Billionaires were everywhere in the 2024 US presidential election. Kansas businessman Charles Koch’s super PAC more than triples Donald Trump’s campaign donations – despite his alleged grievances in 2020 Spreading partisanship in our politics. Elon Musk has launched an obviously legal, million-dollar-a-day voting lottery targeting Trump voters in swing states. His super PAC spent $200 million. He shouldn’t have fallen behind Trump megadonor Tim Mellon. billionaires blocked the approval of newspapers Kamala Harris’.

seventy five percent The ratio of billionaire spending in the presidential election was in Trump’s favor. In his previous term, Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that was disproportionately skewed toward billionaires; However, this law contains some important provisions that will expire in 2025. Now, these wealthy influencers want these privileges to be permanent.

Billionaires don’t just hold the strings of presidential elections. We witnessed the influence of big money in the recent impeachment of Cori Bush, the first Black woman from Missouri to serve in the House, and Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York. Both members of the “squad,” a progressive faction of the Democratic Party, were voted in by the spending power of the financial elite.

We need to intervene to protect our right to vote. We need a Koch-Musk Tax Act, a set of tax policies specifically targeting the ultra-rich, and we need it now.

Over the past few decades, the wealth of the top echelons of our socioeconomic system has increased rapidly. Millionaires and billionaires are increasing. Many of them gained hugely from this election result. Meanwhile, the average income in the United States is approximately $38,000 per year.

The rich pay low taxes on income and stock returns

There are many ways to translate the growing monstrosity of billionaires. play with this online scroll toolThis shows how much money Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has. We can use time as a reference: One million seconds is 12 days; 1 billion seconds is 31 years. Or consider the weight of ants: According to Forbes, Elon Musk’s net worth is approximately $320 billion. so much ants would weigh about 1000 tons. The average value of the average American $192,900 – and that number of ants would be about 1.15 pounds.

It wasn’t always this way. In 1944 our marginal tax rate was: 94% for top earners. Currently, the rich pay low taxes on their income and even lower rates on stock market returns. They also take advantage of loopholes created by them to avoid taxes.

The efficiency of our government would be enhanced by less grossly disproportionate treatment of the highest earners. When we fairly tax extreme wealth hoarders, we ensure that our government succeeds. The revenue generated by a comprehensive Koch-Musk Tax Bill could enable our society to sustain itself more securely. We can be our own job creators. We can develop programs to alleviate devastating social problems such as parent and youth mental health. We can pay teachers and other public service workers a livable and competitive wage. We can provide higher education to anyone who wants it. We can remove lead from our drinking water more efficiently and cinnamon. We can provide better support to people suffering from substance abuse. We can create cities that are easier to navigate and more livable. There are many ways to improve our society with a fairly funded government.

Of course, there will be those who defend the right of the ultra-rich to hoard their spoils. However, when we consider the legacies of white supremacy, patriarchy, generational wealth, and our government, we understand how billionaires get support; not because they are more deserving of increased financial value, but in part because of their ascribed identities and inherited wealth. They did nothing to gain privileged properties. eighty eight percent Most billionaires are men. Only 1 percent of American billionaires are black. And don’t underestimate your role inherited wealth. Wealth begets wealth.

When we examine Musk’s wealth accumulation in depth, we learn that: The Koch empire’s government-backed gravy trainhis empire was assembled with the support of US aid; from the sale of carbon credits and billions of dollars contracts with federal agencies.

Democracy must curb the power of the richest

The extent of relative deprivation caused by a rapidly growing billionaire class is devastating. We now need a three-pronged strategy to tax the ultra-rich:

1. We need a reasonable marginal tax rate for our top earners. Experts recommend 79% for the top 1% of earners.

2. We need to immediately increase tax on dividends from share sales Set to 20% to 23.8%, much less than 37% to 40.8% This standard applies to income.

3. We need a wealth tax. The Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act of 2024, currently before the House Ways and Means Committee, proposes a 3% annual wealth tax for those with $1 billion. While it’s a good start, we can do better. be in Someone in the top 0.1% has saved $1.5 billion. Even if taxed at 30 percent, someone with 1.5 billion percent is still a billionaire.

Musk will head a new bureaucracy tasked with improving government efficiency, but he is unlikely to cut the benefits he receives directly. We should all fear a system that allows such disproportionate accumulation of power and work to change it. Why should we allow the ultra-rich to manipulate our democracy to their will when we have the will of the people?

We can basically contact our representatives and ask them to advocate for the Ultra Millionaire Tax Act of 2024. We could encourage them to propose a Koch-Musk Tax Bill that includes a progressive income tax on top earners and increased taxes on earnings. stocks and a robust wealth tax. Let us act appropriately before we submit further to their will.

Megan Thiele Strong is a professor of sociology and Public Voices Fellow at San Jose State University in San Jose, California. 501(c)(3) nonprofit OpEd Project .