The Rigged Game: How Billionaires Pay Less in Taxes Than You Do—And What We Can Do About It
You work hard. You pay your taxes. Every paycheck, you watch money get deducted before it even hits your bank account. Meanwhile, billionaires are living tax-free lives, borrowing against their massive fortunes to buy yachts, private islands, and whatever else their hearts desire—without paying a cent in taxes.
This isn't just unfair. It's a rigged system that's crushing working families while the ultra-wealthy get richer by the day. But there's finally a solution on the table: the Robinhood Act—and it needs your support.
The Shocking Reality of Wealth Inequality in America
Let's start with some hard numbers that should make your blood boil.
According to the Congressional Budget Office's 2024 report on family wealth, the total wealth in America grew from $52 trillion in 1989 to $199 trillion in 2022. That's nearly quadrupling in just over three decades. Sounds great, right? Except there's a catch: almost all of that new wealth went straight to the top.
Here's the breakdown that tells the real story:
- The top 10% of families now control 60% of all wealth in America (up from 56% in 1989)
- The top 1% alone holds 27% of all wealth (up from 23% in 1989)
- The bottom 50% of American families? They still hold just 6% of wealth—exactly the same share they had in 1989
Think about that for a moment. While the total pie grew massively, working-class families got exactly zero additional slices. For families in the bottom 25%, average wealth is just $74,200—and that includes their projected Social Security benefits, which make up nearly half of everything they have.
How Billionaires Play by Different Rules
Here's where it gets even more infuriating. While you're paying income taxes on every dollar you earn, the wealthiest Americans have figured out how to live lavishly without paying taxes at all.
A 2021 ProPublica investigation revealed that the 25 wealthiest Americans paid an average effective tax rate of just 3.4%. Let that sink in. You probably pay more than that, and you're not buying private jets.
The individual numbers are even more shocking:
- Elon Musk: 3.3% tax rate
- Jeff Bezos: 1% tax rate
- Warren Buffett: 0.1% tax rate
How is this possible?
It's called the "borrow, buy, die" loophole, and it's perfectly legal under current tax law.
Here's how it works: Instead of selling their stocks, real estate, or art collections (which would trigger capital gains taxes), billionaires simply borrow against them. Banks happily loan them hundreds of millions—even billions—using their assets as collateral. Elon Musk, for example, pledged $94 billion in Tesla shares as collateral in 2022. The top 1% borrowed over $1 trillion that same year.
That borrowed money? Tax-free. They spend it on mansions, yachts, and luxury lifestyles while working families struggle to pay for groceries, childcare, and medical bills.
How This Hurts Working-Class Families Every Single Day
This isn't just an abstract fairness issue. Wealth inequality directly harms working people in concrete ways:
1. Stagnant Wages
When wealth concentrates at the top, working people lose bargaining power. The bottom half of Americans have seen their share of wealth remain frozen for 33 years while costs for housing, healthcare, and education have skyrocketed.
2. Disappearing Economic Mobility
The American Dream—the idea that hard work leads to a better life—is fading. When billionaires pay almost nothing in taxes while building dynastic wealth, there's less room for everyone else to climb the economic ladder.
3. Underfunded Public Services
Every dollar a billionaire doesn't pay in taxes is a dollar that doesn't go to schools, roads, healthcare, or childcare programs. When the ultra-wealthy dodge $276 billion in taxes over a decade (as they do with this loophole), that's $276 billion that could transform working families' lives.
4. Political Power Concentration
Extreme wealth translates to extreme political influence. When billionaires pay minimal taxes, they have more resources to shape laws, regulations, and policies in their favor—creating a vicious cycle that makes inequality even worse.
5. Retirement Insecurity
While the wealthy build massive portfolios, families in the bottom half of the wealth distribution depend on Social Security for over 40% of their assets. Yet Social Security itself faces funding challenges—challenges that could be addressed if the wealthy paid their fair share.
The Robinhood Act: A Real Solution
Enter Congressman Dan Goldman's ROBINHOOD Act (Redistribution of Billions by Instituting New High-Income Obligations on Overlooked Debt)—legislation that would finally make billionaires pay taxes on the money they're actually using.
The Solution is Simple:
The Act imposes a 20% excise tax on loans and lines of credit backed by capital assets for individuals earning over $400,000 annually (or $450,000 for joint filers).
It Protects Regular People:
The Act includes smart exemptions for home mortgages, home equity loans, margin loans, and farmland-secured credit. This targets only the ultra-wealthy using sophisticated borrowing schemes.
It Generates Real Revenue:
Conservative estimates show the ROBINHOOD Act could generate $276 billion over 10 years.
That Money Could Transform Lives:
Those funds could pay for:
- Universal pre-kindergarten programs
- Affordable childcare for working families
- Restored Child Tax Credit expansions
- Infrastructure investments in working-class communities
"While working New Yorkers pay taxes on paychecks, billionaires live tax-free by borrowing against portfolios, real estate, and art. This bill ensures the ultra-wealthy pay their fair share instead of subsidizing yachts and private islands."
What You Can Do Right Now
The ROBINHOOD Act is common sense. It's popular. Americans overwhelmingly support making billionaires pay their fair share. But it won't pass without pressure from constituents like you.
Step 1: Find Your Representative
Visit www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative and enter your zip code to find your member of Congress.
Step 2: Contact Them
Call their office (most effective), send an email, or use their online contact form. Congressional offices track constituent contacts carefully—your call matters.
Phone Script (feel free to personalize):
"Hello, my name is [YOUR NAME] and I'm a constituent from [YOUR CITY/ZIP CODE]. I'm calling to urge Representative [NAME] to co-sponsor and support the ROBINHOOD Act introduced by Representative Dan Goldman.
It's outrageous that billionaires pay less than 4% in taxes while working families like mine pay much more. The ROBINHOOD Act would generate $276 billion by closing the loophole that lets billionaires borrow against their assets tax-free.
This money could fund childcare, education, and programs that actually help working families. I want to know if Representative [NAME] will support this bill. Thank you."
Step 3: Share This Message
Talk to your friends, family, coworkers, and neighbors. Post about it on social media. The more people who demand action, the harder it becomes for representatives to ignore.
Step 4: Follow Up
If you don't get a satisfactory answer, call again. Persistent constituent pressure works.
The Bottom Line
For 33 years, working families have watched their share of America's wealth stay completely flat while billionaires have rigged the system to avoid taxes altogether. The ROBINHOOD Act is a straightforward, sensible solution that would generate hundreds of billions of dollars by making the ultra-wealthy pay taxes on money they're already spending.
This isn't about punishing success. It's about basic fairness. It's about ensuring that everyone plays by the same rules. It's about building an economy that works for everyone, not just those at the very top.
The question is simple: Should billionaires pay taxes on the money they use, just like you do?
If your answer is yes, then pick up the phone and call your representative today. The ROBINHOOD Act won't pass itself—but together, we can make it happen.
The Robinhood Act is endorsed by:
Americans for Tax Fairness, Social Security Works, Public Citizen, SEIU, Americans for Financial Reform, AFSCME, and numerous other organizations fighting for economic justice.
Don't wait. Call your representative today.
Democracy works when we make our voices heard.
