Chuck Collins (born October 19, 1959) is an author and a senior scholar at the

Institute for Policy Studies The Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) is an American progressive think tank started in 1963 that is based in Washington, D.C. It was directed by John Cavanagh from 1998 to 2021. In 2021 Tope Folarin was announced as new Executive Director. ...

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

, where he directs the Program on

Inequality Inequality may refer to: Economics * Attention inequality, unequal distribution of attention across users, groups of people, issues in etc. in attention economy * Economic inequality, difference in economic well-being between population groups * ...

and the Common Good. He is also co-founder of Wealth for Common Good. He is an expert on economic inequality in the US, 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. Collins is the great-grandson of

Oscar F. Mayer Oscar Ferdinand Mayer (March 29, 1859 – March 11, 1955) was a German American who founded the processed-meat firm Oscar Mayer that bears his name. Early life and career Mayer was born in Kösingen (now part of Neresheim), in the Kingdom of ...

, the founder of the

Oscar Mayer Oscar Mayer is an American meat and cold cut producer known for its hot dogs, bologna, bacon, ham, and Lunchables products. The company is a subsidiary of the Kraft Heinz Company and based in Chicago, Illinois. History Early years German immigr ...

meat processing brand.

Early life

Collins was born in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

and grew up in suburban

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

where he attended the

Cranbrook Schools Cranbrook Schools is a private, PK–12 preparatory school located on a campus in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. The schools comprise a co-educational elementary school, a middle school with separate schools for boys and girls, and a co-education ...

. At age 7, he witnessed the

1967 Detroit riots The 1967 Detroit Riot, also known as the 12th Street Riot or Detroit Rebellion, was the bloodiest of the urban riots in the United States during the "Long, hot summer of 1967". Composed mainly of confrontations between Black residents and the De ...

and became concerned about inequality. He was involved in social change, including

Earth Day Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held on April 22, 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally by EarthDay.org (formerly Earth Day Network) including 1 b ...

1970. He raised money for

guide dog Guide dogs (colloquially known in the US as seeing-eye dogs) are assistance dogs trained to lead blind or visually impaired people around obstacles. Although dogs can be trained to navigate various obstacles, they are red–green colour blin ...

s and informed his neighborhood about the environment at a young age. Collins first gained public attention in 1985, when he gave an inheritance of $500,000 to several foundations at the age of 26. When his

libertarian conservative Libertarian conservatism, also referred to as conservative libertarianism and conservatarianism, is a Political philosophy, political and social philosophy that combines Conservatism in the United States, conservatism and Libertarianism in the ...

father Edward learned of his intentions, he was afraid his son was a

Marxist Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...

, though Collins instead stated that he would rather be called a "

Gandhian The followers of Mahatma Gandhi, the greatest figure of the Indian independence movement, are called Gandhians. Gandhi's legacy includes a wide range of ideas ranging from his dream of ideal India (or ''Rama Rajya)'', economics, environmentalism, ...

or Christian" and later left to live in a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

Education

Collins is a graduate of

Hampshire College Hampshire College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. It was opened in 1970 as an experiment in alternative education, in association with four other colleges ...

(

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

, 1984), and holds a master's degree (1987) from the School of Community Economic Development at

Southern New Hampshire University Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) is a private university between Manchester and Hooksett, New Hampshire. The university is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education, along with national accreditation for some hospitali ...

Career

Between 1983 and 1991, Collins worked at the Institute for Community Economics, based in

Greenfield, Massachusetts Greenfield is a city in and the county seat of Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. Greenfield was first settled in 1686. The population was 17,768 at the 2020 census. Greenfield is home to Greenfield Community College, the Pioneer Val ...

, providing technical advice to

community land trust A community land trust (CLT) is a nonprofit corporation that holds land on behalf of a place-based community, while serving as the long-term steward for affordable housing, community gardens, civic buildings, commercial spaces and other community ...

s and

mobile home A mobile home (also known as a house trailer, park home, trailer, or trailer home) is a prefabricated structure, built in a factory on a permanently attached chassis before being transported to site (either by being towed or on a trailer). Us ...

resident cooperatives. Between 1991 and 1995, he was director of the HOME Coalition in Massachusetts and a field organizer for the Tax Equity Alliance of Massachusetts (now the Mass Budget and Policy Center). In 1995, he co-founded, with Felice Yeskel and S.M. Miller,

United for a Fair Economy United for a Fair Economy (UFE) is an American left-leaning nonprofit organization. Co-founded by Chuck Collins and Felice Yeskel in 1995, it describes itself as "raising awareness that concentrated wealth and power undermine the economy, corru ...

in Boston, Massachusetts, a left-leaning national organization devoted to education about growing income and wealth inequality. In 2005, he became a senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies, where he co-edits the web site, Inequality.org, and directs the Program on Inequality and the Common Good. In 2008, he cofounded Wealth for the Common Good, which subsequently merged in 2015 with the Patriotic Millionaires. At the Institute for Policy Studies, Collins research has looked at income and wealth inequality and the racial wealth divide. He has co-authored a number of studies including "Billionaire Bonanza" exploring the share of wealth flowing to the top 1 percent and

Forbes 400 The ''Forbes'' 400 or 400 Richest Americans is a list published by ''Forbes'' magazine of the wealthiest 400 American citizens who own assets in the U.S., ranked by net worth. The 400 was started by Malcolm Forbes in 1982 and the list is publ ...

, and the "Ever Growing Gap", which examines the future of the racial wealth divide.

Publications

Collins has written a number of books about inequality, tax policy and social change philanthropy. In 2000, he co-authored the book, ''Robin Hood Was Right: A Guide to Giving Your Money for Social Change''. In 2000 (revised in 2005), he co-authored with Felice Yeskel, ''Economic Apartheid in America: A Primer on Economic Inequality and Insecurity''. Collins is coauthor, with William H. Gates Sr, of the 2003 book, ''Wealth and Our Commonwealth: Why America Should Tax Accumulated Fortunes'', which argues that the

estate tax An inheritance tax is a tax paid by a person who inherits money or property of a person who has died, whereas an estate tax is a levy on the estate (money and property) of a person who has died. International tax law distinguishes between an es ...

is both fair and necessary. In 2013, he authored ''99 to 1: How Wealth Inequality is Wrecking the World and What We Can Do About It''. ''Born on Third Base: A One Percenter Makes the Case for Tackling Inequality, Bringing Wealth Home, and Committing to the Common Good'' was published in 2016. In 2021 he published ''The Wealth Hoarders: How Billionaires Spend Millions to Hide Trillions''.

Personal life

Collins is the great-grandson of German-born American meatpacker

(founder of the

food corporation), and is the grandson of the American pianist and composer Edward Joseph Collins. Collins lives in the

Jamaica Plain Jamaica Plain is a neighborhood of in the City of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Settled by Puritans seeking farmland to the south, it was originally part of the former Town of Roxbury, now also a part of the City of Boston. The commun ...

neighborhood of Boston with his partner, his daughter, and his partner's children.

References

External links

Book - 99 to 1: How Wealth Inequality is Wrecking the World and What We Can Do About It
*
Patriotic Millionaires

Class Action

Inequality.org
This website is a portal to statistics, news, and opinions on economic inequality in the US
United for a Fair Economy site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Chuck 1959 births American economics writers American male non-fiction writers American socialists Anti-globalization activists Center for Economic and Policy Research Hampshire College alumni Living people Michigan socialists New Hampshire socialists Southern New Hampshire University alumni Wisconsin socialists People from Jamaica Plain American people of German descent