Dear John,

Congress has passed the Inflation Reduction Act, which provides billions to fight climate change and expand healthcare nationwide. It finally makes sure that billion-dollar corporations won’t get away with paying zero in taxes and will allow the I.R.S. to reclaim billions from ultra-rich, criminal tax cheats through increased enforcement.

This is a big deal, but the process of getting to this point once again exposed the incredible, nearly unstoppable power of millionaires and billionaires.

The act doesn’t include even a single cent of new taxes on billionaire wealth.

In fact, the one provision that would have addressed the special tax treatment billionaires are privy to was killed by a single Senator who has received more than half a million dollars in campaign donations from Wall Street executives in this election cycle alone: Kyrsten Sinema. Those donations account for more than 10% of the total amount she has raised and represents 100% of the corrupting effect billionaire money has on America.^[1]

America, and our democracy, cannot wait any longer to raise taxes on the ultra-rich. Join me and our partners in calling on Congress to tax billionaire wealth now.

Corporate profits have surged to a record breaking 70-year high, which has resulted in CEOs’ pay rising to equally record-breaking heights. The Wall Street Journal reports CEOs now make an average of 254 times more than the average worker, an increase of 12% just last year alone.^[2]

Now, a report from Americans for Tax fairness has revealed that the nation’s roughly 750 billionaires are increasingly using their personal fortunes and the profits of connected corporations to drown out regular voters’ voices and elect hand-picked candidates who further rig the nation’s economy -- especially the tax system -- to make their wealthy donors even richer.^[3]

This anti-democratic vote buying, totaling $1.2 billion in the 2020 election cycle, has expanded to almost 40 times more than in 2010 before the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling overturned limits.

We can help short circuit this vicious cycle by demanding more, and fairer, taxes from the ultra-rich to curb their political influence while at the same time raising revenue for the critical investments our country needs to continue to combat climate change, expand healthcare and protect our democratic institutions.

Democracy has a billionaire problem. The solution is to tax billionaire wealth. Join me in calling on Congress to get it done.

Whether through a Billionaires Income Tax or other means that tax the extreme wealth gains and income of billionaires, Congress must make billionaires pay their fair share in taxes and limit their influence on our elections. Congress can make it happen, but they won’t do it without hearing from you.

Thank you for joining this fight.

Robert Reich
Inequality Media Civic Action

^{[1] Kyrsten Sinema is significant beneficiary of private equity lobbying machine, Financial Times
[2] Pay Packages for CEOs Rise to Record Level, Wall Street Journal
[3] Billionaires Buying Elections, Americans for Tax Fairness Report}