In a show of open-handed benevolence, a collection of millionaires and billionaires have penned an open letter to global leaders begging them for higher taxes in an attempt to slow the widening gap between them and much of the global population.
The letter, signed by the likes of Mark Ruffalo, Brian Eno, and Abigail Disney (per The Guardian) calls for a tax on the super wealthy and redistribution of wealth. The Time To Win call to action, released to coincide with the World Economic Forum meeting, is a show of solidarity from “millionaires who stand shoulder to shoulder with all people.”
As the open letter points out, with every day that passes, the super-rich become wealthier. Last year, more billionaires were created than ever before, as reported by development charity Oxfam. However, despite the huge increase in the obscenely rich, taxes haven’t been altered to effectively combat this. The result is that now, 1% of people hold more wealth than 95% of the population.
The letter addresses the disparity between the rich and the poor and demands higher taxes. As demonstrated by the excerpt below, the signatories are willing to share a bit of their wealth as long as the rest of the super-rich see the same kind of treatment. They’ll give up one or two of their summer homes if it means others can afford heating this winter.
As millionaires who stand shoulder to shoulder with all people, we demand it. And as our elected representatives—whether it’s those of you at Davos, local councillors, city mayors, or regional leaders—it’s your duty to deliver it. So tax us. Tax the super rich.
Of course, the “super-rich” can also start their own foundations, charities, or other projects, and many have become philanthropists. By signing a group letter, they pass some of the blame onto world leaders, but are asking for governments worldwide to start taxing the super-rich, including themselves, fairly, so that wealth can begin to be redistributed.
However, the biggest obstacle to this happening is written right into the letter itself. The verbiage addresses the root cause of why billionaires continue to exist and multiply, that the super-rich own the governments that should be redistributing their wealth and providing living standards for the population, as said in the excerpt below:
A handful of global oligarchs with extreme wealth have bought up our democracies; taken over our governments; gagged the freedom of our media; placed a stranglehold on technology and innovation; deepened poverty and social exclusion; and accelerated the breakdown of our planet.
As nice as it would be for the signatures of kind-hearted millionaires and billionaires to make a difference, as many struggle to make ends meet, they may have written to the wrong people. The open letter concludes with: “It is time to be counted. Tax us and make sure the next fifty years meet the promise of progress for everyone.“
