{"id":16094,"date":"2025-11-11T04:47:07","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T04:47:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.humanists.org\/blog\/?p=16094"},"modified":"2025-11-21T02:57:41","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T02:57:41","slug":"2025-11-16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.humanists.org\/blog\/2025-11-16\/","title":{"rendered":"Why the Rich Don\u2019t Pay Taxes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"718\" src=\"https:\/\/www.humanists.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/humanists.org_2025_11_16_Ray-Madoff-1024x718-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-16095\"\/><figcaption>Ray Madoff, Professor of Law, Boston College Law School.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<p><strong>11 a.m., November 16, 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Join us this Sunday, either in person or online, as we watch and discuss a video from last October that explains why the rich don\u2019t pay taxes.<\/p>\n<p>The richest Americans control $46 trillion in wealth\u2014but many pay little or no federal tax. \u202aBoston College law professor Ray Madoff, author of &#8220;The Second Estate: How the Tax Code Made an American Aristocracy,&#8221; explains how a century of tax policy created two Americas: one that pays taxes and one that doesn\u2019t.<\/p>\n<p>Drawing on her new book, Madoff reveals how the wealthy use legal tools\u2014inheritance loopholes, trusts, and philanthropy\u2014to avoid taxation altogether. She shows how \u201ccharitable giving\u201d often benefits billionaires more than the public, and how our tax code has quietly built an American aristocracy.<\/p>\n<p>Madoff calls for a new vision of stewardship\u2014where wealth is once again tied to responsibility, and the public good comes before private dynasties.<\/p>\n<p>You can preview this 26-minute video at:<br>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=aLKacgW6YOI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=aLKacgW6YOI<\/a> <\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>Attend in Person:<br>Join fellow Humanists in the <b>Milpitas Library<\/b> Group Study Room A, 160 N Main St, Milpitas, CA 95035-4323.  Often after our meeting, we find a nearby inexpensive eatery for a luncheon.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>Also, we will continue to present our forums <a href=\"https:\/\/us06web.zoom.us\/j\/81653890712?pwd=QzN4MTVNbGEwQ0Zua3d1VG9tVE50UT09\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">on Zoom. To join and be able to ask questions and make comments, click here<\/a>.<br>No password is needed &#8212; our host will admit you from the waiting room. Joining the meeting via the link will download and install the Zoom app on your desktop computer (if it&#8217;s not already installed), and then take you to the meeting. You can also install the Zoom app on your computer or smartphone, and then enter:<br>Meeting ID: 816 5389 0712<br>Passcode: 250634<\/p>\n<p>Join the meeting by phone: +1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)<br>Find an international phone number to call: <a href=\"https:\/\/zoom.us\/u\/afYkAuvE6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>Subscribe to our events in your Apple Calendar:<br><a href=\"webcal:\/\/p162-caldav.icloud.com\/published\/2\/Mjk3Nzk1MTgyMjk3Nzk1MRBa7aU6zKSIJMfDjhqBP8r3muvKK3GLLCRnZoCneHpXv08CyGJAJRVI5yyh-SVWxGJE9xHfdUs72pmiBNlOBpY\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">webcal:\/\/p162-caldav.icloud.com\/published\/2\/Mjk3Nzk1MTgyMjk3Nzk1MRBa7aU6zKSIJMfDjhqBP8r3muvKK3GLLCRnZoCneHpXv08CyGJAJRVI5yyh-SVWxGJE9xHfdUs72pmiBNlOBpY<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Add this event to your Google calendar: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/calendar.google.com\/calendar\/event?action=TEMPLATE&amp;tmeid=M3ZoNmhvbmM1bWthZWZkNTdjcTU4NGEwODAgaHVtYW5pc3Rjb21tc3ZAbQ&amp;tmsrc=humanistcommsv%40gmail.com\" rel=\"noopener\"><img border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/calendar.google.com\/calendar\/images\/ext\/gc_button1_en.gif\" alt=\"Google Calendar\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Like us on Facebook:<br><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/humanistcommsv\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/humanistcommsv\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Visit the Humanist Community web site:<br><a href=\"https:\/\/www.humanists.org\/blog\/2025-11-16\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/www.humanists.org\/blog\/2025-11-16\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>RSVP on Meetup:<br><a href=\"https:\/\/www.meetup.com\/humanistcommunity\/events\/311955384\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/www.meetup.com\/humanistcommunity\/events\/311955384\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Click the Interested button or share on Patch:<br><a href=\"https:\/\/patch.com\/california\/paloalto\/calendar\/event\/20251116\/e51c6418-7875-47c3-ad67-1121c0ac3efb\/why-the-rich-don-t-pay-taxes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/patch.com\/california\/paloalto\/calendar\/event\/20251116\/e51c6418-7875-47c3-ad67-1121c0ac3efb\/why-the-rich-don-t-pay-taxes<\/a>\n<\/p>\n<p>Retweet our announcement on the social-media platform formerly known as Twitter:<br><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/HumanistCommSV\/status\/1988102652379754824\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/x.com\/HumanistCommSV\/status\/1988102652379754824<\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Why the Rich Don\u2019t Pay Taxes <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/nB66gNhqII\">https:\/\/t.co\/nB66gNhqII<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Meetup?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Meetup<\/a> via <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Meetup?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@Meetup<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Y9plbV8GME\">pic.twitter.com\/Y9plbV8GME<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Humanist Community (@HumanistCommSV) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HumanistCommSV\/status\/1988102652379754824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 11, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Watch videos of our past Forums: <a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/user2798508\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/vimeo.com\/user2798508<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>11 a.m., November 16, 2025 Join us this Sunday, either in person or online, as we watch and discuss a video from last October that explains why the rich don\u2019t pay taxes. The richest Americans control $46 trillion in wealth\u2014but many pay little or no federal tax. \u202aBoston College law professor Ray Madoff, author of &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.humanists.org\/blog\/2025-11-16\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Why the Rich Don\u2019t Pay Taxes&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[243,258],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.humanists.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16094"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.humanists.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.humanists.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.humanists.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.humanists.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16094"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.humanists.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16094\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16106,"href":"https:\/\/www.humanists.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16094\/revisions\/16106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.humanists.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16094"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.humanists.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16094"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.humanists.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16094"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}