The Issue
Today’s economy is broken. The top 1% have more wealth than the bottom 93% of earners. One person, Elon Musk, owns more wealth than 52% of Americans; enough to buy the presidency and further enrich himself and his fellow billionaires. Ordinary people are working two or three jobs just to afford necessities, while multinational corporations directly profit from keeping their workers in perpetual financial insecurity. Our nation’s founders agreed that we needed fundamental laws to protect citizens from government overreach. It is time we were honest about the need to approach workers in this country the same way, and establish legislation to protect them from government and corporate greed. Put differently, the American people need to recognize that a class war has already begun, and so far, we have refused to fight back. Eastern Kentucky has a strong history of fighting back, and we need to re-gain the tools that would help us reclaim our share of the wealth: a vibrant National Labor Relations Board, stronger laws that protect worker’s rights, and renewed ability to form unions.
Background Info
-
Two Sides to Everything by Shaunna Scott tells the story of working class consciousness in Harlan county
-
Feb 2025 study found almost $80 trillion redistributed from bottom 90% to top 1% between 1975 and 2023, including $3.9 trillion, or enough to give people a $32,000 raise, in 2023 alone.
-
Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Report on how AI and automation could destroy nearly 100 million U.S. jobs in a decade
Pending Legislation
-
S.1332, Raise the Wage Act (2025) raises the minimum wage to $17.00 by 2030
-
S.381, H.R.1944 Bipartisan 10% Credit Card Interest Rate Cap Act (2025) caps credit card interest rates at 10% for 5 years
-
H.R.2550, Protect America’s Workforce Act (2025) reverses executive order limiting collective bargaining for federal employees
-
S.770, H.R.1700, H.R.1046, Social Security Expansion Act (2025) increases annual benefits ($2,400), eliminates the wage cap and requires all income (earned and unearned) to pay into social security, restores student benefits up to age 22, switches to a more accurate inflation measure for cost-of-living adjustments, and (some versions) combines the trust funds.
-
H.R.2909, You Earned It You Keep It Act ends federal income taxes on social security benefits and, to pay for it, removes the payroll cap so that high income earners pay into social security on all their wages
-
H.R.2912, Oppose Limitless Inequality Growth and Reverse Community Harm (OLIGARCH) Act (2025) to tax the wealth of the ultra-rich and billionaires
-
S.2818, H.R.5298, Tax Excessive CEO Pay Act (2025) to rein in the disparity between CEO and worker pay by requiring tax increase for CEOs who make more than 50x worker pay.
We Deserve Action
Actions Needed Immediately
-
Repeal tax cuts for the wealthy in the BBB
-
Support pending legislation to redistribute wealth back to workers
-
Re-fund the NLRB and other offices that protect workers
Longer-Term Actions
-
Oppose bailouts to tech and other large corporations
-
Support legislation to rein in bank interest rates
-
Support legislation tax capital gains as income
-
Support aggressive anti-monopoly legislation