Chuck Collins
Chuck Collins is a senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies where he co-edits Inequality.org, and is author of the new book, Born on Third Base: A One Percenter Makes the Case for Tackling Inequality, Bringing Wealth Home, and Committing to the Common Good. He is cofounder of Wealth for the Common Good, recently merged with the Patriotic Millionaires. He is co-author of 99 to 1: The Moral Measure of the Economy and, with Bill Gates Sr., of Wealth and Our Commonwealth: Why America Should Tax Accumulated Fortunes.
Articles by this author
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Views Wednesday, March 13, 2019 Bring Back Eisenhower Socialism Beware of the specter of socialism! Anytime a politician proposes a wildly popular idea that helps ordinary people, a few grumpy conservatives will call them “socialists.” Propose to reduce college debt, help sick families, or ensure the super-rich pay their fair share of taxes — suddenly you’re a... Read more |
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Views Sunday, February 24, 2019 What States Can Do to Reduce Poverty and Inequality Through Tax Policy States have an opportunity to act to close the loopholes that hide and protect the wealth of the top 1%, remedy the impact of the new federal tax law that lowers taxes on the wealthy, and make critical investments in infrastructure, energy systems, and programs that create broader opportunity and... Read more |
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Views Saturday, February 02, 2019 A Wealth Tax Could Raise Trillions — and Save Our Democracy Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has jolted the body politic with a bold proposal to tax the concentrated wealth of the richest 75,000 households in the United States. It’s about time someone took up this mantle. Warren’s proposal would levy an annual 2 percent tax on wealth over $50 million, with... Read more |
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Views Thursday, January 31, 2019 Bernie's Plutocracy Prevention Act The Republicans can’t control their baser greed impulse, as revealed in their latest move to abolish the federal estate tax, our nation’s only levy on the inherited wealth of the super-rich. But what we really need is a bold intervention to break up growing dynasties of wealth and power. Congress... Read more |
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Views Monday, January 21, 2019 An MLK Day Reflection: The Racial Wealth Gap Is Killing the Middle Class Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would have been 90 on January 15, so it's time for a progress report. Fifty years after co-founding the Poor People’s Campaign, a multiracial campaign for economic justice, the state of King's dream of racial equity and freedom from poverty is far from attained. On the... Read more |
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Views Wednesday, January 16, 2019 The Government Shutdown Expands the Ranks of ‘Underwater Nation’ As the government shutdown drags on, the image of federal workers lining up at food pantries has dramatized just how many workers live financially close to the edge. By one estimate , almost 80 percent of U.S. workers live paycheck to paycheck. Miss one check and you’re taking a second look at what... Read more |
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Views Tuesday, January 15, 2019 Dreams Deferred: How Enriching the 1 Percent Widens the Racial Wealth Divide January 15, 2019, the release date of this report, would have been the 90th birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King envisioned a future in which deep racial inequalities were eradicated and he worked tirelessly towards that mission. His tragic assassination occurred while he was organizing... Read more |
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Views Tuesday, November 20, 2018 One Way to Skip Wall Street and Invest in Your Community I recently met a person who, with considerable angst, asked what to do about a substantial inheritance. My heartfelt response: Give it away. I did it myself more than 35 years ago, and it was the best decision I ever made. In 1986, faced with my own intergenerational wealth moment, I passed the... Read more |
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Views Tuesday, October 30, 2018 Time for a Tax on Billionaire Wealth Dynasties “We are developing into a plutocracy.” These words are not from Bernie Sanders, but Paul Volker, the former chair of the Federal Reserve under both Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan. One indicator that we are drifting toward plutocracy is whether great fortunes grow or disperse over decades... Read more |
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Views Wednesday, October 10, 2018 Towering Excess: The Perils of the Luxury Real Estate Boom for Bostonians Boston is experiencing a luxury real estate boom, with thousands of new luxury residential and rental units in different stages of development. A decade from now, Boston’s skyline and population demographics will be fundamentally altered by decisions being made today. This boom does have benefits,... Read more |