Chuck Collins
| Chuck Collins | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born |
1959 Troy, Michigan |
| Alma mater |
Hampshire College Southern New Hampshire University |
| Religion | Unitarian Universalist[1] |
Chuck Collins (born 1959) is an author and a senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, DC, where he directs the Program on Inequality and the Common Good. He is also co-founder of Wealth for Common Good. He is an expert on U.S. economic inequality and has pioneered efforts to bring together investors and business leaders to speak out publicly against corporate practices and economic policies that increase economic inequality.
Early life
Collins grew up in suburban Detroit where he raised money for guide dogs and informed his neighborhood about the environment at a young age.[1] When he was 16, he learned that his father had set up an inheritance for him.[1] He first caught attention in 1985 when he gave an inheritance of $500,000 to several foundations at the age of 26.[1][2] When his conservative father Edward learned of his intentions, he was afraid he was a Marxist, though Collins instead stated that he was a Unitarian Universalist and later left to live in a commune.[1][3]
Education
He is a graduate of Hampshire College (B.A., 1984), and holds a master's degree (1987) from the School of Community Economic Development at Southern New Hampshire University.
Career
According to Forbes, Collins uses "rich people to promote left-liberal causes".[3] Collins has worked with a number of prominent wealthy individuals, including William H. Gates, Sr. and George Soros in an effort to promote tax equity. Collins was the co-founder of the organization United for a Fair Economy in Boston, Massachusetts.[1] Collins was also listed as part of the "members or friends" of the Boston Democratic Socialists of America in 2004.[4] Collins was the co-founder of the organization United for a Fair Economy in Boston, Massachusetts.[1]
Collins co-founded several organizations, including Wealth for the Common Good, which in 2015 merged with the Patriotic Millionaires.
Works
He is the author of 99 to 1: How Wealth Inequality is Wrecking the World and What We Can Do About It (ISBN 978-1609945923). Collins is coauthor, with William H. Gates, Sr., of the book Wealth and Our Commonwealth: Why America Should Tax Accumulated Fortunes, which argues that the estate tax is both fair and necessary. He is co-author with Mary Wright of The Moral Measure of the Economy, a book about Christian ethics and economic life. He is also coauthor of Robin Hood Was Right and several other books.
Personal life
Collins is the great-grandson of 19th-century meatpacking mogul Oscar F. Mayer and the grandson of the U.S. pianist and composer Edward Joseph Collins. He resides in Jamaica Plain, Boston with his partner and children.
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 French, Kimberly. "From Riches to Responsibility Defending the Estate Tax". UU World. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
- ↑ Fast Company interview with Collins
- 1 2 Selignman, Dan (14 April 2002). "The Leftist Billionaire Syndrome". Forbes. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
- ↑ "The Yankee Radical" (PDF). Boston Democratic Socialists of America. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
External links
- Book - 99 to 1: How Wealth Inequality is Wrecking the World and What We Can Do About It
- Institute on Policy Studies Program on Inequality and the Common Good site
- Wealth for the Common Good
- Inequality.org This website is a portal to statistics, news, and opinions on economic inequality in the U.S.
- United for a Fair Economy site
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