| Dear Friend, The Wall Street Journal is reporting that working families are cutting back on essentials as inflation runs rampant.(1) As families try to get by on lower-quality food and fewer diapers for our children, the picture for the United States’ 750 richest people looks very different -- they have collectively become $1.7 trillion richer since the beginning of the pandemic.(2) And yet these ultra wealthy also routinely pay zero dollars in income tax, while you and I pay much more.(3) It’s past time that America’s billionaires pay what they owe. President Biden has called for a billionaire tax, and so have progressive senators, including Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.(4) Congress needs to make it happen. Sign our petition calling on Congress to pass a billionaire tax right away! Here’s the country’s worst-kept secret: There is no such thing as a self-made billionaire. Entrepreneurs like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos relied on favorable tax laws, workers educated by public schools, infrastructure built by American workers, and subsidies from American programs to get where they are.(5) It’s time for these billionaires to pay what they owe back into the system to support the next generation. A billionaire tax would raise at least $360 billion, enough to pay for sorely-needed programs, like universal pre-K, Medicare for All, and paid sick leave. The pandemic has laid bare just how weak our support system is for working families, and we need a much more fair tax system to fix it. Two-thirds of Americans support a billionaire tax, and we need to make that majority heard.(6) Courage California has joined a coalition including Americans for Tax Fairness, Progress America, and Blue Future, to call on Congress to pass this tax. And the more voices we add, the more pressure Congress will feel. Sign now to tell Congress: Pass a billionaire tax! Yours in the fight for tax fairness, Irene, along with Amber, Angela, Annie, Isidra, Jay, Lindsay, LisaMarie, Mai, Mai, Raquel, and Scottie (the Courage team) Footnotes:  |
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