Commentary by Arthur Piccolo
News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Mon. October 14, 2024: The lead story in the Wall Street Journal recently was “Kamala Harris is fighting her way out of the working class, Democrats fear.”This presidential race should end with Harris projected to win easily because her opponent is the dreaded candidate, Donald Trump. But if the election were held today, no one knows whether Harris or Trump would win.
As the Wall Street Journal pointed out, Harris needs working-class voters of all colors who know they live in a very unfair world and nation, with inequality growing at ever-faster rates. One-tenth of 1% of Americans own 20% of the total wealth in America, while the poorest 50% – which is half of all Americans – together own only 2% of America’s wealth. This is a formula that ensures the American dream is dead for most Americans and that means nothing but decline and more bitterness in our nation’s future.
What about corporate wealth, the other powerful driver of inequality in America and another way to look at middle-class discontent? The richest 1% of American corporations own 50% of corporate wealth in America. Do you think the millions of Americans who work for these corporations are happy? They are not.
What is the all-too-frequent response at election time is that they turn to a demagogue like Trump, who speaks in vague, meaningless phrases while promising Americans that he will make everything better while doing nothing about inequality. wealth in America – except by making individuals and corporations super rich. even richer than they are today!
So instead of Kamala playing “defense,” praying she wins big like Hilary Clinton did in 2016, Harris needs a BIG idea now!
An idea that will energize and have middle-class and poorer Americans in a way they never thought possible — lining up to vote for Kamala and giving her a landslide victory this November 5. So far, she has no big ideas at all.
Harris needs what we all need – a capital tax on all the super rich and huge corporations that avoid paying any tax on their vast wealth. Elon Musk’s personal fortune is $256 billion. He pays virtually no tax on either of them, because it is wealth and not income. Musk’s effective federal tax rate in recent years is about 3%. An American with an annual income of just $75,000 a year pays an effective federal tax rate of 12-15%.
The capital tax is simple: the wealthiest individuals and most profitable corporations in the country would contribute a small percentage of their total wealth, not just their income, to the public good.
This isn’t about punishing success—it’s about ensuring that those who have benefited most from America’s economic system contribute their fair share to help it thrive for everyone. Kamala should propose an annual capital tax of 1% on the wealth of only the wealthiest American individuals and corporations.
We’re not talking about taxing anyone’s salary anymore, but billions in assets and investments that remain untouched by traditional income taxes. Why should a factory worker in Michigan pay a higher percentage of their income than a billionaire in Silicon Valley? They shouldn’t.
The system is rigged and the working class knows it. This is how their votes are earned! Let’s make America work for everyone – not just the rich few.
So Kamala, are you going to do something or just pray to win the election?
EDITOR’S NOTE: Arthur Piccolo is President of the Bowling Green Association of New York and a frequent contributor to News Americas
