Tax the Rich, Save the Climate

This piece was originally published in the May 24, 2022 edition of CAP Action’s newsletter, the Progress Report. Subscribe to the Progress Report here.

“Right now, the average billionaire—there are about 790 of them or so in America—has an average federal tax rate of 8%. No billionaire should be paying a lower tax rate than a teacher, a firefighter, an electrician, or a police officer.” – President Joe Biden

During the past decade, the richest companies and individuals have gotten away with highway robbery, paying a far lower tax rate than most working families. And the costs have not been borne equally, especially as the United States deals with a worsening climate crisis. Everyday a family feels the burdens of the climate crisis while the superrich hide safely in their mansions.

The unpaid taxes of the richest 1 percent could have funded major elements of President Biden’s economic agenda—including his proposed clean energy tax credits—and more. It’s time to make this right and tax the rich.

Share the below graphic to show your support for President Biden’s clean energy plan:

In the news

• According to analysis by Oxfam, a new person has become a billionaire nearly every day since the pandemic began. These data further underscore the need to equal out U.S.  tax brackets and address inequality in the health care system.
• 78,000 pounds of infant formula has been shipped into the United States on military aircraft as part of President Biden’s initiative to mitigate the baby formula shortage affecting families across the country.

What we’re reading

• “Supreme Court makes it more difficult for prisoners to argue they had ineffective counsel” by Ariane de Vogue and Devan Cole (CNN)
• “America Turned the Greatest Vehicle of Social Mobility Into a Debt Machine” by Tressie McMillan Cottom (The New York Times)
• “A new proposed tax on Big Oil’s profit markups offers a solution for cash-strapped Americans” by Paul Constant (Insider)
• “Will Voters Care? Yes.” by Molly Jong-Fast (The Atlantic)
• “The Root of Haiti’s Misery: Reparations to Enslavers.” by Catherine Porter, Constant Méheut, Matt Apuzzo, and Selam Gebrekidan (The New York Times)
• “Roe and Privacy Rights: The Risk to Birth Control, Gay Marriage, and More” by Namrata Verghese 
• “How Trump’s 2020 Election Lies Have Gripped State Legislatures” by Nick Corasaniti, Karen Yourish, and Keith Collins (The New York Times)
• Forty-four percent of Republican legislators in 9 battleground states “used the power of their office to discredit or try to overturn the results of the 2020 election.” (The New York Times)

This piece was originally published in the May 24, 2022 edition of CAP Action’s newsletter, the Progress Report. Subscribe to the Progress Report here.