makingUSAbetter.info Money doesn’t vote.
We do. The richest 1% now own more than the bottom 90% of Americans combined. Here’s what that costs us, how we take our government back, and what we get when we do. Election Day is Tuesday, November 3, 2026. See the full page | | Votes speak louder than money — and we have the votes. | What we have now Outrageous wealth distribution The richest 1% now own more of America’s wealth than the bottom 90% — nine out of ten families — put together. If America were 100 people sharing $100: | 1 person — the richest | $32.50 |
| 9 people — the next richest | $36.40 |
about $4 each | 40 people — the middle | $28.80 |
72¢ each | 50 people — the bottom half | $2.30 |
less than 5¢ each That one person has more than the bottom 90 people put together ($31.10). |
• The richest 130,000 households own $27.9 trillion. That’s 6½ times as much as the entire bottom half of America: 66 million households. • It’s getting worse. In 1989, the richest 1% held $22.80 of every $100 of America’s wealth. Today they hold $32.50, a record high. The bottom half went from $3.50 down to $2.30. Bad benefits compared to other nations The US is 23rd in the 2026 World Happiness Report. Finland has been 1st nine years in a row. Here’s part of the reason: | What you get | In the US | In other rich democracies |
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| Health care for everyone | No — 26.7 million people had no insurance all year | Everyone covered | | Cost of health care per person | $14,885 | $5,967 on average | | Life expectancy | 78.4 years | 81.1 years on average | | Paid leave for a new baby | None required — the only OECD country | Every other OECD country | | Paid vacation | None required by law | At least 4 weeks by law in the EU | | Paid sick days | No national requirement | Required nearly everywhere |
OECD = the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development: 38 mostly wealthy democracies, including the US, that share data so countries can compare. More about the OECD | What it would take How we restore government of, by, and for the people This didn’t happen by accident. Unlimited money in elections and decades of trickle-down tax cuts moved wealth — and power — to the top. (“Trickle-down” means cutting taxes for the richest people and biggest corporations, on the promise that the benefits will trickle down to everyone else. They didn’t.) Lobbyists alone spent more than $4.5 billion in 2024. So we reverse it: 1. Overrule Citizens United A constitutional amendment so voters, not money, decide elections — and an end to secret “dark money.” 2. Restore highly progressive taxation End trickle-down. Tax the largest incomes and fortunes as we did after World War II, when the middle class grew fastest. 3. Protect every vote Restore the Voting Rights Act and draw fair districts. 4. Close the revolving door Limit lobbying and stop officials from cashing in as lobbyists. How? Congress depends on our votes. Every House seat and a third of the Senate are on the ballot. When enough voters know the truth — and know what to demand — we get results. Your Congressional Candidates Where do the candidates in your district stand on these four requirements? See their positions, their background, and the evidence. Find your congressional candidates |
| Money can buy ads. It can’t buy your vote — and it can’t buy your friends’ trust in you. |
| “Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.”
— Frederick Douglass, 1857 | What we get when we do World-class benefits, like the happiest nations • Health care for everyone. Low co-pays, and it doesn’t depend on your job. • College you can afford. Free or low-cost higher education, plus retraining for life. • Real time off. 4 to 5 weeks of paid vacation, plus paid sick days. • Paid family leave. Time at home with a new baby, without losing your paycheck. • Child care that works. Heavily subsidized, high-quality child care. • Security. Stronger retirement, unemployment and disability benefits. | Can we afford it? Yes. The US collects about 25% of its economy in taxes; the average rich democracy collects about 34%. Just reaching the average would pay for world-class benefits — and much of that money families already pay today as insurance premiums, deductibles, tuition and child-care bills. Ending trickle-down is where it starts. |
| The most powerful thing you can do today Spread the word They have the money for ads. We have something better: each other. People trust a friend more than any commercial. Please forward this email to three people who vote — and ask each of them to send it to three more. If you tell 3 people today, and each of them tells 3 more the next day, the message reaches 100 million people in 17 days. Real life is never that neat — not everyone passes it on. That’s exactly why it matters that you do. See the full pageFind your candidates |  | Love,
Old Treehugger Old Treehugger directed the work. Claude (Anthropic) did the coding and design, and used a lot of material from us-sos.info, which was made using ChatGPT (OpenAI). Old Treehugger did a significant part of the writing. Aphorisms without attribution are by Old Treehugger, except “Corporations are not people,” which is common knowledge. More aphorisms |
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