On 10th Anniversary of Bush Tax Cuts: FIX THE MISTAKE YOU MADE
Washington, DC. – Today, more than a dozen millionaires representing 200 millionaires sent a video message to Speaker John Boehner and Members of Congress demanding a tax hike on Americans (like them) who make $1 million or more in annual income.
The VIDEO MESSAGE – sent to Boehner on the 10-year anniversary of the Bush tax cuts – was issued in the wake of Boehner’s comments to Matt Lauer on the Today Show in which he said that tax cuts were ‘off the table.’ In the message, the millionaires tell Boehner that the Bush tax cuts hurt the country leaving “Less money for roads to transport our products for high speed internet to build our technology companies for universities and research to spark our innovation. Less money for everything America needs and more money for millionaires” (full script below).
The Patriotic Millionaires are a group of 200 millionaires who have signed a letter to President Obama, Hon. Harry Reid, and Hon. John Boehner urging them to “put our country ahead of politics” and increase taxes on incomes over $1 million. Their efforts are coordinated by the Agenda Project, a New York-based public policy organization and Wealth for the Common Good.
“The 2001 tax cuts were one of the worst decisions that members of both parties have made in the last 50 years,” stated Erica Payne, Founder of the Agenda Project. “Increasing taxes on millionaires has to be part of the solution for how we get our fiscal house in order.”
Patriotic Millionaires in the video include: Dennis Mehiel, Chairman and Founder, U.S. Corrugated, Inc.; Ron Garret, Venture Capitalist – Former Google employee; Abigail Disney, Filmmaker, philanthropist; Peter Norvig, Computer Scientist; David Brown, Investor / Entrepreneur; Dal LaMagna, Co-Managing Partner IceStone; Leo Hindery, Managing Partner, InterMedia Partners; Frank Jernigan, Former Senior Software Engineer at Google; Michael Barr, Small Business Owner; Charlie Fink, Entrepreneur and Philanthropist; Daniel Berger, Attorney; Linda Gottlieb, Film / TV Producer; David Watson, Music Producer; Josh Kanter, Attorney; Garrett Gruener, Co-Founder / Director; Dr. Robert Johnson, Executive Director – Institute for New Economic Thinking.
Other notable Patriotic Millionaires who have signed the petition include: Actress Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie); Susie Buell, Founder of Esprit; John Katzman, the founder of the Princeton Review; legendary philanthropist Michael Steinhardt; famed economist Nouriel Roubini; financial guru Andrew Tobias, and top executives from Warburg, Pincus and other major financial firms.
AD SCRIPT:
TO: Speaker Boehner and Members of Congress
FR: PATRIOTIC MILLIONAIRES
RE: Taxes
10 years ago you made a mistake
You gave tax cuts to millionaires like me,
And me,
And me.
You decided our country needed less money
and millionaires like me needed more.
Now millionaires like me
have more money;
and our country has less.
Less money for roads to transport our products,
high speed internet to build our technology companies,
Science research, education;
For universities and research to spark our innovation.
Less money for everything America needs,
And more money for millionaires.
10 years ago you gave me a tax cut I didn’t want and I didn’t need.
Fix the mistake you made
Tax me
Tax me
Tax me
Tax me
Tax me because, my country, our country, means more than my money.
TIMELINE of PATRIOTIC MILLIONAIRES CAMPAIGN (from Most Recent):
-June 7th, 2011
Patriotic Millionaires release ad addressed to the President and Congress.
-June 6th, 2011
Patriotic Millionaires hold major press conference demanding Speaker Boehner increase taxes on Americans making over $1 million per year.
-April 25th, 2011
Patriotic Millionaires Respond to Hatch Letter. Read the full letter here.
-April 20th, 2011
Senator Hatch writes a letter to the Patriotic Millionaires asserting that they can make voluntary contributions to the IRS if they choose to do so. Furthermore, he states, “this debt crisis is not caused because we tax too little. It is because our nation spends too much.” Read the full letter here.
-April 15th, 2011
The Patriotic Millionaires respond to Senator Hatch’s comments on the Senate floor:
“A few of us voluntarily writing a check to the IRS will not fix the problem that Sen. Hatch and his colleagues created for our country with their fiscal irresponsibility. It will take the work of all Patriotic Americans to create a strong foundation for our continued prosperity. We are willing to do our part by paying higher taxes. It is clear Senator Hatch and many of his colleagues are not willing to do theirs. We challenge Senator Hatch and the other millionaire members of the Senate to put their country first and raise taxes on people like them – and us - who make more than a million dollars a year. In the meantime, if Senator Hatch would like to make a personal contribution to the IRS to help his country, we pledge to match his contribution.”
-April 13th, 2011
Senator Hatch mocks the Patriotic Millionaires campaign stating: “Well, as the Ranking Member on the Senate Finance Committee, I feel obligated to inform Mr. Plouffe that the President, and all of those rich liberal Democrats who are eager to pay higher taxes, can do just that. They can write a check to the IRS and make an extra payment on their tax returns to pay down the federal debt. The option is right there at the bottom of their tax return. America awaits these checks.”
-April 13th, 2011
The Patriotic Millionaires launch the second iteration of their campaign, urging President Obama to increase taxes on all millionaires in America, stating: “Please do the right thing for our country. Raise our taxes.”
-November 18th, 2010
The Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strength launched their first campaign, bringing together over 100 individuals who make over $1 million a year and garnering extensive media coverage.
PRESS HIGHLIGHTS FOR PATRIOTIC MILLIONAIRES
CBS Sunday Morning, New York Magazine’s Intelligencer section, Yahoo News—shared 54,000 times with 11,000+ comments, MSNBC News Live , Freedom Watch, Fox Business News, Bull and Bears, The O’Reilly Factor, CBS Radio, ABC (400+comments), Salon.com (#2 Most Read and #3 Most Shared, “liked” 4,000 times on Facebook), The Washington Post blog, The Daily Caller, The National Journal, The Washington Independent,The Colorado Independent, and The American Independent, Crooks and Liars, The Weekly Standard, New English Review, One Page News, Daily Kos, and United Press International, Salon, Forbes ABC, CNN, The Washington Post, Fox Business (twice), MSNBC, CBS, and Yahoo News, Alexis Levinson, Roll Call, American Public Media: Marketplace appearance by Katzman (transcript), Media Matters for America, America News Online.
The entire concept of progressive taxation is justified by asserting that the government, acting as an agent of the downtrodden, has a greater moral claim on the property of the wealthy than they do.
The folks here at the Agenda Project believe their moral imperatives absolutely trump the reservations of people compelled to participate in their OWN agenda.
In order to do THAT you are going to have to go through all the folks like me.
Good luck with that!
You know the President is not asking for any blank check. We need help NOW and you are not helping the American People by fighting in a public forum for your success and furtherance in office. You are not a part of the solution Sir, you are only arguing against whatever solution is put forth. Shame on you, Mr. Boehner. Your legacy in this time will be one of argumentative little sister-hood, not that of a true countryman.