May, 17 2021, 12:00am EDT
Patriotic Millionaires Plan "Tax the Rich" Mobile Billboard Campaign in NYC and DC for Tax Day
3 billboards targeting Wall Street, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and Elon Musk will spend Monday driving through New York City and Washington, DC
WASHINGTON
TODAY, Monday the 17th, as President Biden and Congressional Democrats fight for an overhaul of the nation's tax code that would significantly raise rates on millionaires, billionaires, and wealthy corporations, the Patriotic Millionaires are launching an offensive against the people standing in the way. Selfish billionaires, Wall street tycoons, and CEOs are all fighting tooth and nail to protect their own special tax breaks, and misleading the American people about what Biden's tax plan would really entail.
In response, the Patriotic Millionaires will be running three billboards on Monday, two in Washington, DC and one in Manhattan, challenging the faces of wealth inequality in this country and calling for higher taxes on the rich.
One, a video billboard with the caption "Tax me if you can," features Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Mark Zuckerberg laughing (ominously). Another features their still images with the caption "Tax the Rich. Save America. Yes, it's really that simple." The third, meant for New York City, features an image of the famous Wall Street bull statue, with the caption "Cut the Bullsh*t. Tax the Rich." Each will direct passerbys to TaxtheRich.com, where they can further engage with the campaign.
The trucks will drive throughout New York City and Washington, DC, with stops at the following locations:
New York City
- Wall Street Bull
- The Federal Reserve Building
- Chuck Schumer's Senate office
- Jeff Bezos' apartment (In person protest here)
- 57th Street Billionaires' Row
In coordination with NYC progressive groups there will be a in person protest outside Jeff Bezos NYC apartment alongside the billboard at 2pm EST
Washington, DC
- Jeff Bezos' house
- Senator Mitch McConnell's house
- The Chamber of Commerce
- The US Capitol/National Mall
- The Trump Hotel
- DNC
- House and Senate Office Buildings
This campaign comes on the heels of the release of a book by the group's founder and President, Erica Payne, and Chair, Morris Pearl, called Tax the Rich! How Lies, Loopholes, and Lobbyists Make the Rich Even Richer.
In Tax the Rich!, Payne and Pearl take readers on an engaging and enlightening insider's tour of the nation's tax code, explaining exactly how "the rich"--and the politicians they control--manipulate the U.S. tax code to ensure the rich get richer, and everyone else is left holding the bag.
Blunt and irreverent, Tax the Rich! unapologetically dismantles the "intellectual" justifications for a tax code that virtually guarantees destabilizing levels of inequality and consequent social unrest. Infographics, charts, cartoons, and lively characters including "the Werkhardts" and "the Slumps" make a complicated subject accessible (and, yes, sometimes even funny) and illuminate the practical reforms that can put America on the road to stability and shared prosperity before it's too late.
The Patriotic Millionaires is a group of high-net worth Americans who share a profound concern about the destabilizing level of inequality in America. Our work centers on the two things that matter most in a capitalist democracy: power and money. Our goal is to ensure that the country's political economy is structured to meet the needs of regular Americans, rather than just millionaires. We focus on three "first" principles: a highly progressive tax system, a livable minimum wage, and equal political representation for all citizens.
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