A group of "patriotic millionaires" thinks Democrats can run -- and win -- on taxes

[babylonsister]

A group of “patriotic millionaires” thinks Democrats can run — and win — on taxes
Patriotic Millionaires plans to endorse candidates running against Republicans who voted for the tax bill.
By Emily Stewart Jul 31, 2018, 3:30pm EDT


A group of millionaires dedicated to decreasing the influence of money in politics is planning to endorse candidates for the first time, in the 2018 midterm elections.

The only requirements: The candidates it backs have to be running against an incumbent who voted for the Republican tax cuts, and they’ve got to be able to talk about taxes in a way that doesn’t put voters to sleep.

“It’s like situational narcolepsy; the minute you start talking about the tax code, you’ve lost your audience,” said Erica Payne, a progressive strategist and president of the Patriotic Millionaires, the group making the endorsements. “We’re looking for people who recognize the grand-scale theft that just happened and are looking to be aggressive fighters against that.”

The GOP thought the tax bill would be something they could run on, but it hasn’t really worked out that way. It’s not very popular with voters, and so far, it hasn’t gotten much attention in 2018 midterm campaigns.

Patriotic Millionaires is a group of about 200 wealthy Americans who advocate for less income inequality and against the concentration of wealth. It’s a bipartisan group, but it’s opposed to a central Republican idea: that benefits for the wealthy will eventually “trickle down” to the rest. That’s the thinking behind the 2017 tax cut bill, which reduced the corporate tax rate to 21 percent from 35 percent and disproportionately benefits businesses and the wealthy.

The group first came together in 2010 to oppose the extension of Bush-era tax cuts for millionaires. Since then, it’s expanded its focus beyond taxes to also include issues such as the minimum wage and campaign finance reform.

It has also expanded its membership to more than 200 people — to join, you have to have an annual income of more than $1 million or assets of more than $5 million. Morris Pearl, a former director at the investment firm BlackRock, chairs the group.

more...

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/7/31/17634016/patriotic-millionaires-2018-tax-cuts

[marble falls]

1. Haven't these guys shown up in the last two elections?

[babylonsister]

3. I vaguely remember them from the past. nt

[msongs]

2. dear dems - "repub tax cuts are welfare for the rich" pls feel free to use nt

[alwaysinasnit]

4. Blackrock, hmm. They bought up all kinds of foreclosed homes during the great recession.

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/11/wall-street-buying-foreclosed-homes/

https://www.bloomberg.com/quicktake/rent-wall-street-is-my-landlord

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/02/01/blackstone-takes-its-single-family-rental-bet-public-as-sector-soars.html

[Blue_true]

7. It is not evil to buy up foreclosed homes.

I don't do that, but see no issue with it. Foreclosed homes can become health and safety risks if not maintained by occupants.

I would like to see more progressive groups buying up foreclosed homes then forcing the banks to write down the former homeowner debt to zero, then forgive it. The home can then be rented to the homeowner below market rent, with the rent being treated as an interest free Mortage payment. After X years, the homeowner would own the home again, or could chose to sell their equity to the progressive group or a new tenant.

[alwaysinasnit]

10. I agree with you. That said, I had no idea that my bit of scepticism was totally unwarranted.

[Shanti Mama]

5. I love these guys

Not all rich people are jerks. I know many who are great folks.

[Blue_true]

8. There are some here that automatically see rich people as evil.

Many are horrible people, but there are a lot that are good people who are just good at making money or were a lucky egg or sperm cell.

[Shanti Mama]

9. Agreed. Some of my friends

[Omaha Steve]

6. K&R!