Chuck Collins, Co-Founder of Wealth for the Common Good
Thursday, March 11 at 7:30 pm near Burlington, VT
For details, contact Chuck at chuckcollins7@mac.com
There is a highly polarized conversation about the role of government and taxes in advancing a healthy and fair economy. Does the concentration of wealth and power undermine our democracy? What is the role of public investments and our “commonwealth” in wealth creation and individual success? How do we celebrate both individual achievement and acknowledge societal investments? Where will the money come from to pay for overdue investments in infrastructure, energy, and education?
ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Chuck Collins is co-founder of Wealth for the Common Good, a network of business leaders, wealthy individuals and investors that support fair taxation and shared prosperity (www.wealthforcommongood.org). Chuck is a national expert who has worked to change the conversation about wealth and taxes and responsibility. Chuck is co-author with Bill Gates Sr. of Wealth and Our Commonwealth: Why America Should Tax Inherited Wealth and The Moral Measure of the Economy.
While Wealth for the Common Good’s focus is on fair and progressive taxes, we are committed to public policies that rebalance the economy so that it works for everyone - not just the wealthy. That’s why we’re excited that our partners, including Business for Shared Prosperity and the American Sustainable Business Council, are petitioning Congress to establish a federal Consumer Financial Protection Agency.
Join business people and investors around the country who are supporting a watchdog for financial product safety and fair competition.
Happy new year from Wealth for the Common Good!
We’re starting 2010 with the launch of a new campaign: Business and Investors Against Tax Haven Abuse. Please sign the petition calling on policymakers to end tax dodging and support a level playing field for business. An estimated $100 billion or more in tax revenue is lost every year to tax havens. We’re pushing for strong legislation to end tax haven abuse.
You can read more about this issue and share your input at www.businessagainsttaxhavens.org.
Also in this issue:
-Workshops on Wealth, Taxes and Economic Justice sponsored by Resource Generation and Bread and Roses Community Fund.
-The latest Action Alert on the estate tax.
Many thanks for your support,
Chuck Collins, Alison Goldberg, Bill Lyons, Ann Manning and Scott Klinger
Estate tax: Contact your Senators today!
As of Jan. 1, the estate tax is suspended for the duration of 2010. This is because the Senate failed to act before the end of 2009. But it’s not too late: Some leaders, recognizing the fiscal irresponsibility of this act, have promised to take action in the early part of the year to restore the tax.
Please help us urge Congress to reinstate the estate tax. Visit United for a Fair Economy for a toll-free number and information you can use to call your members.
Upcoming workshops in Philadelphia and Los Angeles
We are partnering with Resource Generation, and Bread & Roses Community Fund in Philadelphia, to sponsor workshops on Wealth, Taxes, and Economic Justice. They focus on the roles young people with wealth can play in progressive tax reform. Upcoming events:
Philadelphia: Saturday, Jan. 23, 2010 from 3-5:30 pm
Los Angeles: Thursday, Feb. 11, 2010 from 7-9:00 pm
Contact Alison at alison@wealthforcommongood.org for more information and to RSVP.
Featured signer:
“That something so important to every American as their taxes should fall lightly on those most able to afford proportionately higher taxes and penalize those least able, is not only a disgrace, but it is surely not American.”
-John Law Steel
Attorney, Former Mayor, Telluride, Colo.
Originally posted on New Voices of Philanthropy on January 13, 2010
Many of us find our way into philanthropy because we want to be on the “resource side” of social change – to help get money to where it needs to go. And foundations certainly control a lot of money – The Foundation Center reports total giving in 2007 reached almost $43 billion.
But once we start doing this work, it can feel like our grant budgets are never big enough, especially in today’s context. We’re deep in an economic crisis where 50 million Americans are living in poverty. Communities face tremendous need while at the same time foundation giving has declined. Even those of us on the “resource side” of the equation are finding ourselves looking for more resources.
So where will the money come from?
In philanthropy circles, this conversation often moves to one about fundraising. Growing the donor base is critical, and groups like Resource Generation and Bolder Giving are playing a necessary role in this by challenging new givers to not only give more, but to direct that giving to address the root causes of social, economic and environmental injustices.
But in order to make a fundamental shift in the amount of resources available to communities, we also need to bring taxes into the conversation.
Here are three reasons why the philanthropic community has a stake in the tax policy debates in 2010 and beyond:
1) Tax policy has the ability to increase the dollars available to foundations, since the higher the taxes for high-income and wealthy families, the more money that is given to philanthropic foundations. More progressive tax rates increase the resources available to the nonprofit sector.
2) By the same token, tax policy has the ability to decrease the dollars available to our sector. In fact, it’s happening right now. With the disappearance of the federal estate tax for 2010, we’re likely to see an estimated decline in charitable giving of $13-25 billion. And this is just the latest in a whole series of tax cuts for the wealthy that has shifted the tax burden to wage earners.
3) Philanthropy can’t be a substitute for what the public sector can provide. In 2009 Congress allocated $54 billion for food stamps (known as the Supplemental Assistance Nutrition Program). Without increasing payout, all foundations working together would be unable to meet the funding needs for just this one program. While we can – and should – debate where our federal resources go (and fund advocacy groups that are putting on the pressure!), philanthropy is no match for the government’s ability to fund the safety net, infrastructure, health care, and education. Our government relies on revenue from taxes to invest in these vital programs and that money should be raised from those with the greatest capacity to pay. Reversing the Bush-era tax cuts for high-income households is an important place to start – with the potential to raise over $43 billion in revenue a year.
Many people view philanthropy as an alternative to taxes, but our sector is inextricably linked to the tax code. There will be many opportunities in 2010 to work toward more progressive policy. The funding community can’t afford to be absent from these debates.
Alison Goldberg coordinates Wealth for the Common Good and is co-author of Creating Change Through Family Philanthropy: The Next Generation.
Philadelphia: Saturday, January 23, 2010 from 3:00-5:30 pm
Los Angeles: Thursday, February 11, 2010 from 7:00-9:00 pm
Wealth for the Common Good is partnering with Resource Generation, and Bread & Roses Community Fund in Philadelphia, to sponsor these workshops. They focus on the roles young people with wealth can play in progressive tax reform and are open to anyone who wants to explore the intersections of taxes, privilege and wealth from this perspective.
For more information about the Philadelphia workshop, contact Leah Pillsbury at leahpillsbury@gmail.com.
For more information about the Los Angeles workshop, contact Alison Goldberg at alison@wealthforcommongood.org.