Tag Archives: Chuck Collins

Should there be billionaires? Chuck Collins, Oscar Mayer heir, says no

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“The problem isn’t really individuals making money. The problem is having an entire system that grows the wealth of billionaires at the expense of everything else we care about — including our democracy,” writes Chuck Collins in an op-ed for CNN Business, “The US would be better off with fewer billionaires.”  Collins, who is the heir to the Oscar Mayer fortune, has long championed raising taxes on the rich and campaign finance reform, and writes extensively about inequality. Collins discusses Mike Bloomberg, the problem with philanthropy, and the many ways that billionaires undermine the middle class and democracy. (March 11, 2020 broadcast)

Chuck Collins, co-editor, Inequality.org at the Institute for Policy Studies, author, Born on Third Base

Is inequality in America irreversible?

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America’s 3 richest people — Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and Jeff Bezos — now own more wealth than half of all Americans. This extreme inequality is unsustainable, but many politicians accept it as irreversible. In his new book, Is Inequality in America Irreversible?, scholar and activist Chuck Collins diagnoses the causes and drivers of inequality and proposes policies to roll back inequality and build a national movement for change. Collins is a senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies where he directs the Program on Inequality and co-edits Inequality.org. He is author of Born on Third Base, and, with Bill Gates Sr., Wealth and Our Commonwealth: Why America Should Tax Accumulated Fortunes. (June 13, 2018 broadcast)

Chuck Collins, senior scholar, Institute for Policy Studies, author, Is Inequality in America Irreversible?

Billionaire Bonanza: America’s oligarchs

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A new report, Billionaire Bonanza 2017, shows that the three wealthiest Americans — Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Bill Gates of Microsoft, and investor Warren Buffet — have more wealth than the bottom half of all U.S. households combined. “If left unchecked, wealth will continue to accumulate into fewer and fewer hands,” says Josh Hoxie, report co-author. “The time to reverse this trend is past due.” Hoxie, a former staffer for Vt. Sen. Bernie Sanders, is director of the Project on Opportunity and Taxation at the Institute for Policy Studies and co-editor of Inequality.org. He discusses America’s new oligarchy, how the 2017 Republican tax overhaul will rob the middle class to pay the rich, and how citizens can push back. (November 29, 2017 broadcast)

Josh Hoxie, co-author, Billionaire Bonanza 2017

Chuck Collins: How the Oscar Mayer heir gave away his fortune to fight for economic justice

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Chuck Collins is the great grandson of meatpacker Oscar Mayer. At age 26, He gave away his inheritance and has spent the last three decades mobilizing against inequality.

Collins is now a senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies where he co-edits Inequality.org. His newest book is Born on Third Base: A One Percenter Makes the Case for Tackling Inequality, Bringing Wealth Home, and Committing to the Common Good (Chelsea Green, 2016). He is also cofounder of Wealth for the Common Good which has merged with the Patriotic Millionaires, two efforts to organize members of the 1 percent to advocate for fair tax policy, higher wages, and campaign finance reform. (November 2, 2016 broadcast)

Chuck Collins, author,  Born on Third Base