The U.S. is facing an inequality crisis.

Economic inequality in the United States is higher than in almost any other advanced country, and a majority of Americans believe the economy is rigged against them. A recent report by the Federal Reserve showed that nearly 40% of Americans couldn’t come up with $400 in an emergency, and nearly the same number have trouble affording all of their basic needs like food, rent, or healthcare.

This rising inequality has consequences. While those at the very top are richer than ever before, the ground is falling out from under millions of Americans to devastating consequences. Over 2 million of our citizens are addicted to opioids, and last year's deaths of despair - deaths related to drugs, alcohol, and suicide - reached their highest levels in recorded history. For the first time in our country’s history, life expectancy is going down for segments of our population.

These are big, systemic problems, and if we want to fix them, we need to address them in big, systematic ways. It is absolutely wonderful that private individuals and organizations are working to make our country and our world a better place, but for something as big as economic inequality, philanthropy and individual action aren’t enough. We can’t take a piecemeal approach that addresses symptoms - we need to start fixing the root cause of these issues. That takes rewriting the rules of the economy on a governmental level, like taxing the rich or raising the minimum wage to force business owners to pay their workers more, and that’s where the Patriotic Millionaires focus their efforts.

The Patriotic Millionaires is a group of high-net worth Americans who share a profound concern about the destabilizing level of inequality in America. Our work centers on the two things that matter most in a capitalist democracy: power and money. Our goal is to ensure that the country's political economy is structured to meet the needs of regular Americans, rather than just millionaires. Our citizens will only achieve basic economic security if the political economy is structured in such a way to ensure it, so we therefore focus on three "first" principles: a highly progressive tax system, a livable minimum wage, and equal political representation for all citizens.

Like it or not, the voices and opinions of wealthy individuals in America have a disproportionate impact, whether on lawmakers who rely on high net worth donors or on voters who see the wealthy as a source of wisdom when it comes to talking about the economy. Given that most politicians listen primarily to people with money and power, those of us with money and power must leverage our position to fight for the common good. We use our status and our access to make the case for progressive economic policies that we believe are in the country’s long-term best interest, and we believe that every high-net worth person in this country should do the same.

There are a variety of ways you can make an impact. The first would be to join the Patriotic Millionaires. While we are fully transparent about our goals and perspective, we do recognize that some people may not be comfortable in a public role. As such, we invite members to be either public or private members.

We would also encourage you to support other organizations that are fighting for progressive policy change. Look for organizations tackling the roots of inequality, not just the symptoms. Our economy’s rules are determined by the U.S. government, and like it or not, fixing the predicament we’re in is going to require rewriting those rules.

There’s also more you can do than just donating your money. In a country that (however unfairly) listens to the wealthy more than anyone else, you have a level of status and access that you can use without spending a nickel. We urge you to use your voice and public persona to speak out in favor of policies that will reverse this widening divide.

If you’re a business owner or executive, publicly saying that we should be paying our workers more makes a difference. If you inherited substantial wealth, saying we should strengthen the estate tax makes a difference. Even just taking advantage of your own social circles to broach these topics with other high net worth individuals can make a difference. Your voice can change the trajectory we’re on, you just need to use it.