power. It derives from the Greek words oligoi (“few”) and arkhein (“to rule”). Over at the Patriotic Millionaires, we regularly describe how oligarchs use their wealth to sway … Continue reading Oligarchy Comes for the Supreme Court
“We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of the few, but we can’t have both.” Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis (1856-1941) Last week, former President Donald Trump was indicted on charges related to his efforts to overturn the legitimate democratic results of the 2020 election. The announcement comes on the heels of Trump’s other two indictments: one … Continue reading We need to choose democracy
It’s a monumental day at the Patriotic Millionaires! Today, with support from our organization and a number of our allies, Representatives Barbara Lee (CA-12), Summer Lee (PA-12), Rashida Tlaib (MI-13), and Jamaal Bowman (NY-16) introduced the Oppose Limitless Inequality Growth and Reverse Community Harms (OLIGARCH) Act, which will create an annual wealth tax focused exclusively on containing destabilizing inequality in America and ensuring the viability of … Continue reading Pass the OLIGARCH Act. Save democracy.
Are America’s billionaires oligarchs? It’s a strange question for many who see oligarchs as a uniquely foreign problem. But the answer is, without a doubt, yes. We’ve heard a lot about oligarchs in the news over the last year, as Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine has sparked a fierce international backlash against the aggressors and brought attention to the inner workings of the Russian state. Along with a … Continue reading Are America’s billionaires oligarchs?
If you hadn’t heard, Elon Musk – Tesla and SpaceX CEO and the single richest man in the world – is just days away from closing his deal to buy Twitter for $44 billion. After a tumultuous, months-long legal drama, a judge finally gave Twitter and Musk an ultimatum: reach a settlement on your own by this Friday, October 28, or face trial in November. With the deadline … Continue reading Elon Musk and the Oligarch Takeover of America
Today, President Biden gathered thousands of lawmakers, activists, and supporters for a celebration at the White House to recognize Democrats’ successful passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) last month. Our very own Chairman, Morris Pearl, was among the President’s honored guests applauding the IRA as a win for tax fairness and economic justice. Today’s event at the White House is a celebration of last month’s victory, … Continue reading IRA Support Bodes Well for Democrats in the Midterms
Last week, The New York Times dropped a bombshell on the political world. The paper reported that one man donated an incredible $1.6 billion to a conservative nonprofit last year, giving an immense amount of unaccountable power to one of the conservative movement’s chief architects. For this week’s Closer Look, we want to tell you more about this donation and the faults that it exposes in both our campaign … Continue reading $1.6 billion reasons to fix our campaign finance and tax systems
Last week, Senator Manchin blindsided his Democratic colleagues when he reversed course on his previous demands that their agenda be focused on tax reform and declared that he would not vote to raise taxes on the rich or massive corporations. In doing so, he dashed Democrats’ hopes to pass any sort of meaningful tax legislation before November. He also ironically proved, by showing the country … Continue reading Joe Manchin Just Showed Why We Need the OLIGARCH Act
It’s been a big week for economic news. From drama in Congress over the Build Back Better negotiations to continued economic strife affecting working Americans to new tax benefits offered to the rich, our economy is steadily moving in further favor of the wealthy, and the federal government appears ill-equipped to rise to the occasion. This week, we’ll look into how our current economy, policies, … Continue reading The Economy is Bad. Congress Needs to Fix It
Last week, the House committee investigating the January 6th attack on the US Capitol began a series of public hearings in prime time. If you missed them, you can check out an ongoing list of highlights here. As expected, Donald Trump’s election fraud lies and threats of violence have taken center stage at the hearings as direct causes of the violence that unfolded on January 6th. … Continue reading Money in politics is dangerous to democracy
Confirmation hearings for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Biden’s pick to replace Justice Stephen Breyer on the US Supreme Court, began yesterday in the Senate Judiciary Committee. The hearings will continue the rest of the week, after which the Committee will vote on whether to send her nomination to the full Senate for consideration. To the surprise of absolutely no one, most Republican Senators are … Continue reading Get dark money out of our democracy
This week, Senate Democrats have pivoted from President Biden’s Build Back Better Act to focusing solely on passing two critical pieces of voting rights legislation: the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. Unlike with the Build Back Better Act, both bills have support from all 50 Senate Democrats. Unfortunately, in a Senate that is held hostage by the legislative filibuster, … Continue reading Democracy depends on Senate Democrats
Before the Thanksgiving recess, House Democrats were finally able to pass their version of President Biden’s Build Back Better Act through the process of reconciliation. We took the time to celebrate this action as a step in the right direction for tax fairness and economic equity. There’s still more work to do, however, as Senate Democrats now need to negotiate their version of the bill. Senate Majority Leader … Continue reading Manchin and Sinema need to get on board with Build Back Better
Last week conservative Democrats attempted to sabotage the President’s agenda and they were solidly defeated. Their demand that the House vote on the bipartisan infrastructure package before details of reconciliation were finished, in direct opposition to a deal agreed upon by Democrats in the House, Senate, and White House, would have sabotaged any attempts to pass the desperately needed funding and tax hikes on the … Continue reading Conservative Dems Can’t Handle the Truth
With a contentious debate in Congress regarding the reconciliation bill and its passage, it would seem that the bill and its contents (pulled straight from President Biden’s Build Back Better Agenda) are controversial among the American people as well. Instead, polls have demonstrated that the vast majority of voters support the bill and its provisions. The only group that consistently opposes the bill and actively … Continue reading Congress Should Represent All Americans- Not Just the Rich
Earlier this week, after months of negotiations, a bipartisan infrastructure bill passed in the Senate. This was followed quickly by a $3.5 trillion budget that sets the stage for Democrats to pass a reconciliation bill that would make one of the largest investments in American families in the last half century. But while we’re in a moment of great opportunity, there are, as always, many … Continue reading Overcoming the Opposition