The Pandemic Is Helping the Rich Get Even Richer. It's Time to Tax Their
Obscene Wealth
By Bernie Sanders, Guardian UK
11 August 20
Inequality is becoming worse as tens of millions of Americans face
unemployment, loss of healthcare, evictions and hunger
We are in the middle of an extraordinary moment in American history: a
public health crisis, the worst economic downturn since the Great
Depression, the existential threat of climate change and a president who is
moving our country in an authoritarian direction.
In the midst of all these crises, there is another issue of major concern
that is receiving very little attention. And that is the obscene level of
income and wealth inequality which exists in our country and the fact that,
during the pandemic, that inequality is becoming much worse.
While tens of millions of Americans are now facing economic desperation -
unemployment, loss of healthcare, evictions, hunger - the very rich are
becoming much richer. Here are three figures that should come as a shock to
everyone in America:
$13,000,000,000. That's how much Jeff Bezos, the wealthiest man alive, made
in one day while the companies he owns denies paid sick leave, hazard pay
and a safe workplace to hundreds of thousands of his workers.
$21,000,000,000. That's how much the Walton family, the richest family in
America, made over the past 20 weeks while US taxpayers continue to
subsidize the starvation wages at Walmart, the largest private employer in
America.
$731,000,000,000. That's how much the wealth of 467 billionaires increased
since the Federal Reserve started taking emergency actions to prop up the
stock market in March.
Incredibly, thanks to President Trump's tax giveaway to the rich signed into
law a few years ago, billionaires now pay a lower effective tax rate than
teachers, nurses, firefighters or truck drivers.
The extraordinary wealth gains that billionaires have made during the
pandemic come at a time when 92 million Americans are uninsured or
underinsured and tens of millions of Americans are facing evictions or
foreclosures.
At a time when so many of our people are struggling economically, it is
morally obscene that a tiny handful of billionaires - the top 0.0001% - are
using a global pandemic as an opportunity to make outrageous profits after
receiving a de facto bailout by the Federal Reserve.
It is time to change our national priorities. Instead of allowing
multibillionaires to become much richer, Congress needs to stand up for
working families. A good place to start would be to tax the enormous gains
billionaires have made during the pandemic and use that money to guarantee
healthcare as a right for the duration of the public health emergency.
According to Americans for Tax Fairness, imposing a 60% tax on the wealth
gains made by just 467 billionaires in America would raise over $420bn.
That's enough money to empower Medicare to pay all of the out-of-pocket
healthcare expenses of every American in this country, including
prescription drugs, for an entire year.
Think about that for a moment. By imposing a 60% tax on the wealth gains
made by just 467 billionaires, healthcare would be extended to everyone in
America through Medicare and no one, regardless of their coverage, would
have to pay any out-of-pocket medical bills over the next 12 months. That's
exactly what the Make Billionaires Pay Act I recently introduced with
Senators Ed Markey and Kirsten Gillibrand would accomplish.
Under this legislation, no one who is diagnosed with cancer would have to
beg for money from strangers on GoFundMe. No one with diabetes would die
because they could not afford their insulin. No one with coronavirus
symptoms would be afraid to go to a doctor because of the cost, and risk
infecting their neighbors, colleagues, family or friends.
While the fight for Medicare for All continues, for at least the next 12
months, every American would be able to get the healthcare that they need
during this public health crisis. And it could all be paid for by a 60% tax
on the outsized fortunes the wealthiest people in America accumulated during
this horrific pandemic.
Now, I understand that there are some people out there who may believe that
a 60% tax sounds like a pretty steep tax increase. Well, let me ease those
concerns. Even after paying this tax, these 467 billionaires will still come
out ahead by $310bn. Trust me. Their families will survive.
As a nation, the time is long overdue for us to finally address the
grotesque level of income and wealth inequality that exists. In my view, we
can no longer tolerate the three wealthiest people in America owning more
wealth than the bottom 50%, the top 1% owning more wealth than the bottom
92% and 45% of all new income going to the 1%.
At a time of enormous economic pain and suffering, we have a choice to make.
We can continue to allow the very rich to get much richer while most
everyone else gets poorer. Or we can tax the winnings a handful of
billionaires made during the pandemic to improve the health and wellbeing of
tens of millions of Americans.
The time has come for the Congress to act on behalf of the working class who
are hurting like they have never hurt before, not the billionaire class who
are doing phenomenally well and have never had it so good.
Making billionaires pay to expand Medicare to all during a public health
emergency is a good place to start.