Dear John,
Billionaire money is drowning our democracy. It’s time to fight back!
In the 2024 elections, just 100 billionaire families spent an astounding $2.6 billion to influence presidential and congressional races -- that’s more than one in every six dollars spent across all federal campaigns. Their unchecked wealth was funneled through super PACs and “dark money” groups, bypassing contribution limits and flooding our political system with cash.
This extreme imbalance of power was supercharged by the Supreme Court’s catastrophic Citizens United decision, which turned our political system into a playground for the ultra-rich. Now, everyday Americans are being priced out of their own democracy.
Billionaires’ campaign contributions translate directly into political power. Elon Musk alone poured a record-breaking $278 million into Trump’s reelection campaign, and in return, he’s been rewarded with unprecedented influence over federal policy, including the demolition of agencies that, until now, kept his empire in check. This isn’t democracy any longer -- it’s plutocracy.
Tell Congress to stop the unending flow of riches to campaigns from the richest people and corporations in the nation. Get billionaire money out of politics – our democracy depends on it!
If corporations are people and money is speech, as the Supreme Court has declared, then billionaires and their corporate empires are now superhuman entities, accountable only to themselves.
The resulting torrent of billionaire and corporate money has flooded our political system, rigging the tax system in favor of the ultra-wealthy, gutting worker protections, attacking voting rights, and now more seriously than ever, threatening Social Security and Medicare – all while ensuring that the billionaires’ grip on power remains unshaken.
There are three actions Congress must take that would help free us from the overwhelming impact of billionaire dollars on our political system. Congress should:
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Tax billionaire wealth – including unrealized gains
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Overturn Citizens United and reinstate real campaign finance laws
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Limit dark money and corporate influence in elections
Year after year, billionaires pour more money into campaigns, cementing their dominance. We must act now to break this toxic cycle.
Tell Congress: It’s time to get billionaire wealth out of politics! Overturn Citizens United, tax billionaires’ wealth, and enact meaningful election reform.
Don’t let billionaires buy our democracy out from under us!
Robert Reich
Inequality Media Civic Action
