10 Steps to Break Up the Wealth of the Super Rich

By Chuck Collins
October 10, 2012  |  The following is an excerpt from 99 to 1: How Wealth Inequality Is Wrecking the World and What We Can Do About It  [3], by Chuck Collins (Berrett-Koehler, 2012).

We must change the rules of the economy so that they serve and lift up the 100 percent, not just the 1 percent. Starting in the mid-1970s, the rules were changed to reorient the economy toward the short-term interests of the 1 percent. We can shift and reverse the rules to work for everyone.

Three Types of Rule Changes

There are three categories of policy changes that we need: rules and policies that raise the floor, those that level the playing field, and those that break up overconcentrations of wealth and corporate power. These are not hard-and-fast categories, but a useful framework for grouping different rule changes.