Everyone (except Norquist Groupies) Agrees With the Patriotic Millionaires 5DEZ12

PATRIOTIC MILLIONAIRES are increasing their pressure on the gop leadership to increase the taxes on the top 2% of the population, the wealthiest in the nation. This update from the Agenda Project, and the letter follows....
Today, dozens of millionaires joined the Patriotic Millionaires' call for higher taxes on the wealthiest Americans.

• This morning 25 of the country's most successful LGBT millionaires sent a letter to Senator Mitch McConnell, Speaker John Boehner, Majority Leader Harry Reid, and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, urging Congress to allow tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans to expire on schedule at the end of the year.  You can see their inspiring letter at www.FiscalPride.org.
• CEOs from some of the country's largest businesses agreed.  Top defense executives like David Langstaff, CEO of TASC, said: "[Income tax rates] need to go up some . . . it's a fairness issue." Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein said, "If we had to lift up the marginal rate, I would do that."  Some emphasized that raising marginal rates would not hurt jobs.  FedEx Chairman and CEO Fred Smith said the notion that it would was "mythology."

"Americans everywhere know we have to do this," said Patriotic Millionaire Dan Berger. "Now if we can just get Grover Norquist's groupies to put their pledge to the country ahead of their pledge to him, we just might get somewhere."
What a great holiday gift,
EP
To learn more about the Patriotic Millionaires, visit patrioticmillionaires.org.  For press inquiries, please contact Rachael Wall at 212-481-8302 or rwall@agendaproject.org.
December 5, 2012

The Honorable John Boehner Speaker of the House of Representatives Washington, D.C. 20515

The Honorable Harry Reid Majority Leader United States Senate Washington, D.C. 20510

The Honorable Mitch McConnell Republican Leader United States Senate Washington, D.C. 20510

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi Democratic Leader House of Representatives Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Speaker Boehner, Senator Reid, Senator McConnell, and Representative Pelosi:
We are successful LGBT Americans who now or in the past have earned an annual income of $1,000,000 or more.

America has been good to us: it has provided the foundation and opportunity to succeed. We want that same opportunity and possibility for all Americans, but we are concerned about the future of our community and our country.

At the end of this year, a series of deadlines will require our leaders to make important decisions that will have a huge impact on the economy -- and on the LGBT community. If Congress fails to act, across-the-board cuts to vital programs will be triggered even as taxes go up on the middle class.

For LGBT Americans, this "fiscal cliff" isn't just an abstract concept. A report released by the Center for American Progress, the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, and a coalition of 23 national LGBT organizations outlines the real and lasting impact it would have.

Across-the-board cuts would compromise LGBT health by reducing programmatic funding used to address the health care needs of gay and transgender Americans, impair the federal government's ability to investigate claims of workplace discrimination, and remove critical resources from government agencies working to prevent bullying and school violence.

At the same time, higher tax rates would further endanger middle class and working class members of our community. LGBT Americans have lower levels of income than other Americans, according to a recent Gallup report, and face additional economic obstacles caused by the so-called Defense of Marriage Act and the lack of federal workplace protections.

In the recent election, many of us contributed significantly to re-elect the President, and we support the President's vision of a country in which everyone has a fair shot and does his or her fair share.

We urge Congress to work with President Obama to avoid the fiscal cliff with a balanced approach, and to preserve the middle class tax cuts while allowing tax cuts for the best off to expire. It's the right thing to do.
Sincerely,

The Honorable Bruce W. Bastian	Tim Gill
Terry Bean	Mel Heifetz
Paul Boskind	Glenn Johnson & Michael Melancon
David Bohnett	Kathy Levinson
Roberta Conroy	Terrence Meck
Bill Derrough	Charles Myers
Karen K. Dixon & Nan Schaffer	Suze Orman & Kathy Travis
Joe Falk	Laura Ricketts
Dale Frederiksen & Bob Page	Sarah Schmidt
Nanette Gartrell, MD & Dee (Diane) Mosbacher MD, PhD	Andrew Tobias