...Two decades ago I turned full-time to philanthropy and threw myself into supporting public education, scientific and medical research, and visual and performing arts, believing it was my responsibility to give back some of what had so generously been given to me. But I’ve come to realize that no amount of philanthropic commitment will compensate for the deep inequities preventing most Americans — the factory workers and farmers, entrepreneurs and electricians, teachers, nurses and small-business owners — from the basic prosperity we call the American dream.

...It’s time to start talking seriously about a wealth tax. Some will say I’m calling for the populist masses to take out the pitchforks and take down the titans of Wall Street. Some will say it’s just too difficult to execute. Others will call it a flight of fancy. Don’t get me wrong: I am not advocating an end to the capitalist system that’s yielded some of the greatest gains in prosperity and innovation in human history. I simply believe it’s time for those of us with great wealth to commit to reducing income inequality, starting with the demand to be taxed at a higher rate than everyone else.

...Democrats have offered an array of plans. Senator Elizabeth Warren would levy a 2 percent tax on every dollar of net worth above $50 million. There’s an overdue proposal from Senator Bernie Sanders to increase taxes on estates and inheritances. And then there’s the mark-to-market approach proposed by Senator Ron Wyden, which would treat capital gains income as what it is — actual income for the wealthiest people in America. Currently people who have stocks and other investments that appreciate in value — usually people of means — are taxed at lower rates and are allowed to defer taxes. I’m not an economist but I have watched my wealth grow exponentially thanks to federal policies that have cut my tax rates while wages for regular people have stagnated and poverty rates have increased.

...Let’s admit out loud what we all know to be true: A wealth tax can start to address the economic inequality eroding the soul of our country’s strength. I can afford to pay more, and I know others can too. What we can’t afford are more shortsighted policies that skirt big ideas, avoid tough issues and do little to alleviate the poverty faced by millions of Americans. There’s no time to waste.

More at https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/25/opinion/taxes-debates-eli-broad.html

....(Joe) Biden points out on the presidential campaign trail that he was often the poorest member of the United States Senate, and for at least a decade has referred to himself as “Middle Class Joe.” But since leaving office he has enjoyed an explosion of wealth, making millions of dollars largely from book deals and speaking fees that ranged to as much as $200,000 per speech, public documents show.

As Biden traveled the country before announcing his presidential campaign this spring, his sponsors provided VIP hotel suites, town cars and professional drivers, chartered flights and travel expense reimbursements that for some of his appearances reached at least $10,000 per event, according to contracts obtained by The Post through public records requests.

The Washington Post found at least 65 instances in which Biden gave a speech or appeared at a book event; in at least 10 instances he did not take a fee, although in some of those cases he was reimbursed for travel expenses. Biden’s campaign said he has given less than 50 paid speeches, but declined to be more specific about exactly how many he delivered, or how much he earned in total.

...Paid speeches provided another profitable money stream. Most of Biden’s speaking engagements involved universities or existing lecture series. He appeared in 2017 at a finance and technology conference run by Anthony Scaramucci, who two months later would have a brief stint in the Trump administration, and at a health care conference run by JPMorgan Chase.

Although Biden’s campaign said his paid speeches amounted to under 50 since he left the vice presidency, it would not provide a list of them. Four contracts, however, were obtained by The Post through public records requests, some of which have been previously reported. They show that he charged between $150,000 and $200,000 per speech.

More at https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/once-the-poorest-senator-middle-class-joe-biden-has-reaped-millions-in-income-since-leaving-the-vice-presidency/2019/06/25/931458a8-938d-11e9-b570-6416efdc0803_story.html?utm_term=.717bff9b00b0

A group of nearly 20 wealthy Americans on Monday released a letter asking for all 2020 presidential hopefuls to support a “moderate wealth tax” on the richest one-tenth of the richest one percent of Americans.

“America has a moral, ethical and economic responsibility to tax our wealth more. A wealth tax could help address the climate crisis, improve the economy, improve health outcomes, fairly create opportunity, and strengthen our democratic freedoms,” the letter says, as published by The New York Times. “Instituting a wealth tax is in the interest of our republic,” it continues.

The document is signed by financier George Soros, Facebook Co-Founder Chris Hughes, heirs like Abigail Disney and others.

The letter calls for the tax revenue to be invested in “smart investments for our future,” including addressing climate change, providing student loan debt relief and universal childcare, modernizing infrastructure and providing tax credits for low-income families.

...The letter specifically highlights Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D-Mass.) plan to tax “only 75,000 of the wealthiest families in the country,” and it cites South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D) and former Texas lawmaker Beto O’Rourke (D) as being “already supportive of the idea” of a tax on the wealthiest citizens.

More at https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/449975-a-group-of-rich-americans-write-open-letter-asking-to-be-taxed

Rep. Bobby Rush issued a scathing rebuke of Joe Biden on Friday, calling him “woefully ignorant” of the black American experience, as the former vice president confronts a growing backlash over his comments about working alongside fervent segregationists.

Rush, a high-profile activist during the height of the civil rights movement, told POLITICO in an exclusive statement that Biden’s remarks at a New York fundraiser earlier this week were “wholly out of touch.”

“You would think that after eight years of serving as Vice President under President Obama, Biden would get it, that his frame of reference would be more audacious for the future and less on the obvious incrementalism of the past,” Rush said. “With his statement he has demonstrated that he is wholly out of touch and woefully ignorant of the nuances of the black American experience and that is, in itself, beyond disappointing.”

Biden’s campaign declined to comment and instead pointed to the numerous black lawmakers standing by him, including the congressman and civil rights icon John Lewis.

...Biden has not apologized for his remarks and stirred up more controversy when attempting to address criticism from his fellow Democratic presidential hopefuls.

“Instead of being a bold agent of change — one who will fight to dismantle the remaining vestiges of segregation and other aspects of racial discrimination — he remains focused on an unacceptable pronounced ideology of racial incrementalism,” Rush continued. “It’s shocking, sad, and troubling that Biden just don’t get it. In the minds of die-hard segregationists, President Obama was — and will always be — a ‘boy’ to them and never ‘son.’”

More at https://www.politico.com/story/2019/06/21/bobby-rush-biden-ignorant-1376557

After Sen. Cory Booker appeared on CNN on Wednesday night sounding off on Joe Biden’s recent comments surrounding segregationists, the New Jersey Democrat got a phone call — it was the former vice president.

Biden, however, didn’t apologize for his remarks at a New York fundraiser recalling that “at least there was some civility” when he worked with segregationists in the Senate and that one of those senators “never called me ‘boy,’ he always called me ‘son.’”

“I find it remarkable that the surrogate talking points they were sending around, as they were trying to contain this, include no mention of the language the vice president used and instead tried to spin that the vice president is being criticized for working with people he disagreed with,” a Booker aide said. “That’s nonsense and speaks volumes to what they know is true, which is, he should be apologizing for what he said.”

...A Biden campaign official confirmed that the call happened but did not comment further.

Booker’s campaign on Thursday was still calling on Biden to take responsibility for his remarks.

“Cory shared directly what he said publicly — including helping Vice President Biden understand why the word 'boy' is painful to so many,” said Sabrina Singh, Booker’s campaign spokeswoman. “Cory believes that Vice President Biden should take responsibility for what he said and apologize to those who were hurt.”

More at https://www.politico.com/story/2019/06/20/biden-booker-call-segregation-1375300

Joe Biden faced a growing backlash Wednesday from prominent Democrats — and a bit of second-guessing within his own campaign — over comments in which he proudly described his history of working hand-in-hand in the Senate with avowed racists.

...As seemingly random as it was for Biden to reference Sen. James O. Eastland, a long-ago deceased segregationist senator from his own party, some in Biden’s campaign had heard him discuss this relationship before — and warned him against mentioning it in public. Eastland, who represented Mississippi in the Senate from the early 1940s to 1978, often said that African Americans were “an inferior race.”

Aides said they had urged Biden to find a less toxic example.

“It might move him to pick a different senator,” said one adviser, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. “But he’s not someone you can go to and just say, ‘You’ve been doing this x number of years and you can’t do this anymore.’?”

Another adviser, expressing confidence that the fallout from Biden’s remarks could soon subside, nonetheless worried that Biden could inflame matters if he jokes about it the way he has sought to defuse other campaign controversies.

More at https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/biden-faces-backlash-over-comments-about-the-civility-of-his-past-work-with-racist-senators/2019/06/19/c0375d2a-92a8-11e9-b58a-a6a9afaa0e3e_story.html?utm_term=.fc8ff272808a