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Dear John,
Money is power. When Elon Musk can decide on a whim to spend $44 billion to try to buy Twitter, after paying zero in federal income taxes[1] as recently as 2018, it’s clear that billionaires have too much unfettered power and influence in America.
The truth is, we cannot have a government of, by, and for the people when vast sums of money from the billionaire class continue to corrupt our politics, control traditional and social media, and eat away at our democracy.
Just this year, PayPal co-founder and staunch Trump supporter Peter Thiel poured nearly $30 million into midterm elections, backing his personal finance protégés JD Vance in Ohio and Blake Masters in Arizona. Wall Street trader Jeffery Yass has spent $28.5 million to help candidates who believe the 2020 election was rigged. And Nike co-founder Phil Knight has spent millions in Oregon’s governor race siphoning votes from the Democrats. The list goes on.
With millions of children living below the poverty line and families across the country forced to choose between putting food on the table or paying their bills, it is absolutely ludicrous that billionaires are sitting on excess wealth and using it to corrupt our elections.
Fight to make billionaires pay their fair share toward critical investments in our future. Tell Congress: Pass the Billionaire Minimum Income Tax!
“We can have democracy in this country or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few. But we cannot have both.” - Louis Brandeis[2]
Our democracy is supposed to reflect the will of the people, but Citizens United unleashed a torrent of big money into our elections. So billionaire wealth turns policy into profit as those with the most money wield the most power.
After all, there’s a reason why Elon Musk wants to control Twitter...he’s buying the power to control the information that comes with it. The same goes with Thiel, Yass, and Knight. Their money gives them the power to control elections and candidates, who can then keep their tax cuts flowing.
We must demand a truly progressive tax structure that ensures billionaire wealth isn’t used to undermine our democracy and hoard wealth at the top. Instead, it must create real economic justice and put working people first.
A Billionaire Minimum Income Tax would raise hundreds of billions of dollars over the course of a decade, paving the way for groundbreaking investments in universal preschool, Medicare expansion, and paid family and medical leave.
We must work to get big money out of our elections, so the voices of the people aren’t drowned out by the mega-wealthy. Tell Congress: Pass the Billionaire Minimum Income Tax now!
America and our democracy are stronger when we rein in the power and influence of the ultra-rich. Together, we’ll keep fighting to take on the billionaire class and win.
Thank you for standing on the side of the people.
Robert Reich
Inequality Media Civic Action
[1] The Secret IRS Files: Trove of Never-Before-Seen Records Reveal How the Wealthiest Avoid Income Tax, ProPublica
[2] Louis Brandeis, Spartacus Educational
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