Friends -

As we all know, we are in the middle of an extraordinary moment in American history: a public health crisis, the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, the existential threat of climate change and a president who is moving our country in an authoritarian direction.

In the midst of all these crises, there is another issue of major concern that is receiving very little attention. And that is the obscene level of income and wealth inequality which exists in our country and the fact that, during the pandemic, that inequality is becoming much worse. If you can believe it, while tens of millions of Americans are now facing economic desperation, 467 billionaires in this country have seen their wealth go up by over $730 billion since the pandemic has begun. That is what a rigged economy is all about. That is not acceptable.

That is why I am writing to you today to ask if you will add your name in support of my legislation, the Make Billionaires Pay Act. But first, I hope you will let me explain why your support of this bill is so important.

At a time of such massive levels of wealth and income inequality — when so many of our people are hurting — it is morally obscene for the billionaire class to use a global pandemic as an opportunity to make outrageous profits.

Last week I introduced legislation to tax the obscene wealth gains billionaires have made during the public health crisis and use it to cover out-of-pocket health care costs for all Americans over the next year. But it is not enough for my colleagues in the Senate to hear from me — they need to hear from you as well.

That is why I am asking you directly:

Please sign my petition to say you support the Make Billionaires Pay Act — legislation to tax the wealth that billionaires have gained during this crisis and provide health care for all for a year.

Let me share just a few examples of the incredible levels of inequality that are taking place during this horrific pandemic.

As Amazon denies 450,000 of its workers paid sick leave, hazard pay and personal protective equipment, Amazon owner Jeff Bezos has seen his wealth grow by over $70 billion.

While U.S. taxpayers subsidize the starvation wages at Walmart — the largest private employer in the country — the Walton family has made over $20 billion during the pandemic and now has a net worth of over $200 billion.

With 40 million Americans facing eviction, Elon Musk has nearly tripled his wealth over the past four months, with a total net worth of more than $70 billion.

While millions of Americans are lining up at emergency food banks because they don’t have enough money to feed their families, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has increased his wealth by more than $37 billion during the pandemic and is now worth over $90 billion.

We cannot and will not tolerate the grotesque levels of income and wealth inequality in this country.

Here is the truth:

If we taxed 60 percent of the gains made by the billionaire class from March 18 until August 3, we could raise over $420 billion. With that revenue, we could allow Medicare to pay all of the out-of-pocket health care expenses for everyone in the country for the next 12 months.

Yes, by taxing 60 percent of the wealth gains made by just 467 billionaires during this horrific pandemic, we could guarantee health care as a right for an entire year. And billionaires would still be able to pocket more than $310 billion in wealth gains during the worst economic collapse since the Great Depression.

In my view, we cannot allow ourselves to live in a system that has three of the wealthiest people in America owning more wealth than the bottom 50 percent, while over 30 million Americans have lost their jobs and 92 million people are either uninsured or under-insured.

We are in a time of enormous economic pain and suffering, and we have a choice to make. Will we continue to allow the very rich to get much richer while everyone else gets poorer and poorer? Or will we tax the winnings a handful of billionaires made during the pandemic to improve the health and well-being of tens of millions of Americans?

It is time for the Senate to act on behalf of working people who are hurting like they have never hurt before — not the billionaires who are doing perfectly well and in fact have never had it so good.

Can I count on you to add your name to my legislation?

Please sign my petition to say you support the Make Billionaires Pay Act — a tax on the billionaire class that will provide health care for all for a year.

Thank you for adding your name in support of this legislation. During this unprecedented moment in the history of our country, we must never stop fighting for the kind of nation we know we can become.

In solidarity,

Bernie Sanders

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