Dear John,

Forty years ago, the average CEO salary in the U.S. was 20 times that of the typical worker. Today it's 300 times greater.

Conservatives want us to believe that the reason for this massive inequality is that these uniquely talented individuals are simply being paid what they’re "worth" according to the laws of the free market.

Hogwash.

Markets are designed by human beings, and the laws are created by governments either to serve the interests of the wealthy, or to advance the greater good.

These are fundamentally moral judgments, not economic laws of nature, and in a democracy, the voters can choose elected officials who will make different moral choices — if those choices are framed for people in clear, understandable ways.

But the corporate media will never frame these issues in a way that threatens their CEOs’ salaries, and that’s where Inequality Media comes in. Every day we're creating and sharing easy-to-understand video explainers across our millions of followers on social media to provide the context people need to demand policies to benefit everyday people, not just the undeserving rich.

Will you make a donation to Inequality Media and help us continue to educate the public and correct the false narratives pushed by Republicans and the corporate media?

The last time America faced any comparable degree of inequality was at the start of the 20th century. In 1910, President Theodore Roosevelt warned that “a small class of enormously wealthy and economically powerful men, whose chief object is to hold and increase their power” could destroy American democracy.

Roosevelt’s answer was to tax wealth. The estate tax was enacted in 1916, and the capital gains tax in 1922.

Years later, Franklin D. Roosevelt saw the 1929 crash not only as a financial crisis but as an occasion to renegotiate the relationship between capitalism and democracy.

FDR gave workers the power to organize into labor unions, the 40-hour workweek, Social Security, unemployment insurance, and workers’ compensation for injuries. He raised taxes on the top. And he regulated finance — making banking boring.

Since then, all these reforms have eroded. But the two Roosevelts understood something about the American economy and the ultra-rich that has now reemerged: wealth creates power, and power creates more wealth.

The solution to this vicious cycle is democratic capitalism. Voters, using the power of the ballot box, can elect representatives who will enact policies that have been effective at reducing inequality in the past and can be again. But that can happen only if the policy choices we face are presented to voters in a way that allows them to vote in a fully informed way.

That’s why Inequality Media was founded. But unlike the giant corporations and their lobbyists, think tanks, and news media, we don’t have unlimited billions to spend. We’re fighting back by collecting thousands of small donations from everyday people like you.

So again, I’m personally asking you to consider making a donation to Inequality Media. No donation is too small, and we promise that every penny will be put to the best possible use.

With deep gratitude and solidarity,

Robert Reich
Inequality Media