
A group of about 50 New York State millionaires, according to the Associated Press, have sent an open letter to Governor Andrew Cuomo and “legislative leaders” supporting higher taxes for the wealthy to fund programs to address income inequality and infrastructure investment. The group is backing a tax policy proposal from the Fiscal Policy Institute, a New York-based liberal think tank.
Recently, a small, but vocal number of wealthy people — including such notable billionaires as Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Carl Icahn, and Charles Koch —have publicly raised concern about growing income inequality. Some have warned against creating a permanent underclass and indulging in welfare for the rich.
The signers of the letter for New York legislators include Abigail Disney, filmmaker and granddaughter of Walt Disney Company co-founder Roy Disney, fourth-generation Rockefeller family member Steven Rockefeller, At-a-Glance calendar developer and leveraged buyout pioneer Lewis Cullman, media private equality fund managing partner Leo Hindery, Jr., and Peter Strugatz, an early investor in Stonyfield Farm Yogurt and Zipcar.
The letter said they and the other millionaires were “deeply concerned that too many New Yorkers are struggling economically” and that “the state’s ailing infrastructure is in desperate need” of attention.