Why We Take Action

The over 400 members of Responsible Wealth have joined together to speak out publicly to change a growing set of rules tilted in favor of us, large asset owners, at the expense of all others in society. We believe an economy and a democracy which tolerates a widening gap between rich and poor and which concentrates economic and political power in the hands of a few is not sustainable.

We act from conscience and from long-term self-interest. The growing disparities of wages and wealth seen in America and throughout the global village are not healthy for society or for business. As we near the close of the century, we see, throughout our own nation and many other nations, an unraveling of the social fabric, characterized by a loss of community, strained and broken families, loss of loyalty from or to employees, the scapegoating of the poor and vulnerable, and blighted neighborhoods choked by long-periods of disinvestment. We see the increasing polarization of society in which growing numbers at each end of the economic spectrum live behind bars or behind gates.

Healthy businesses and healthy communities have common needs. These can be found in several important words shared in the lexicons of both business and community-building: equity, security, trust, covenant, mutual, and bond. These words define the characteristics of the society and economic system that is needed to carry us into the next century.

Healthy markets need stability and order, elements that are threatened by the social breakdowns that accompany large disparities of wealth and power within a society. This has been exhibited most recently by the growing anarchy in places like Indonesia, Russia and Mexico. Healthy markets need a broad and diversified base of viable customers, a goal thwarted when society's poor are systematically excluded from the marketplace.

Responsible Wealth, 29 Winter Street, 2nd Floor, Boston, MA 02108.
Voice: 617/423-2148 Fax: 617/423-0191.
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