Patriotic Millionaires Group Launches 'Flood the Red Zone: Save America' Campaign Demanding 'a Working Class Tax Cut Paid for by Millionaires.'

Today, Patriotic Millionaires launched “Flood the Red Zone: Save America,” a major new paid media campaign targeting working class voters in North Carolina. The state will be home to some of the most consequential elections in the nation for both the 2026 and 2028 elections. “Flood the Red Zone: Save America” will run from Labor Day to Veterans Day, and will center on a demand for a working class tax cut paid for by millionaires, like the organization’s own members.

“Every politician in America says they support working people. We say ‘prove it,’” said Patriotic Millionaires Board Chair Morris Pearl, a former BlackRock executive.

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“Like Donald Trump, I’m a Wharton graduate. But unlike Donald Trump, I can do math,” said Patriotic Millionaires Founder and President Erica Payne, a native of the Tar Heel State. “Trump’s tax bill taxes working people into poverty and gives huge tax cuts to millionaires. We demand the opposite. Raise taxes on millionaires and billionaires like our members, and use the money to fund a ‘cost of living’ tax cut for working people.”

Over the course of a ten-week blitz, Patriotic Millionaires will blanket fairs and festivals and talk directly to working class voters in deep red areas across North Carolina, the most pivotal political state in the nation. Specifically, members will advocate for a cost of living tax exemption, the first element of the group’s legislative platform The MONEY Agenda: America 250.

“These are the most powerful voters in the entire country. Every single politician in America wants the working class vote, and they will be the ones to decide if we take the final step into a fascist plutocracy, or if we turn the corner and begin to rebuild the greatest capitalist democracy in the world,” said Payne.

The group is demanding an immediate “cost of living” exemption equal to the median cost of living for a single adult with no children ($45,700*) that will shift the tax burden to taxpayers like their members and to those with incomes over $1 million.

“We have reached a breaking point in American democracy, and it is up to working people to demand their elected officials put them—not corporations, special interests, and ultra-wealthy donors—first,” said Pearl. “For decades, both political parties have sought working peoples’ votes but have failed to deliver real changes that result in tangible results and economic relief to them. Enough is enough. A society this unequal cannot stand for long. We know there is a simple solution that can be implemented now: a working class tax cut paid for by millionaires.”

The initiative’s name, “Flood the Red Zone: Save America,” refers to the “red zone” in football where tough games are won or lost. In politics, the Red Zone is where the most important voters in the country are: the members of the working class who have decided the last four presidential elections.

“Donald Trump signaled to working people he was on their side, and then immediately sold them out to his wealthy friends and donors. If he was serious about improving the lives of the people who voted him into office, he would have demanded his ‘beautiful budget’ included tax hikes on people like me,” said Patriotic Millionaires Vice-Chair Stephen Prince, the founder of Card Market, Inc. “The real question here is for America’s millionaires and billionaires: We are at a moment when the federal government actually taxes working Americans into poverty. Are you willing to pay a little bit more on your income so that working Americans can get by? For the sake of our democracy and our economy, I sure hope the answer is YES!”

As members of Congress prepare to head back to Washington for the September legislative session, Patriotic Millionaires will attend several fairs and festivals throughout the months of September, October, and November. At each event, attendees will have the opportunity to speak directly with members of Patriotic Millionaires about the state of our economy and to empower to demand economic change and relief from their elected officials. The Patriotic Millionaires will be at the following events:

• Saturday, September 6th, the N.C. Honey Festival in Columbus Co.
• Saturday, September 13th, the 55th Annual Coharie Indian Cultural Pow Wow in Sampson Co.
• Saturday, September 20th, the Dublin Peanut Festival in Bladen Co.
• Saturday, October 4th, Pine Tree Fest in Columbus Co.
• Saturday, October 11th, the Clinton Square Fair & BBQ Cook-Off 2025 in Sampson Co.
• Saturday, October 18th, Autumn Festival in Pender Co.
• Saturday, October 25th, the N.C. Yam Festival in Columbus Co.
• Saturday, November 1st, N.C. Pecan Festival in Columbus Co.
• Saturday, November 8th, 25th Anniversary Festival Latino, in New Hanover Co.

To learn more about the “Flood the Red Zone” campaign, please contact Jacob Brooks, Director of Patriotic Millionaires’ Great Economy Project, at jbrooks@patrioticmillionaires.org.

To learn more about Patriotic Millionaires or for interview requests with our millionaire members, please contact Emily McCloskey, Patriotic Millionaires’ Deputy Communications Director, at emily@patrioticmillionaires.org.

*The median annual “cost of living” for a single adult with no children is $45,700. Source: Amy K. Glasmeier, “Living Wage Calculator,” Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2025. Accessed on April 29, 2025 from https://livingwage.mit.edu/.