Responsible Wealth 2010 Shareholder Resolutions
Members of Responsible Wealth take part in shareholder actions by
attending annual meetings of corporations or donating proxy shares for
others to attend. The intention is to help corporations become better
corporate citizens. February 10, 2010
RW Success: Intel scraps online-only annual meeting
Responsible Wealth and Walden Asset Management's shareholder resolution filed at microchip giant, Intel, has succeeded in halting the company's proposal to hold shareholder meetings exclusively online. RW and Walden advocate that in-person meetings play a significant role in holding management accountable by promoting dialogue amongst shareholders and between shareholders and management. January 27, 2010
Record Bank Profits - American Dream Foreclosed
UFE Board member and co-author of State of the Dream 2010: Drained, shares his views on the recent megabank bonuses in light of the persisting unemployment and foreclosure crises in this op-ed in Common Dreams. January 25, 2010
2010 & the Estate Tax: An Eerie Year?
The Senate dropped a ball they've carried for 8 years, and George W. Bush's ill-advised 2001 tax law, which allowed the estate tax to vanish in 2010, has officially kicked in. In this AFP article, UFE's Lee Farris comments on the unfortunate situation we're in, and urges lawmakers to act quickly to reinstate the tax. January 5, 2010
UFE's Estate Tax Message on NYC Radio
Today, Lee Farris hopped on the mic to talk about the fate of the estate tax on WBAI's Talk Back! with Hugh Hamilton in New York City. Listen to the interview here. January 4, 2010
Waging Class Warfare - The Rich Win Again
PRESS RELEASE: "On New Year's Day, the estate tax, which has been part of the US tax
system for nearly 100 years, will disappear due to the failure of the
Senate to pass an extension in December. Now, Congressional leaders are
pledging to act in early 2010 to reinstate the federal estate tax,
making it retroactive to January 1, 2010, an action supported by United
for a Fair Economy (UFE)." January 1, 2010
Recycling Opportunity: The Case for a Strong Estate Tax
The estate tax battle simmers on, and with expiration coming in a few short days, Congress will have to act quickly to reinstate it retroactive to Jan. 1st. UFE's Brian Miller writes about why we can't let the estate tax fade away in 2010. December 29, 2009
UFE on Fox News to Support the Estate Tax
UFE's Lee Farris appeared on Fox News' Special Report with Bret Baier yesterday to state the case for a strong estate tax. December 23, 2009
Estate tax gap could result in lawsuits
Some say that Congress' intention to retroactively reinstate the federal estate tax will spark anger and legal action by some wealthy heirs. UFE's Lee Farris with Americans for a Fair Estate Tax (AFET) call the Senate's inaction "incomprehensible," pointing out that many more estates will be affected by their failure to pass an extension of the estate tax. December 21, 2009
SEIU Speaks Out In Favor of the Estate Tax
Anna Burger, Secretary/Treasurer of SEIU, brought a voice of the labor movement to the debate over the federal estate tax. She spoke alongside several prominent proponents of the estate tax, including Bill Gates, Sr., John C. Bogle, and Richard Rockefeller on UFE's Estate Tax Teleconference. December 21, 2009
UFE Estate Tax Post-Teleconference Report
Our December 15th Estate Tax Teleconference was a successful event, garnering immediate and continuing media coverage as Congress debates the future of the federal estate tax - see more inside. You may also download a recording of the teleconference here. December 18, 2009
Strengthening the Estate Tax to Strengthen the Country (Huffington Post)
Congress still has time to prevent the 2010 expiration of the estate tax. Bill Gates, Sr. explains the role government has played in his good fortune, and the role of the estate tax in providing future opportunities for all Americans. December 18, 2009
Do the Rich Owe America for Their Fortunes? (WSJ blog)
UFE Estate Tax Teleconference speakers John C. Bogle and Bill Gates, Sr. are cited in this Wall Street Journal blog on why the wealthy owe more to America for their fortunes. December 17, 2009
Why Shouldn't Paris Hilton Pay Her Fair Share? (UFE Op-ed)
As Congress debates retroactive renewal of the estate tax early in the new year, UFE's Brian Miller writes on the history and values behind the estate tax. He argues that, "If Congress and the President are serious about building a strong middle class, they should act immediately to strengthen the estate tax." December 17, 2009
Estate Tax Expiration Sets Up Battle on Retroactive Restoration (Bloomberg)
There's a good chance the estate tax will expire January 1st, but Congress will seek to renew it retroactively. They'll have to act quickly and as early in the year as possible, because the longer they take, the more of a challenge it may turn out to be. December 17, 2009
Bill Gates, Sr. and UFE in London's Wealth Bulletin
UFE's message to strengthen the tax on inherited wealth as a means to reduce economic inequality is reaching into international discourse. Read more in this article in London's Wealth Bulletin. December 16, 2009
Estate Tax on the Radio
Check out our recent radio news reports on the estate tax, featuring commentary from UFE
staffers Mike Lapham and Lee Farris, and our partners, including Bill
Gates, Sr., Vanguard founder John C. Bogle, and SEIU
Secretary/Treasurer Anna Burger. These reports have been widely broadcasted in key battleground states and surrounding regions. December 16, 2009
Estate Tax May Expire as Congressional Impasse Clouds Extension (Bloomberg)
Expiration looms as Congress struggles to reach agreement on estate tax reform before year-end. The voices of UFE and its wealthy partners continue to enter the debate in favor of preserving a strong estate tax. December 16, 2009
UFE Op-ed: Estate tax preserves opportunity in U.S.
"There’s a reason many wealthy people, like Warren Buffett and Bill Gates, Sr., support the estate tax: It’s because they realize there can be no private wealth without public resources." Lee Farris explains more in this op-ed distributed by Minuteman Media. December 16, 2009
Wealthy Individuals Ask Congress to Extend Estate Tax to Promote Philanthropy
Wealthy speakers in UFE's Estate Tax Teleconference also highlighted the positive impact the estate tax has on charitable giving. Suzanne Perry of The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports more in this article. December 15, 2009
Wealthy Individuals Call on Congress to Strengthen Estate Tax Before Holiday Recess
PRESS RELEASE: On the heels of a recent House vote to extend the current estate tax, UFE - with several wealthy individuals - are calling on the Senate to act before the holiday recess to strengthen the estate tax. December 15, 2009
Senate’s Baucus Seeks Temporary Extension of Estate Tax in 2010
The message of UFE's Dec. 15 Estate Tax Press Teleconference makes its way into Bloomberg News, as the Senate debates how to proceed with reform of the estate tax law before year-end. December 15, 2009
Wealthy want estate tax to extend (Marketplace Podcast)
In the lead up to UFE's Dec. 15 Estate Tax Press Teleconference, Lee Farris spoke a few words on the need for a strong estate tax on Marketplace with Brett Neely. December 15, 2009
UFE Estate Tax Teleconference with Gates, Bogle, Rockefeller
As Congress prepares for the holiday recess, a group of wealthy
individuals together with a national labor union, organized by United for a
Fair Economy, are calling on the Senate to act before the break to strengthen
the Federal Estate Tax. December 11, 2009
Wealth and Healthcare
Our friends at Citizen Action of New York write that the best solution to funding healthcare is fair and progressive taxes - including a strong estate tax - on those who can most afford to pay them. December 9, 2009
The Regulation Three-Step
Responsible Wealth Project Director Mike Lapham lays out the three essential pieces to effective financial reform: regulating executive compensation, separating financial
“casino” activities from regular banking, and creating a consumer
financial protection agency. December 8, 2009
Stronger Estate Tax Urged by UFE in Response to House Vote
The US House of Representatives voted on December 3rd to extend the estate tax at 2009 levels. But, we need a stronger estate tax now more than ever. UFE urges the Senate not to give more tax breaks to the wealthy, and to consider a one-year extension of 2009 law so a more meaningful debate can take place in the coming year. December 4, 2009
War and the Estate Tax
"President Obama's Afghanistan troop surge decision caused considerable rancor among liberal House Democrats Tuesday at the same time they are being asked to vote this week on a measure cutting taxes for millionaires. [...] December 3, 2009
In Favor of a Strong Estate Tax
UFE board member Bill Creighton goes toe-to-toe with an estate tax opponent in the BusinessWeek Debate Room. Asked if we should "snuff out the estate tax," Creighton says that further reducing the tax will "leave the struggling middle class even worse off" than they are now. November 16, 2009
Korean Researcher Recognizes Responsible Wealth's Support of Progressive Taxes
Lee Won-jae, Director of the Hankyoreh Economic Research Institute, mentions UFE's Responsible Wealth Project as he discusses the role of the wealthy in promoting progressive taxation in this article about property taxes in Korea. November 13, 2009
Change Wall Street Can Believe In
Former UFE board member Holly Sklar writes, "The Great Depression gave way to the New Deal. The Great Recession has become the Great Ripoff." She explains our misguided bank rescue plan and why we should crack a whip on Wall Street. November 10, 2009
Estate Tax Update
UFE's Senior Organizer on Estate Tax Policy, Lee Farris, weighs in on the Congressional debate on the estate tax, noting that with a more than trillion dollar federal deficit, "the estate tax will look like a good place to raise revenue." October 27, 2009
Press Release: Reports of Pay Czar's 'Heavy Hammer' on Wall Street Exaggerated
Authors of the Institute for Policy Studies report, Executive Excess 2009: America's Bailout Barons, call out pay czar Ken Feinberg for not acting boldly enough to rein in executive pay. Representatives from IPS and Responsible Wealth are available for interview on this breaking news in executive pay regulations. October 23, 2009
Wealthy Germans launch petition for higher taxes
Wealthy Germans, inspired by UFE's Responsible Wealth Project, launch a web petition to reinstate a wealth tax to help their country recover from the economic crisis. October 22, 2009
The Truth They Dare Not Speak
"[T]he issue of income disparity threatens our democracy -- and it cannot be defended. And, if you are reading this and are a person of wealth and assume this isn't about you, it most assuredly is about you, because in the end this is about all of us." George Mitrovich cites Executive Excess 2008 in this riveting opinion piece on the state of our economy. October 9, 2009
Press Release: "Billionaires Against Regulating Finance" to Face Off With Protesters in Boston
The Billionaires Against Regulating Finance, or BARF, to take to the streets in protest of the so-called March Against a Jobless Recovery (press release). October 2, 2009
Responsible Wealth Action News - October 2009
This fall's Responsible Wealth Action News gives you the latest on efforts to preserve the estate tax, shareholders who want a "Say on Pay," and UFE's work for economic justice. Download a free copy today! September 25, 2009
Report: It Takes a Village to Make a Millionaire
A 2004 report, "I Didn't Do It Alone: Society's Contribution to Individual Wealth and Success," spotlights successful entrepreneurs and concludes that the myth of self-made success is destructive to the social and economic infrastructure that fosters wealth creation.
September 14, 2009
Upper-Income Connecticut Residents Advocate Higher Tax Rate
Upper-income
Connecticut taxpayers are urging Governor Rell and the State Legislature to increase their taxes to close the state budget gap. August 31, 2009
'We need a public healthcare system - tax us more,' say some wealthy Americans
Responsible Wealth members are among those pushing for a reversal of Bush tax cuts on their higher incomes to fund a public healthcare option. August 12, 2009
'We need a public healthcare option - tax us more,' say some wealthy Americans
Responsible Wealth members are among those pushing for a reversal of Bush tax cuts on their higher incomes to fund a public healthcare option. August 12, 2009
Oregon Governor Signs Upper-income Tax Increase Package
TFOC member Tax Fairness Oregon participated in a campaign that succeeded in creating two new (temporary) top income tax brackets with rates of 10.8 and 11 percent and increasing the state’s corporate minimum tax. These changes are expected to yield more than $700 million in additional revenue. July 31, 2009
Perverse Incentives (Blog)
Protests and shareholder activism are only a small part of the solution to corral executive pay excesses and to reduce inequality. July 29, 2009
Mind the Gap (Op-ed)
Responsible Wealth Project Director, Mike Lapham, says that redefinition of how corporate boards are composed is key to reining in CEO pay. July 19, 2009
Taxes and the Wisdom of Our Forebears (Op-ed)
UFE's new Executive Director, Brian Miller, urges elected officials to learn from the past in building a more equitable tax structure and a more just economy. July 16, 2009
Activist Investors Want "Say On Pay"
Upcoming federal legislation seeks to give shareholders a say in executive compensation.
June 12, 2009
Prudential "Say On Pay" Resolution Approved
With a 61.5% majority, the shareholders have spoken, and they want a say in executive compensation.
May 13, 2009
Sounding the Pay Gap Alarm
Walt Barnhart profiles Ken Monfort, one of the country's lowest-paid CEOs, calling attention to out-of-whack CEO pay.
May 9, 2009
Workers Laid Off, Executives Paid Off, Bernard Madoff
The global
financial crisis deepens, with more than 10 million in the U.S. out of
work, according to the Department of Labor. Unemployment hit 6.7
percent in November. Add the 7.3 million “involuntary part-time
workers,” who want to work full time but can’t find such a job. Jobless
claims have reached a 26-year high, while 30 states reportedly face
potential shortfalls in their unemployment-insurance pools.
March 13, 2009
The Recession is Official...Sorta
For the first time in nearly a year, despite the obvious deteriorating
economic situation for the majority of people in this country, we have
received confirmation that we are experiencing a recession. The National Bureau of Economic Research,
the organization that determines an “official” recession, states that
this country has been in a recession since December 2007. For most
people this is not news, but it is validation. RaceWire.
March 10, 2009
National City deal worth $200M to executives
Senior executives and others at National City Corp. will take home
about $200 million after PNC Financial Services Group takes over the
troubled institution, according to a filing Tuesday with the Securities
and Exchange Commission.
February 28, 2009
Idiots of the Universe - On Planet Wall Street, $18 Billion in Bonuses
Eugene Robinson writes: "Earth to Wall Street: It's over, people. You had a terrific run, better than you deserved, but now you'd be wise to pay attention to those citizens outside, the ones with the pitchforks and the torches."
February 3, 2009
Responsible Wealth 2009 Shareholder Resolutions
Members of Responsible Wealth take part in shareholder actions by
attending annual meetings of corporations or donating proxy shares for
others to attend. The intention is to help corporations become better
corporate citizens. December 19, 2008
Help RW Push Obama
See our ad in The Nation.
The abolitionists pushed Lincoln.
The labor movement pushed Roosevelt.
The civil rights movement pushed Johnson.
Help us push Obama.
December 12, 2008
CEO Pay Takes A Hit In Bailout Plan
The draft of the government's controversial
$700 billion financial rescue plan released Sunday makes it clear that
CEOs of firms seeking the bailout are about to have their pay packages
capped. USA Today.
September 29, 2008
Put A Cap On CEO Pay
For a guy whose astute counsel helped to make so many CEOs rich, Peter
Drucker had an intense loathing of exorbitant executive salaries. He hated high CEO pay on every level: what it said about the
individual as a leader, how it undermined the smooth functioning of the
organization, and the way it tore at the fabric of society as a whole. BusinessWeek.
September 12, 2008
Executive Excess 2008: How Average Taxpayers Subsidize Runaway Pay
Our 15th annual Labor Day report (with the Institute for Policy Studies) finds that tax subsidies directly related to executive pay total $20 billion.
August 25, 2008
Wells Fargo Shareholder Resolution 2008
Racial disparities in Wells Fargo's 2006 HMDA data are pronounced.
African-Americans were 3.69 times
more likely than whites to receive a high cost loan and Latinos were
1.82 times more likely than whites.
April 15, 2008
Western Union Shareholder Resolution 2008
The federal law known as the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) obligates
federally insured banks and depository institutions to help meet the
needs of communities in which they operate. No such law exists for
money transfer agencies like Western Union.
April 15, 2008
April 15th: Gratitude Day (Op-ed)
Ask a group of people to choose...their least favorite day of the year
and the odds are good many will choose the same day, April 15th, tax
day... But I'd like to offer my fellow
high-income taxpayers some advice on why April 15th should be
celebrated rather than feared. By Eric Schoenberg
April 14, 2008
Nation’s Most Progressive Tax Gets a Boost
From UFE's March 2008 E-News
March 31, 2008
Take the Tax Fairness Pledge
Behind the scenes, the Bush tax cuts continue to drain our nation’s capacity to provide vital services, fund education, invest in research and infrastructure, build a strong and sustainable economy, and assure fairness and opportunity. And yet, Bush, McCain, and others are pushing to make those tax cuts permanent!
March 31, 2008
How Do You Know Economic Inequality is Bad?
Some free-market boosters would have us believe that economic inequality is good because it pushes those with less to work harder. While the evidence is mixed on whether that’s true, what’s becoming more and more clear is that the cost to our health is significant.
March 31, 2008
Responsible Wealth Members Share their Stories in the Media
Some families avoid conversations about finances – and some wealthy kids struggle with giving back. But three Responsible Wealth members are publicly sharing their efforts to pass down values and meaning to the next generation. (From UFE's E-News.)
March 31, 2008
Investors Favored Over Wage Earners (Op-ed)
OVER THE LAST DECADE, nobody has gotten more love from Washington than
investors. It's time to stop and ask if the love is misplaced.
March 31, 2008
Breaking the Silence
Feature article focuses on wealthy people who are passing along values with their inheritances. Three members of Responsible Wealth, Fran Butler, Dal LaMagna, and Martin Rothenberg are profiled. (New York Times)
March 18, 2008
Estate Tax Supporters Convene in DC to Lobby Congress
As efforts to preserve the federal estate tax continue in 2008, estate
tax supporters from across the country will come together for an estate
tax briefing to be held during the Take Back America conference,
followed by a day of Capitol Hill visits to lobby Congressional
representatives and senators from their home districts.
March 11, 2008
Estate Tax Lobby Day
The next phase of the fight to preserve the estate tax needs your voice.
Please join us in Washington DC, March 18-19, to learn and lobby.
February 22, 2008
Challenging our Faith in Wealth
A Tale from the Wealth Gap, by
Cecile Andrews, author of Slow is Beautiful: New Visions of Community,
Leisure, and Joie de Vivre and The Circle
of Simplicity: Return to the Good Life.
How do we rouse people to get involved in movements for
change? We're facing a growing gap between the rich and the poor, destruction
of the planet through global warming, an endless war... Yet we go on with
business as usual.
January 18, 2008
Are CEOs and Consultants Colluding Over Pay?
UFE's Executive Excess report was cited by a congressional
committee, chaired by Rep. Waxman, looking into executive compensation conflicts of interest.
December 12, 2007
Responsible Wealth Action News – Back Issues
October 2008 (PDF): Reflection: Responsible Wealth is Your Voices | How Taxpayers Subsidize Executive Excess | RW Member Challenges Exxon-Mobil | Lobby Day 2008 | April 15th: Gratitude Day | Wells Fargo Unrepentant on Racial Profiling | Western Union Continues to Ignore Communities | Progress on the Estate Tax October 31, 2007
The Staggering Cost of US Corporate Leadership
UFE's annual Labor Day report (with the Institute for Policy Studies) finds
that average CEO pay is 364 times the pay of an average US worker.
October 19, 2007
Responsible Wealth Action News – October 2007
Reflection: Inconvenience Yourself | Reining in the Wells Fargo Stagecoach | Tax Fairness Organizing | Capturing Capital Gains | Western Union Pressured | Wal-Mart's Annual Meeting | Opinion: War & Taxes | Estate Tax Heads for Compromise | In Your Own Voice | RW Member Runs for Congress
October 12, 2007
CEOs more valuable than cancer research
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007309020001
August 30, 2007
It's Not Easy Being Ultra-Rich
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/barbara-ehrenreich/its-not-easy-being-ultra_b_62508.html
August 30, 2007
Cash of the titans: Criticism of pay for fund execs grows
http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/management/2007-08-29-private-equity-pay_N.htm
August 30, 2007
CEOs Make More in One day than You do All Year
They Make More in One day than You do All Year; CEOs Averaged Nearly $11 Million in Pay Last Year
August 29, 2007
Exec. Excess 2007: The Staggering Cost of Corporate Leadership
Our annual Labor Day report (with the Institute for Policy Studies) finds
that average CEO pay is 364 times the pay of an average US worker.
August 29, 2007
Executive Excess 2007
14th Annual Labor Day ”˜Executive Excess’ Report: Americans Pay a Staggering
Cost for Corporate Leadership
August 28, 2007
For this club, life begins at 50 (%)
When David Ludlow's wife died in a climbing accident 11 years ago, her death transformed him into a multimillionaire: He inherited Vanda Sendzimir's share of her family fortune, a $5 million trust that generates an annual interest of about $300,000. Then a freelance photographer with a passion for social justice issues, the Jamaica Plain man was plunged into a swirl of shock, guilt, and confusion.
July 29, 2007
Sharing the Burden of War and Taxes (Op-ed)
Article by Responsible Wealth members proposes increasing taxes on the wealthy. In The Boston Globe.
April 9, 2007
Responsible Wealth 2007 Shareholder Campaign
Shareholder actions are a vital tool in raising awareness about the
need for corporations to take into account the needs of stakeholders
beyond those in board room. This year's resolutions were with Wells Fargo and Western Union.
January 1, 2007
