Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) and a handful of right-wing Democrats pose a potentially existential threat to the $3.5 trillion Build Back Better Act, a sweeping budget reconciliation package that, if passed, would fund robust climate action. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Behold and Beware! The Age of Trillionaires Is Coming
Have we just about decided that the further accumulation of billionaire fortunes makes for good public policy?
Barely a year ago, my colleagues Chuck Collins and Omar Ocampo noted the passing of "a disturbing milestone in the U.S. history of concentrated wealth and power." On August 13, 2020, just twelve obscenely wealthy Americans held a combined $1.015 trillion. They called those twelve the "Oligarchic Dozen."
Or we've accepted the notion that the use of revenue derived from taxing billionaires in a meaningful way to alleviate human pain and suffering would be bad policy.
Oh, how quaint, how yesteryear.
On October 29, 2021, just half that group--just six extraordinarily rich people--held wealth totaling $1.003 trillion.
Meet our "Oligarchic Half-Dozen": Elon Musk ($292.6 billion), Jeff Bezos ($195.9), Bill Gates ($137.4), Larry Ellison ($130.0), Larry Page ($126.2), and Sergey Brin ($121.6). That number for Elon Musk, definitely not a typo: America now has its first "quarter-trillionaire."
Chuck and Omar had it right: The arrival of the Oligarchic Dozen last year should have disturbed us all. The appearance of the Oligarchic Half-Dozen just one year later should be absolutely alarming.
But apparently not alarming enough to Congress and the Biden administration. In the face of recent blockbuster reporting--by ProPublica on the paltry rate that gigantic wealth increases translate into taxable income and by both ProPublica and Bloomberg on the routine use of obscene estate tax loopholes--the Biden administration's Build Back Better framework released last week threw every proposal directed at billionaire wealth concentration overboard.
At the behest of Joe Manchin and a few other lawmakers, the so-called "Billionaire Income Tax" proposal developed by Senator Ron Wyden suddenly disappeared off the bargaining table. Wyden's modest proposal would have required billionaires to recognize their wealth gains as income and pay tax as those gains accrued.
The new framework also includes no measure to close the stepped-up basis loophole, the neat trick that lets billionaires avoid income tax on a lifetime of investment gains through the unavoidable act of dying. This loophole survives thanks to a massive and shamelessly dishonest lobbying campaign purportedly waged on behalf of farm families, all of whom would have been protected from any adverse impacts.
For no known reason at all, but possibly at the insistence of Senator Kyrsten Sinema, measures in the recent House Ways and Means proposal that would have narrowed several gaping estate tax loopholes now don't appear in the framework either.
Who should get blamed for all this? We have plenty of suspects who've contributed to the stupefying result now before us. Implicitly, we've decided that the further accumulation of billionaire fortunes--and the imminent arrival of our first trillionaires--make for good public policy. Or we've accepted the notion that the use of revenue derived from taxing billionaires in a meaningful way to alleviate human pain and suffering would be bad policy. Or both.
This can't get much crazier.
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. In a few short weeks, US voters will have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. Our Fall Campaign is underway, and we need your help. To power our newsroom through the rest of the year, we need to raise $125,000 by midnight on October 31. So if you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
Barely a year ago, my colleagues Chuck Collins and Omar Ocampo noted the passing of "a disturbing milestone in the U.S. history of concentrated wealth and power." On August 13, 2020, just twelve obscenely wealthy Americans held a combined $1.015 trillion. They called those twelve the "Oligarchic Dozen."
Or we've accepted the notion that the use of revenue derived from taxing billionaires in a meaningful way to alleviate human pain and suffering would be bad policy.
Oh, how quaint, how yesteryear.
On October 29, 2021, just half that group--just six extraordinarily rich people--held wealth totaling $1.003 trillion.
Meet our "Oligarchic Half-Dozen": Elon Musk ($292.6 billion), Jeff Bezos ($195.9), Bill Gates ($137.4), Larry Ellison ($130.0), Larry Page ($126.2), and Sergey Brin ($121.6). That number for Elon Musk, definitely not a typo: America now has its first "quarter-trillionaire."
Chuck and Omar had it right: The arrival of the Oligarchic Dozen last year should have disturbed us all. The appearance of the Oligarchic Half-Dozen just one year later should be absolutely alarming.
But apparently not alarming enough to Congress and the Biden administration. In the face of recent blockbuster reporting--by ProPublica on the paltry rate that gigantic wealth increases translate into taxable income and by both ProPublica and Bloomberg on the routine use of obscene estate tax loopholes--the Biden administration's Build Back Better framework released last week threw every proposal directed at billionaire wealth concentration overboard.
At the behest of Joe Manchin and a few other lawmakers, the so-called "Billionaire Income Tax" proposal developed by Senator Ron Wyden suddenly disappeared off the bargaining table. Wyden's modest proposal would have required billionaires to recognize their wealth gains as income and pay tax as those gains accrued.
The new framework also includes no measure to close the stepped-up basis loophole, the neat trick that lets billionaires avoid income tax on a lifetime of investment gains through the unavoidable act of dying. This loophole survives thanks to a massive and shamelessly dishonest lobbying campaign purportedly waged on behalf of farm families, all of whom would have been protected from any adverse impacts.
For no known reason at all, but possibly at the insistence of Senator Kyrsten Sinema, measures in the recent House Ways and Means proposal that would have narrowed several gaping estate tax loopholes now don't appear in the framework either.
Who should get blamed for all this? We have plenty of suspects who've contributed to the stupefying result now before us. Implicitly, we've decided that the further accumulation of billionaire fortunes--and the imminent arrival of our first trillionaires--make for good public policy. Or we've accepted the notion that the use of revenue derived from taxing billionaires in a meaningful way to alleviate human pain and suffering would be bad policy. Or both.
This can't get much crazier.
Barely a year ago, my colleagues Chuck Collins and Omar Ocampo noted the passing of "a disturbing milestone in the U.S. history of concentrated wealth and power." On August 13, 2020, just twelve obscenely wealthy Americans held a combined $1.015 trillion. They called those twelve the "Oligarchic Dozen."
Or we've accepted the notion that the use of revenue derived from taxing billionaires in a meaningful way to alleviate human pain and suffering would be bad policy.
Oh, how quaint, how yesteryear.
On October 29, 2021, just half that group--just six extraordinarily rich people--held wealth totaling $1.003 trillion.
Meet our "Oligarchic Half-Dozen": Elon Musk ($292.6 billion), Jeff Bezos ($195.9), Bill Gates ($137.4), Larry Ellison ($130.0), Larry Page ($126.2), and Sergey Brin ($121.6). That number for Elon Musk, definitely not a typo: America now has its first "quarter-trillionaire."
Chuck and Omar had it right: The arrival of the Oligarchic Dozen last year should have disturbed us all. The appearance of the Oligarchic Half-Dozen just one year later should be absolutely alarming.
But apparently not alarming enough to Congress and the Biden administration. In the face of recent blockbuster reporting--by ProPublica on the paltry rate that gigantic wealth increases translate into taxable income and by both ProPublica and Bloomberg on the routine use of obscene estate tax loopholes--the Biden administration's Build Back Better framework released last week threw every proposal directed at billionaire wealth concentration overboard.
At the behest of Joe Manchin and a few other lawmakers, the so-called "Billionaire Income Tax" proposal developed by Senator Ron Wyden suddenly disappeared off the bargaining table. Wyden's modest proposal would have required billionaires to recognize their wealth gains as income and pay tax as those gains accrued.
The new framework also includes no measure to close the stepped-up basis loophole, the neat trick that lets billionaires avoid income tax on a lifetime of investment gains through the unavoidable act of dying. This loophole survives thanks to a massive and shamelessly dishonest lobbying campaign purportedly waged on behalf of farm families, all of whom would have been protected from any adverse impacts.
For no known reason at all, but possibly at the insistence of Senator Kyrsten Sinema, measures in the recent House Ways and Means proposal that would have narrowed several gaping estate tax loopholes now don't appear in the framework either.
Who should get blamed for all this? We have plenty of suspects who've contributed to the stupefying result now before us. Implicitly, we've decided that the further accumulation of billionaire fortunes--and the imminent arrival of our first trillionaires--make for good public policy. Or we've accepted the notion that the use of revenue derived from taxing billionaires in a meaningful way to alleviate human pain and suffering would be bad policy. Or both.
This can't get much crazier.