RESIST THE RULE OF THE BILLIONAIRES
A tiny number of individuals have obscene wealth and ever-growing control over politicians.
Beyond Billionaires is a people-powered movement for a more equal society and real democracy.
“At the root of all our problems stands one travesty: politicians’ surrender to the super-rich.”
~ George Monbiot
Billionaires earn millions per week And buy more and more assets
Someone with one billion dollars sits on the couch earning 5% interest, and that’s one million dollars every week! With ten billion, that’s ten million every week.
It’s impossible to spend so much even with the most lavish lifestyle. So billionaires buy assets: houses, land, businesses, media outlets … and politicians.
You can’t compete
THERE’S A MASSIVE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A MILLIONAIRE AND
A BILLIONAIRE
“If you go back a million minutes, you reach 2023. Go back a billion minutes, you reach the Roman Empire – that’s the scale of inequality we’re living with.”
~ Zack Polanski, Green Party, UK
TAX WEALTH NOT WORK
Gary Stevenson, the ‘People’s Economist’, warns that wealth inequality is spiralling out of control.
We have to act fast.
While working people struggle to pay the rent, billionaires are buying up everything.
People working for wages or in a small business pay higher rates of tax than billionaires and big corporations.
PAUSE DATA CENTRES – PAUSE AI
Numerous huge data centres are planned with very little chance for members of the public to have a say. But they face growing opposition based on their massive energy and water use, fire risk and noise pollution.
Tech billionaires are racing to develop artificial superintelligence despite the risks. As Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, said: “AI will most likely lead to the end of the world, but meanwhile there will be great companies.”
FINANCING A BETTER WORLD
“The scarce resources we have should be used to … create what is of societal value rather than serve the frivolous desires of the ultra-rich.”
“Instead of taxing income from labour or economic activity, [we should be] taxing wealth, financial assets, immovable property, financial transactions, and all the ills of the economy, including from the extractive industry and especially fossil energy.”
~ Olivier De Schutter, UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
BREAKING THE DEADLOCK
A RIGGED SYSTEM
More and more people feel that the system is broken. But parties and politicians that offer alternatives face well-funded attacks. Social division is rising and so is support for leaders who promise to ‘drain the swamp’ but work for the billionaires who fund them.The super-rich own the mass media and social media and are driving a mass roll-out of data centres developing AI for their own purposes.
THE PATH FORWARD
Experience shows that a Citizens’ Assembly, consisting of a representative sample of the general public, can make good decisions, if members are free from political pressure and supported with expert advice and good facilitation.We want Citizens’ Assemblies on:
► a fair tax system to redistribute wealth away from billionaires
► how best to govern AI and data centres for the public good.
PEOPLE POWER SUCCESS STORIES
ICELAND AFTER THE GFC. When financial markets crashed, the people of Iceland took to the streets and demanded a bailout for ordinary people and jail time for the bankers who had caused the crisis. They used deliberative democracy to write a new constitution.
IRISH CITIZENS’ ASSEMBLIES. Irish politicians were paralysed on abortion law reform and same-sex marriage. A majority of the population wanted change but any politician that displeased the Catholic Church risked being targeted by a well-financed campaign to vote them out. Ireland used Citizens’ Assemblies to draft laws that the public supported.
CITIZENS’ ASSEMBLIES
WHAT THEY ARE
Citizens’ assemblies are made up of ordinary people, selected by lottery to represent the true diversity of a nation. Unlike career politicians, these citizens represent the 99% and deliberate on the common good without pressure from vested interests.
HOW THEY WORK
The process involves hearing comprehensive expert advice, careful deliberation, and respectful debate. Assemblies tackle complex systemic issues, ensuring decisions are based on evidence and collective wisdom rather than partisan politics.
PROVEN SUCCESS
- Ireland: Transformed constitutional law on social issues
- France: Developed breakthrough policies on climate action
- UK: Successfully used to guide local democratic reform
CONSIDERING THE GREATER GOOD
If ordinary people were supported to make the big decisions, it could lead to:
• a more equal and fair society
• the natural world preserved and restored
• world peace – tensions sorted out before wars begin
A FUTURE BEYOND BILLIONAIRES
Help us build a movement of the 99% to redistribute wealth and give ordinary people real power to shape our future.
ORDER free STICKERS
Help spread the word. Over 60% of Australians think that the economy is rigged in favour of the rich and powerful. If they see the message where ever they go, they will know they are not alone. Politicians are afraid to act because of the power of the super-rich. Let them know that there is a powerful movement growing to push for change.
