Washington DC – Resource Generation and Wealth for Common Good today announced a new website for wealthy people to show their support for the Occupy movement. Already over 100 members of “the 1 percent,” including young entrepreneurs, business owners and wealthy individuals, have posted their support on the new website “We are the 1 percent. We stand with the 99 percent.” (http://westandwiththe99percent.tumblr.com/)
“Those of us with more than we need and who believe in a more just distribution of resources can stand up and tell the truth about how the deck has been stacked in our favor. We need to say that we think it’s wrong too,” said Elspeth Gilmore, co-director of Resource Generation. “Just as the 99 percent has been a powerful rallying cry, the 1 percent has come to represent those who hold the majority of this country’s resources and have created—and benefited from—the financial and economic crises we now face. One hundred percent of us need a different world.”
Organizers were inspired by the “We are the 99 percent” blog that has been collecting the Occupy movement protester’s stories, and launched the parallel site We are the 1 percent, We stand with the 99 percent for wealthy people to join in, lend their voices and stand in solidarity with the protesters’ messages of challenging economic inequality and raising taxes on the wealthy.
Carl Schweser, founder of Schweser Study Program for the CFA (now called Kaplan Schweser), posted: “I made millions studying the math of mortgages and bonds and helping bankers pass the Chartered Financial Analyst Exam. It isn’t fair that I have retired in comfort after a career working with financial instruments while people who worked as nurses, teachers, soldiers, etc. are worried about paying for their future, their healthcare, and their children’s educations. They are the backbone of this country that allowed me to succeed. I am willing to pay more taxes so that everyone can look forward to a secure future like I do. I am the 1%. I stand with the 99%. (Which equals 100% of America.) Tax me.”
Farhad Ebrahimi, who has been involved in Occupy Boston says, “I have inherited an amount of money that is much more than I need. I AM THE 1%. My taxes are at a historical low, and the influence of money on our government is at a historical high. These are not good things! So what am I doing about it? (1) I am donating the vast majority of my money to social change organizations. (2) I am personally advocating for the repair of our broken system. I STAND WITH THE 99%. I am part of Occupy Boston. My money gives me no special influence here. That’s the way it should be.”
“When so many are struggling – to access healthcare, pay back their student loans, and make ends meet – the 1 percent has more than enough. Our networks include thousands of wealthy people who recognize our economy is out of balance and that wealthy people should pay more for the common good. It’s in the self-interest of the 1 percent to have a society that works all of us, and we anticipate many more will join us,” said Alison Goldberg, Coordinator of Wealth for Common Good.
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Resource Generation organizes young people with wealth to leverage resources and privilege for social change and is a co-sponsor of the site along with Wealth for Common Good, a network of wealthy individuals and business leaders speaking out for fair taxation.