sra mentioned in the chronicle of philanthropy: “4 Underfunded Strategies to Lift the Working Class and Strengthen Democracy”
“Groups such as the State Revenue Alliance support state-based organizing and advocacy for progressive tax policies, including campaigns to enact new state-level millionaires’ taxes.”
The economic order of the last 50 years has generated widening economic inequality and a pervasive cynicism and despair within which a politics of nihilism has taken root. Beyond the urgent work to defend the rule of law and rebalance federal power, rolling back authoritarianism will require efforts to curb concentrated wealth, rebuild the social contract with the American working and middle class, and restore trust.
Americans want change. Consider the record-breaking crowds that have turned out in recent weeks for Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s “Fighting Oligarchy” tour: 34,000 in Denver, 11,000 in Greeley, Colo., 20,000 in Tucson.
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Funders should take note of this display of collective outrage at a political and economic system overtaken by billionaires. And they should consider investing in four often overlooked areas critical to addressing economic inequality, removing the corrosive influence of money in politics, and restoring faith in democratic institutions.
Progressive taxation. Extreme wealth is the root of unequal power in America, and reining it in is fundamental to healing our democracy. Fortunately, the evidence already exists for how to get this done: In the middle of the last century, a highly progressive federal tax system reduced wealth inequality and broadened the distribution of political power in the United States.
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Until recently, foundations have invested scant resources in progressive tax reform, but that may be changing. A new donor collaborative, Better Taxes for a Better America, was launched in 2023 to attract and align funds for state and federal tax reform efforts. And groups such as the State Revenue Alliance support state-based organizing and advocacy for progressive tax policies, including campaigns to enact new state-level millionaires’ taxes.