Dear John,
Three weeks ago, we asked if you could help us ramp up our remote operation here at Inequality Media. Well, you rose to the occasion, and we’ve been overwhelmed with gratitude at the amount of donations that have since come in.
I’m writing to you today to let you know that we’ve put your hard-earned dollars to good use.
Here’s just a sampling of what we’ve been able to accomplish — from our living rooms, no less — thanks to your generosity:
- I sat down (virtually) with my dear friend Bernie Sanders to discuss the plight of the working class during this pandemic and how our economy must be restructured once we make it out of this crisis.
- Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and I teamed up for an Instagram Live where we discussed the disgraceful $500 billion corporate slush fund included in the coronavirus relief bill, and what worker protections must be included in the next piece of legislation.
- Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, joined me to discuss her Paycheck Guarantee Act, which will ensure businesses keep workers on the payroll for the duration of this crisis.
- Katie Couric and I hosted a live discussion on how this is a tale of two pandemics, as coronavirus is exacerbating our existing inequalities, and class is playing a major role in how Americans are experiencing this crisis.
- Anand Giridharadas, Editor-in-Chief of TIME Magazine and author of Winners Take All, joined me to discuss the hypocrisy of billionaire philanthropy and corporations’ unfettered greed during this pandemic. For instance, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos was celebrated for giving $100 million to food banks, at the same time that his fortune has grown by $24 billion since the start of this crisis, and he still hasn’t guaranteed paid sick leave to all of his employees.
- We’ve continued to release explainer videos every Tuesday that are reaching millions of people across the country. Our most recent video, “Trump’s Failed Coronavirus Response,” has garnered a record-breaking 3.8 million views on Facebook alone, and that number keeps climbing.
- We’ve been livestreaming new episodes of our YouTube talk show — The Common Good — every Thursday, where our perennial millennial Katie Milne and I take you beyond the deluge of headlines and provide the key analysis you need to fully understand the ever-changing developments of this crisis, the fallout, and our government’s response.
It’s safe to say we’ve stretched every single dollar to the max.
We're doing more than we ever have, but just like organizations and businesses all across the world, we're feeling the financial strain as this crisis intensifies.
If you can, please support our work so we can continue ramping up our remote operation to get the truth out on a daily basis.
Now more than ever, we need to keep scaling up our quarantine production to continue educating the public about what needs to happen to flatten the curve, and ensure every American has what they need to survive this.
As you can see, we put every penny to good use to bring you the analysis and context you need.
If you’re able, can you please chip in to ensure we can keep this up?
We’ve got even more planned for the coming weeks. I’ll be joined by Stacey Abrams for a live 45-minute conversation on Tuesday, April 28th, and our upcoming explainer videos will expose the rampant corporate welfare going on beneath the surface and shine a light on how Trump is using this crisis to abuse his power.
I know this is a big ask in such a perilous time. And I hope only those who are in a situation to give will do so.
As always, please stay as safe as you can, and check in on your loved ones.
Thank you for being in the trenches with us,
Robert Reich
Inequality Media
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