Dear Friend,

The Washington Post just called 2021 “the best time in history to be one
of America’s 745 billionaires.”^1

The ultra-wealthy saw their net worth grow by 70% since the beginning of
the pandemic, while the rest of us are struggling with rising food and gas
costs—inflation driven by corporations owned by the same ultra-wealthy.^2

In his State of the Union address, President Joe Biden called on the
wealthiest Americans to start paying more taxes, and the public supports a
wealth tax, too. Demand Progress is mobilizing to get this done in the
Senate.

[ [link removed] ]Will you chip in $10 to Demand Progress and help pass the
wealth tax?

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Stories of out-of-control wealth have flooded the news lately.

Jeff Bezos asked the Netherlands to dismantle a historic bridge so his
gigantic super yacht could pass.^3 Elon Musk is funding AI brain
implants.^4 Mark Zuckerberg now owns more of the Hawaiian island of Kauai
than the Kauai government does.^5

But those stories are not where the real issue lies, which is in the
ever-increasing concentration of wealth by a few people at the top at the
expense of the rest of us. Right now in the U.S., fewer than 1,000 people
hold more wealth than the bottom 60% of households—nearly 200 million
people—combined.^6

The typical working family is struggling. Corporate greed has driven
inflation to a 40-year high, while wages are mostly stagnant.^7 Childcare,
higher education, and health care are more expensive than ever. A survey
showed that 59% of Americans are one paycheck away from a housing
crisis.^8

There should never be unmitigated wealth among a few while the rest of us
are crushed by the system. It’s time for a wealth tax. Both Senators Joe
Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema expressed support for it at various times
during 2021, so success is possible in 2022. Demand Progress drove more
than 250,000 messages to Congress in 2021 in support of a wealth tax, and
with a chance to get Manchin and Sinema on board, we’re pushing hard now
in 2022.

[ [link removed] ]Will you chip in $10 to Demand Progress and help call on
Congress to pass a wealth tax?

Thanks for standing with us.

Robert Cruickshank,
Demand Progress

P.S.: Your contributions are what keep us nimble and prepared to take on
important fights like these as they happen. [ [link removed] ]Will you become a monthly
donor to keep our work going?

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Sources:

1. The Washington Post, "The moral calculations of a billionaire,"
[ [link removed] ]January 30, 2022
2. Ibid.
3. NPR, "The Dutch vow to egg Jeff Bezos' yacht if a bridge is dismantled
to let his boat pass," [ [link removed] ]February 9, 2022
4. Fortune, "Elon Musk claims Neuralink’s brain implants will ‘save’
memories like photos and help paraplegics walk again. Here’s a reality
check," [ [link removed] ]February 22, 2022
5. SF Gate, "$170M bought Meta's Mark Zuckerberg a lot of land in Hawaii.
But can it buy him redemption on Kauai?" [ [link removed] ]February 9, 2022
6. The Washington Post, "The moral calculations of a billionaire,"
[ [link removed] ]January 30, 2022
7. The Wall Street Journal, "U.S. Inflation Rate Accelerates to a 40-Year
High of 7.5%," [ [link removed] ]February 10, 2022
8. Charles Schwab, "Modern Wealth Survey," [ [link removed] ]May 2019
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