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

Institute for Policy Studies The Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) is an American Progressivism in the United States, progressive think tank, formed in 1963 and based in Washington, D.C. It was directed by John Cavanagh (economist), John Cavanagh from 1998 to 2021. In 202 ...

Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

, where he directs the Program on

Inequality Inequality may refer to: * Inequality (mathematics), a relation between two quantities when they are different. * Economic inequality, difference in economic well-being between population groups ** Income inequality, an unequal distribution of i ...

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 sausage, bologna, bacon, ham, and Lunchables products. The company is a subsidiary of the Kraft Heinz, Kraft Heinz Company and based in Chicago, Chicago, Illin ...

meat processing brand.

Early life

Collins was born in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

and grew up in suburban

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

where he attended the

Cranbrook Schools Cranbrook Schools is a private PK–12 educational institution located on a campus in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. It includes a co-educational elementary school, a middle school with separate schools for boys and girls, and a co-educational c ...

. At age 7, he witnessed the

1967 Detroit riots The 1967 Detroit riot, also known as the 12th Street Riot and the Detroit Uprising, was the bloodiest of the urban riots in the United States during the "long, hot summer of 1967". Composed mainly of confrontations between African American res ...

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 through earthday.org (formerly Earth Day Network) includin ...

1970. He raised money for

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

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, more rarely, ''conservatarianism'', is a Political philosophy, political and social philosophy that combines Conservatism in the United States, conservatism and Li ...

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

Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...

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

Gandhian The followers of Mahatma Gandhi,one of the prominent 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, environ ...

or Christian" and later left to live in a commune.

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 A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

, 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, New Hampshire, Manchester and Hooksett, New Hampshire, United States. The university is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education, along with ...

Career

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

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

, providing technical advice to

community land trust A community land trust or (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 communi ...

s and

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

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 Felice Yeskel (April 6, 1953 – January 11, 2011) was an American activist who advocated for LGBT rights, class issues, and economic equality. Yeskel founded and ran, for 14 years, the Stonewall Center at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst; ...

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 ...

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, 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 Patriotic Millionaires is a nonpartisan organization of Americans with high net worth who promote the restructuring of the American tax system so that wealthy people pay a greater share of their income in taxes. Patriotic Millionaires was founde ...

. 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 ...

, 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

, ''Economic Apartheid in America: A Primer on Economic Inequality and Insecurity''. Collins is coauthor, with Bill Gates Sr., of the 2003 book, ''Wealth and Our Commonwealth: Why America Should Tax Accumulated Fortunes'', which argues that the

estate tax International tax law distinguishes between an estate tax and an inheritance 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 pr ...

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''. In 2023, he published a novel, ''Altar to An Erupting Sun,'' a provocative work of eco-fiction and history.

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 Edward Joseph Collins (November 10, 1886 – December 1, 1951) was an American pianist, conductor and composer of classical music in a neoromantic style. Life and career Collins was born in Joliet, Illinois, into an Irish family – his father ...

References

External links

* Chuck Collins website www.chuckcollinswrites.com * Book
Altar to An Erupting Sun

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 American economics writers American male non-fiction writers American social justice activists American socialists Anti-globalization activists * Center for Economic and Policy Research Michigan socialists New Hampshire socialists Wisconsin socialists Hampshire College alumni Southern New Hampshire University alumni People from Jamaica Plain American people of German descent 1959 births Living people