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Showing posts with label income inequality. Show all posts
Showing posts with label income inequality. Show all posts

04 September 2026

2026 MIDTERM ELECTIONS, we've got to finish the job!!! 3SEP26

 

Here is a message encouragement from Sen Bernie Sanders I-VT. Election day is Tuesday, 3 November 2026 and the loyal opposition to the corrupt fascist authoritarian drumpf/trump-vance administration and the gop / greed over people-republican party has a real chance of taking control of congress and having the authority and power to defend and repair the damage to our democratic Republic. Please confirm your voter registration is current and correct. If you need to register to vote please do so. You can do both at Rock The Vote. AND then remember to vote! Vote early if possible, if you are going to vote on election day make sure you have a election day plan in place and also be aware that as long as you are in line to vote at your polling location when the polls close you will still be able to vote. If you can please send a donation of whatever you can afford to Bernie to keep our momentum going.....

The political and media establishment are in a state of shock and fear. The political revolution that we have fought for over the years is gaining momentum every day. More and more Americans, in every part of the country, understand that we must go beyond status quo politics and policies. They want leadership that will take on the greed of the Oligarchs and fight for a government and economy that works for all, not just the few.

Look around at what’s happened over the last year.

It began in November with Zohran Mamdani’s incredible campaign to become Mayor of New York City. And then the wins kept on coming.

Progressive House candidates have won elections in New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, California, Montana, Colorado, Michigan, Tennessee and Wisconsin.

We elected great progressive candidates to become the Democratic nominees for U.S. Senate. Dr. Abdul El-Sayed won in Michigan, Peggy Flanagan won in Minnesota, and Angie Nixon won in Florida. Just the other night Ed Markey won his campaign in Massachusetts.

In California, the SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West and other unions submitted over 1.5 million signatures to get a Billionaire Wealth Tax on the ballot -- a ballot initiative that, despite opposition from the Republican and Democratic establishment, is leading in recent polls.

And it’s not just election results. Poll after poll shows that the progressive agenda is incredibly popular with the American people. They are disgusted with the massive level of income and wealth inequality that exists and want the billionaires in this country to pay their fair share of taxes. They understand that healthcare is a human right for all and not a privilege, and want to lower the outrageous cost of prescription drugs. They understand that we should not be spending huge amounts of money to fund unconstitutional and illegal wars, and they want to end U.S. military support for Israel. They want AI to be regulated and to benefit all Americans, not just the billionaire owners of the industry.

So what do we do now?

Short-term, we build on our extraordinary successes by making sure the progressive candidates who won tough primaries win in the general election. Needless to say, winning a primary is one thing. Winning a general election is something else.

Three candidates who need our help today are William Lawrence, running for the House in Michigan, along with Randy Villegas and Aisha Wahab in California.

All three have tough campaigns and I am going to do everything I can between now and November to help them. But I cannot do it alone. Each of them has asked me for your help as well.

So I am asking, once again:

Can you please split a contribution of $27 or whatever you can afford between William Lawrence, Randy Villegas, and Aisha Wahab's campaigns for Congress? All of them need our help to fund a campaign to turn out the voters they need to win.

If you've stored your info with ActBlue, we'll process your contribution instantly:

That's short-term.

Long-term - after this election ends - we must redouble our efforts to create a vibrant democracy where the voices of all people are heard.

We must fight harder than ever to create a nation that leads the world in the struggle for peace, and for economic, social, racial and environmental justice.

And with a greater number of progressives in Congress than ever before, we must recommit ourselves to fight against the Oligarchs who control our economy, our media and political system and to move us toward a government that works for all of us and not just the one percent.

Will we succeed?

I do not have a crystal ball, but I can tell you that the last several months have given me hope - and should give you hope.

Now we've got to finish the job.

Let's get it done.

In solidarity,

Bernie Sanders

 

CONTRIBUTE NOW

 

Paid for by Friends of Bernie Sanders

(not the billionaires)

PO BOX 391, Burlington, VT 05402

Before you go about the rest of your day, help power our fight against the billionaire class by making a contribution today.

10 November 2025

VERSE AND VOICE FROM SOJOURNERS 10NOV25

 

18 July 2025

A CLOSER LOOK NEWSLETTER FROM PATRIOTIC MILLIONAIRES: Tax the rich. Save the planet (literally) 16JUL25



 PATRIOTIC MILLIONAIRES have been around and active in American politics for a while and have recently been actively opposing NOT MY pres drumpf trump, NOT MY vp vance, their neo-nazi administration, the fascist gop / greed over people-republican party and the authoritarian theocratic oligarchy the heritage foundation / project 2025 wants to replace our democratic Republic with. This newsletter is about the rich and powerful accepting most of the responsibility for climate change and what millionaires and billionaires should be doing to address the issue... 

Hi Friends of the Patriotic Millionaires,
 
It’s really easy to blame the rich for today’s problems, because frankly, they deserve it. The rich bear most of the blame for what’s wrong with our economy. They bear most of the blame for what’s wrong with our democracy. And, they bear most of the blame for what’s wrong with our planet too.
 
If this summer has made one thing clear, it’s that the impacts of climate change are here and time is running out to reverse the damage. June 2025 was the third-hottest June the world has experienced, and many states and cities in the Midwest and Northeast hit record high temperatures during the heat wave at the end of the month. In addition to the heat, we’re also experiencing more frequent and violent storms, as evidenced by the recent flash floods that have tragically claimed the lives of roughly 140 people in places like New MexicoNorth CarolinaTexas, and the New York City metro area.
 
The vast majority of scientists agree that humans, and specifically our reliance on fossil fuels since the Industrial Revolution, are driving global warming and climate change. There is also no denying that some humans—namely, us rich people—shoulder more of the blame for the problem than others. Yet as things stand today, the global rich are not pulling our collective weight to solve the climate crisis. Rather, there are many of us ignoring our contributions to the problem and leaving millions of poor and vulnerable people around the world to bear the brunt of it.
 
For this week’s Closer Look, we’d like to share some numbers with you that underscore the inequality inherent in both the causes and effects of climate change. We’ll then discuss how the wealthy’s excessive consumption habits and investments explain their disproportionate contribution to the climate emergency, and then close by arguing that tax reform must be an essential part of any national or international plan to get our planet on a more sustainable path.
 
The rich drive climate change but the poor suffer the consequences
 
The world’s rich are driving the climate crisis, leaving the rest of humankind and the planet in a perilous position:
  • The world’s wealthiest 10% contributed 6.5 times more than the average person to the global warming the planet experienced between 1990 and 2019. Meanwhile, the top 1% contributed 20 times more and the top 0.1% contributed 76 times more.
  • In 2018, the average American had a carbon footprint of about 15 tons. Meanwhile, based on a sample of twenty billionaires, the carbon footprint of the average billionaire is 8,190 tons.
  • Fifty of the world’s richest billionaires produce more carbon emissions in 90 minutes than the average person does in their life.
  • Experts agree that we can’t let Earth’s temperature rise by more than 1.5°C if we want our entire planet to remain habitable. If the world continues on its current emission path, our carbon budget, i.e. the amount of carbon dioxide we can add to the atmosphere to stay under that 1.5°C mark, will be depleted in four years. However, if everyone emitted as much as the average billionaire, it would be depleted in two days.
  • Billionaires emit so much pollution that they essentially cancel out the benefits of renewable energy sources like wind, solar, and hydropower. For example, every year, billionaires’ carbon emissions alone overpower the benefits of 1 million wind turbines.
We imagine those findings are a bit difficult to swallow. We hate to tell you this, but buckle up, because it gets worse.
 
While the poor and vulnerable around the world have obviously done the least to cause climate change, they are the ones bearing the brunt of it. Deaths from climate-related disasters like floods, droughts, and storms are 15 times higher in poorer parts of the world compared to wealthier parts.
 
Why is this? Because poor and vulnerable people are more likely to live in areas where they are more exposed to the adverse effects of climate change, like flooding and droughts, and because they lack the financial resources to cope or recover from damages. When a hurricane, tornado, or other natural disaster hits, rich people like us can very easily gather our belongings, get on our private jets, and take refuge at our second or third homes. We have the means and resources to remove ourselves from dangerous climate-related weather emergencies. On the other hand, poor people don’t have the same option, and are left to pick up what remains after each catastrophe. Here in the US, it certainly doesn’t help to have a president that is gutting FEMA and trying to shift responsibility for disaster relief from the federal government onto the states.
 
Blame the rich’s consumption habits
 
You may think the wealthy’s private jets, mega mansions, superyachts, and (for some) spaceships are just symbols for extreme inequality. But the truth is, their many luxury items and possessions are actually doing real and serious physical harm to the planet.
 
Let’s start with private jets. In 2023, we co-authored a report with the Institute for Policy Studies that spotlighted the negative impacts of the private jet industry on both our economy and our environment. Among other things, the report revealed that, incredibly, private aircraft emit ten times more pollutants per passenger compared to commercial planes. This past June, the International Council on Clean Transportation added to our work with their own groundbreaking private jet report, which found that, in 2023, private jets emitted more pollution than all commercial flights that departed from London’s Heathrow Airport.
 
You may be surprised to learn that superyachts are actually far more damaging than your average private jet. Today’s superyachts come with everything from glass elevatorsIMAX theaterstennis courtsswimming pools, and even sometimes another smaller yacht known as a “support vessel.” (Yes, you read that right.) The result? The average superyacht produces as much carbon emissions every year as 1,500 passenger vehicles—and some of the biggest even pollute as much as entire nation states.
 
If after all of this you still think that the wealthy’s consumption habits are harmless, sit with the fact that April’s all-female, Blue Origin 11-minute space flight emitted more carbon emissions per passenger than the average person does in their lifetime.
 
Blame the rich’s investments
 
The rich harm the environment not only through their own personal consumption habits but through their investments in fossil fuel companies as well. In 2023, Oxfam found that the investments of 125 of the world’s richest billionaires are responsible for an average of 3 million tons of carbon emissions each year. The typical investments we see wealthy people making are far, far more harmful than their personal indulgences. The average investment emissions of 50 of the world’s richest billionaires are roughly 340 times higher than their emissions from their private jets and superyachts.
 
Wealthy fossil fuel investors are committed to maintaining our planet’s destructive status quo, and they aren’t shy about making other investments—namely, political investments—to protect profit margins at their coal, gas, and oil companies. We also cannot ignore the fact that there are many other industries dependent on fossil fuels, which are also backed by wealthy people who have little financial incentive to pursue greener alternatives when the status quo is working for their bank accounts just fine. Americans for Prosperity, the conservative political advocacy group linked to oil and gas magnate Charles Koch, spent $20 million on an ad campaign this year promoting the extension of the 2017 GOP tax cuts. They certainly got their wish (and then some), as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act created a new, special carve-out to the Corporate Alternative Minimum Tax for large oil and gas companies.
 
​​One of our founding members, Chuck Collins, has a lot more to say on the ties between extreme wealth and climate change in his forthcoming book, Burned by Billionaires: How Concentrated Wealth and Power Are Ruining Our Lives and Planet. The book will be released in October, so be sure to pre-order your copy HERE.
 
The solution: Tax the Rich
 
In 2023, Patriotic Millionaires’ Vice-Chair, Stephen Prince, decided to sell his private jet after learning from our report with the Institute for Policy Studies about how damaging it was to the environment. In an interview with The New York Times, Stephen said, “You don’t need a whole spoonful of private aircraft to find out what it tastes like—it’s pretty amazing. [But flying private is] probably one of the most greedy, selfish things I’ve ever done in my life. I just can’t continue to do it.”
 
We’d be on a better path forward toward saving our planet if more millionaires and billionaires were like Stephen and had the courage to change their excessive consumption habits and divest from large fossil fuel companies on their own accord. Right now, we need the wealthy and corporations to prioritize creating sustainable and ethical changes to save our planet. These kinds of actions would help set the standard of how we can live within our means and still save our planet. We all have a role to play in protecting our planet, whether it’s something as small as using paper straws at your local coffee shop or something as big as giving up your private plane or superyacht. 
 
We know, it’s wishful thinking, because unfortunately having an excess of money and resources has created a sense of entitlement among wealthy people who are not going to give up their special gas-guzzling privileges and luxuries without a fight. But that doesn’t mean we can’t do anything to stop them from setting the planet on fire or drowning it.
 
The solution? In the famous words of Dutch historian and author Rutger Bregman, “Taxes, taxes, taxes.” If we’re not able to make millionaires and billionaires give up their polluting ways, we can use the tax code to encourage better behavior. Massachusetts Senator Edward Markey and Representative Nydia Velázquez (NY-07) proposed one such tax through the Fueling Alternative Transportation with a Carbon Aviation Tax (FATCAT) Act, which we proudly endorsed. The legislation would increase fuel taxes for private jet travel from 22 cents to $2 per gallon and eliminate fuel tax exemptions for logging and oil and gas exploration. Not only would this dissuade the use of private jet travel, but it would also correct a big injustice in the tax code, where private jet fliers contribute just 2% of the taxes that go to the trust fund that predominantly finances the Federal Aviation Administration.
 
few weeks back, we said that economic justice and racial justice go hand in hand. The same can be said for climate justice. It’s all connected. When we work for economic justice and take steps to ensure the wealthy finally start paying what they owe in taxes, we get one step closer to making our planet healthier and more habitable for everyone.
 
Here’s hoping lawmakers heed our call and take that step before it’s too late.
 
Warmly,
The Patriotic Millionaires
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WHICH WILL IT BE? HOMELESS OR BILLIONAIRES?

 


RUMMINATIONS OF THE SUPER RICH

 


06 March 2025

FROM BERNIE SANDERS, A CALL TO ACTION TO SAVE AMERICA AFTER TRUMP'S 4 MARCH 2025 SPEECH 5MAR25


 SEN BERNIE SANDERS ( I-VT ) sends out this call to action to all opposed to the musk, drumpf / trump-vance administration after their speech proclaiming progress in the dismantling of our democratic Republic. If you want to be an active member of the opposition with Bernie please sign up here. You may also want to join the ACLU, or MoveOn, or Indivisible, just to name a few of the groups organizing and joining together stop musk, drumpf / trump, vance and the gop / greed over people republican party from turning America into an authoritarian theocratic oligarchy a la the heritage foundation's project 2025 and fascist fotze elon musk's greed. These groups are NOT ANTIFA, they are not illegal and they do not endorse violence. If you join them they will send e mail or text updates or petition request for you to participate on different issues. AND they will ask for money. I am proud to have been a sustaining member of the ACLU for decades donating $10.00 a month. Depending on what's going on I may send an additional donation or may donate to another of these groups, like Bernie's. One should always be sure their donation is what one can afford and NEVER feel guilty for not being able to donate. Most important is participating in the action or campaign they messaged you about. I frequently send e mails to my federal representative and senators and to the White House ( I start these as "Dear Pres musk, drumpf / trump" just to get a dig in ) on these issues. I also get calls to action and political updates from Blue Virginia, every state has state level PACs Political Action Committees / groups. These groups are extremely important because the laws and regulations of the state can determine who gets elected to congress and the presidency. I sincerely apologize if I am condescending or self-righteous in this message, I don't mean to be and ask for your forgiveness if I come across this way. I just really believe the country I love is facing a real, unexaggerated threat to it's continued existence and want to help save it. SO without further ado here is Bernie's e mail.....

We are living in a pivotal moment in our country's history. And how we respond to this moment will impact not only our lives, but the lives of our kids and grandchildren.

As you heard last night, President Trump has been very effective in creating a parallel universe. A set of ideas that either have no basis in reality, or are nowhere near the most important concerns of the American people.

He does it through the concept of the BIG LIE, and boy did we hear that last night. He says something that is grossly false, says it over and over again, and has right-wing social media blast it out endless times until people believe it.

The purpose of all of these lies is not just to push his hateful right-wing ideology. It is a masterful effort to deflect attention away from the most important issues facing the people of this country — issues Trump and his billionaire friends do not want to address because it is not in their financial interests to do so.

Trump spoke for almost 100 minutes and he almost completely ignored the issues keeping working people up at night as they worry about how their families are going to survive during these tough times.

100 minutes and he did not have one word to say about the economic realities facing 60 percent of Americans who are living paycheck to paycheck.

100 minutes and not one word to say about our broken, dysfunctional and expensive health care system that has left 80 million Americans uninsured or underinsured or why we pay by far the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs and 1 out of 4 Americans are unable to afford the medicine their doctors prescribe.

100 minutes and not one word to say about the major housing crisis in America that has left 800,000 Americans who are homeless and the millions who spend more than half of their limited income on housing.

100 minutes and not one word to say about the massive income and wealthy inequality that has 3 Americans owning more wealth than the bottom half of our society.

100 minutes and not one word about a corrupt campaign finance system that allows a handful of billionaires to buy elections.

100 minutes and not one word to say about the fact that our life expectancy is 4 years lower than other wealthy countries, and the bottom 50 percent of this country live on average 7 years shorter life than the top 1 percent. In other words, being poor in this country is a death sentence.

100 minutes and not one word to say how we are going to address the planetary crisis of climate change.

And the reason he had very little to say about the crises working families are facing is because he has no plan or desire to address them. Despite some of his rhetoric, Trump and his billionaire friends could not care any less about the concerns of the working people of this country.

He did urge Congress to pass his big beautiful budget...

But he left out the part that that budget would cut Medicaid by $880 billion.

According to one estimate, it means up to 36 million Americans including millions of children would be thrown off the health care they gave. Think about it — we're talking about people who own their own spaceships who are trying to take away health care from millions of kids. It's a disgrace.

A 100 minute speech, not one word about that.

I guess he forgot...

Friends, let me be direct:

At this particular moment in history, despair is not an option. None of us have the privilege of hiding under the covers. Let us never forget that real change only happens when ordinary people stand up — by the millions — against oppression and injustice.

I am going to do my part, and I need you with me.

We just had two large and successful rallies in Iowa and Nebraska recently. Thousands of people turned out.

This weekend, I'll be going to Michigan and Wisconsin where thousands more have already RSVP'd to attend those events.

But that is not all. I'm going to continue running around the country talking to people about what Donald Trump is trying to do — and to talk about our vision for an agenda that works for the many and not just the few.

We can win. We will win. But only if we go forward together.

In solidarity,

Bernie Sanders

 


 

👋 Before you go... 👋

Over the coming weeks, Bernie is going to be engaging in the struggle to determine where we go from here. That will take a modest amount of resources to potentially travel, organize, hold events, and create content that reaches people where they are.

If everyone who read this email contributed $27, we'd have more than enough to get it done.

If that work sounds important to you, help Bernie keep it going with a contribution of $27 or whatever you can afford today. Thank you.

If you've stored your info with ActBlue, we'll process your contribution instantly:

 

Paid for by Friends of Bernie Sanders

(not the billionaires)

PO BOX 391, Burlington, VT 05402

 We hope you'll stay, because emails are such an important part of how we organize and how we raise money. In fact, there is no single greater source for our campaign's fundraising than emails like this one. And that's important, because no one person, not even Bernie Sanders, can take on the billionaire class alone.

Before you go about the rest of your day, help power our fight against the billionaire class by making a contribution today.


30 September 2024

McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski got a raise last year & LIVING WAGE CALCULATOR 3APR&14FEB24


 I recently spent a lot of time on vacation with relatives and one thing I noticed is complaints by these drumpf / trump-vance supporters is (I am the lone Harris -Walz voter in my family) is the cost of a meal at fast food as well as family restaurants and the amazing wages employees at these restaurants are making, $14,, $15, some even $20+ a hour!!! Nobody seemed to be aware these are not living wages nor did they seem to care. Often the complaining grew to include the rising cost of almost everything, and blame was directed to employees wanting to be paid more for their work. By the by, none of the complaintees indicated they were paid too much for their work. AND non mentioned the wages, benefits, bonuses and perks of the ceos and executive boards of any corporation.  This from Restaurant Business and then check out this living wage calculator from MIT

McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski got a raise last year

But the fast-food chain’s chief executive, who was recently given the chairman title, still makes less than he did two years ago.

Chris Kempczinski got a raise before he got a new title.

The CEO and now chairman of McDonald’s was paid $19.2 million last year in salary, bonuses and stock, according to federal securities filings.

That was an 8% increase over 2022. But it remained somewhat lower than in 2021, when Kempczinski was paid about $20 million.

The bulk of Kempczinski’s pay package came in the form of stock and option awards, which total about $13 million. He was paid a base salary of $1.4 million and received just over $4 million in incentive compensation—the bonus was about $200,000 less than he received in 2022.

Kempczinski was also paid about $700,000 in “other” compensation, which includes things like life insurance, retirement plan contributions and use of the corporate jet.

McDonald’s is the world’s largest restaurant chain and its CEO is typically among the highest paid executives in the industry. It is also among the most closely watched pay packages on Wall Street, given McDonald’s visibility and labor activists’ push to raise base pay at fast-food restaurants.

Overall, Kempczinski’s total compensation was 1,212 times median employee pay last year, according to the filing.

McDonald’s has enjoyed a strong run of performance coming out of the pandemic, despite a host of concerns such as inflation, the closure of the company’s Russian restaurants and more recently worries about high fast-food prices.

Revenues increased 10% and global same-store sales increased 9% last year, including 8.7% in the U.S.

Kempczinski was named CEO in 2019 following the firing of Steve Easterbrook. He then guided the chain through the pandemic and its aftermath. Same-store sales have increased all but one quarter in the U.S. since he was promoted after leading McDonald’s USA.



WHAT IS THE LIVING WAGE CALCULATOR?
Today, families and individuals working in low-wage jobs make too little income to meet minimum standards of living in their community. We developed the Living Wage Calculator to help individuals, communities, employers, and others estimate the local wage rate that a full-time worker requires to cover the costs of their family’s basic needs where they live. Explore the living wage in your county, metro area, or state for 12 different family types below. The data was last updated on February 14, 2024.