Giant Blue Elephant unveiled on Dam Square in Amsterdam as a symbol of extreme wealth inequality in the Netherlands
Join us on August 30th on Dam Square in Amsterdam, where we will reveal a giant Blue Elephant to call on governments to acknowledge 'the elephant in the room' - that taxing wealth is a solution to addressing inequality and funding the responses to the multiple crises the world faces today.
JOIN US IN AMSTERDAM
The Blue Elephant is an initiative of Millionaires for Humanity. It travels across Europe to highlight global inequality and the potential of a wealth tax to address inequality. The event on August 30th is a joint effort with German-based taxmenow.
WHEN?
Tuesday, August 30th 2022 at 12 PM to 7 PM.
WHERE?
Dam Square, Amsterdam
WHAT?
The blue elephant will be displayed on Dam Square on the 30th of August from 12 PM to 5 PM. Speakers at the event are Sander Schimmelpenninck, Marlene Engelhorn, Tax policy expert Milou Geuns from Oxfam Novib and Vera Vrijmoeth from the Netherlands Trade Union Confederation (FNV). They will be speaking at 1 PM.
What our members say
Currently, there exists an unequal balance in power between the wealthy and the worker, decades of deregulation has led to unsustainable levels of wealth inequality. Wealth collects at the top of society and the notion of trickle-down economics has been proven incorrect. We must work together to bring a progressive tax system for wealth globally.
I inherited my fortune. As such I didn't do anything for it, I was simply lucky in the birth lottery. A wealth tax would do nothing to hurt me, whilst it would play a huge part in securing a more equal society here in Germany. Today, on International Labour Day, we are reminded that the current tax system is flawed - the average worker pays more proportional tax than a billionaire, therefore we advocate for a wealth tax.
The elephant in the room is that governments have it within their power to address all the multiple challenges we are facing by taxing us rich people. But they choose not to do so and tax low-income and middle-income workers instead. Placing the burden on ordinary workers is unjust and missing a golden opportunity to raise the billions we need to tackle the challenges we face
Solidarity concerns us all. Wealth distribution strikes at the heart of democracy. In order to secure the future and jobs for all, it is important to implement a fair tax policy. On International Labor Day, it's timely to remember that there's no such thing as a self-made millionaire. Millionaires only exist on the backs of the labor of others, and on the services and infrastructure paid for by taxes. That needs to be acknowledged, and wealth needs to be taxed.
LET'S TALK ABOUT THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM.
The elephant in the room refers to obvious problems or issues that decision makers avoid discussing or acknowledging. Using this metaphor as a feature, Millionaires for Humanity together with our german-based partner taxmenow will install a huge inflated elephant to draw attention to the important issue of the ever-growing inequality of wealth distribution. For Millionaires for Humanity, the elephant in the room is wealth inequality, and the fact that introducing taxes on wealth for the world’s richest people could be enough to help fund a sustainable and fairer future for all of us.
