We are proud to have had Patriotic Millionaire Charlie Fink speak at Citizens Intervention DC on October 29th.  This group has had an important impact on our national discourse, debunking 1% rhetoric such as the charge of "class warfare" any time an irresponsible and unsustainable economic policy (that benefits the super wealthy at the expense of America) is pointed out.  It isn't "class" that separates the 99% and the 1%, at least not "class" in the financial sense of the word. 

The more than 20 members of Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strength have been walking the halls of Congress, meeting with politicians on both sides of the aisle "begging" for fiscal responsibility on both sides of the ledger (both expenditures and revenue).  They may be in the 1% in terms of income, but they are looking out for the interests of the 99% when it comes to our nation's future, including the  64% of Americans who want taxes on the super rich to return to Clinton era rates we had when budget was balanced and the economy was strong.  With Occupy Wall Street shifting the national conversation to one that transcends partisan distractions and well-funded myths, even the most corrupt members of Congress will have a difficult time defending an oath to Grover Norquist and their funders, rather than an oath to the United States of America.

'Patriotic Millionaires' Beg Supercommittee for Higher Taxes

Two dozen wealthy members of the group Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strength are targeting members of the deficit "supercommittee" to increase their taxes.

Entrepreneur and producer Charlie Fink, said he and other Patriotic Millionaires testified in a congressional hearing and visited the offices of 13 members of Congress on Wednesday, seven of whom are members of the supercommittee, to express their concern for the country's fiscal health.

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Clik here to view.Fink, who lives in Washington, D.C., said if the Bush tax cuts do not expire, the country "is digging itself a big hole by foregoing revenue."

"Without revenue, we will never solve the problem by giving tax cuts to the wealthy while supporting two foreign wars," Fink, a former AOL executive, said.

The group visited the offices of legislators in both parties, including Senators John Kyl, R-AZ, and Pat Toomey, R-Pa., and Reps. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., minority leader, Xavier Becerra, D-Calif., and Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., assistant democratic leader.

"It was a very refreshing conversation that restored my faith that there are people who, in spite of their financial successes, have not lost their compassion and sense of fair play," Rep. Clyburn told ABC News after meeting the group.

The supercommittee has stalled on how to trim over $1 trillion from the budget.

Democratic members of the group met on Wednesday for more than two hours.

Patriotic Millionaire Robert Johnson, former chief economist of the U.S Senate banking committee, said that the current economic system is not broken, but it is "working on behalf of those who designed it in their favor."

"America is no longer based on markets and capitalism, instead our economy is designed as 'socialism for the rich' – it is designed to ensure that the wealthiest people take all of the gains, while regular Americans cover any losses," he said at a press conference this afternoon in Washington, D.C.

"It's a Las Vegas economy where regular Americans put their money on the table and the richest 1 percent own the house," he said. "And if the 1 percent happen to lose money, the 99 percent bails them out – covers their losses and then stands by watching while the house does it all over again."

CLICK HERE for full article.

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Also, please watch this interview on PBS' News Hour with fellow Patriotic Millionaire Garret Gruener.  Here is an excerpt:

JEFFREY BROWN: Now, Warren Buffett, the billionaire, famously put this forward a few months ago, and he got a lot of pushback. And we hear regularly the argument from many Republicans, you shouldn't raise taxes on those who create jobs...

GARRETT GRUENER: Right.

JEFFREY BROWN: ... particularly at a time like this, when we need those jobs.

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Clik here to view.GARRETT GRUENER: Well, that's something I can speak to directly.

I have built up a number of companies myself, and I have been a venture capitalist now for almost 20 years. So I have been involved in the creation of lots of high-technology companies, companies in life sciences, in software and hardware, now in clean tech. And I'm currently running a company that's built on nanotechnology.

And I can say, for myself, that not a single one of those investments, not one was ever impacted by marginal tax rates. I invested under the Clinton rates. I invested under the Bush rates. I invested under the rates before that. And, by the way, in history, the rates were much higher than they are today.

JEFFREY BROWN: Then why do we hear that so often from small -- the millionaire class, which includes many small businesses, we hear, why do we hear that tax rates do have an impact on whether they start their business, whether they hire that one extra person?

GARRETT GRUENER: I think it's -- frankly, I think it's a myth.

I think that this is something, that it's a good line. It -- certainly, if it were true, if it were a critical aspect of growing the economy, then I might be a supporter of it. But my own experience is, it literally has had zero impact on the investment decisions that I have made.

And when you think about it, it makes perfect sense, that the kinds of things that I'm doing at least in venture capital, what we're trying to do is grow companies that have the ability to grow into major companies and employ a lot of people. Sometimes, we get it right. Sometimes, we get it wrong. But, anyway, that's always the objective.

And if that's the case, a few points of marginal tax rate one way or the other are not going to make a big difference.

CLICK HERE to watch the full interview on PBS' News Hour.