Editing Chuck Collins

{{Short description|American economics writer}}
{{for|the American football player and coach|Chuck Collins (American football)}}
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'''Chuck Collins''' (born October 19, 1959) is an American author and a senior scholar at the [[Institute for Policy Studies]] in [[Washington, DC]], where he directs the Program on [[Economic inequality|Inequality]] 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]], the founder of the [[Oscar Mayer]] meat processing brand.

==Early life==
Collins was born in [[Madison, Wisconsin]] and grew up in suburban [[Detroit]] where he attended the [[Cranbrook Schools]].  At age 7, he witnessed the [[1967 Detroit riots]] and became concerned about inequality. He was involved in social change, including [[Earth Day]] 1970. He raised money for [[guide dog]]s and informed his neighborhood about the environment at a young age.<ref name=UUWorld>{{cite web|last1=French|first1=Kimberly|title=From Riches to Responsibility Defending the Estate Tax|date=March 2003|url=http://archive.uuworld.org/2003/02/feature2.html|publisher=UU World}}</ref>

Collins first gained public attention in 1985, when he gave an inheritance of $500,000 to several foundations at the age of 26.<ref name=UUWorld/><ref>[http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/30/one.html Fast Company interview with Collins]</ref> When his [[libertarian conservative]] father Edward learned of his intentions, he was afraid his son was a [[Marxist]], though Collins instead stated that he would rather be called a "[[Gandhian]] or Christian" and later left to live in a [[Intentional community|commune]].<ref name=UUWorld/><ref name=Forbes>{{cite news|last1=Selignman|first1=Dan|title=The Leftist Billionaire Syndrome|url=https://www.forbes.com/forbes/2002/0415/123.html|accessdate=22 August 2015|agency=[[Forbes]]|date=14 April 2002}}</ref>

==Education==
Collins is a graduate of [[Hampshire College]] ([[Bachelor of Arts]], 1984), and holds a master's degree (1987) from the School of Community Economic Development at [[Southern New Hampshire University]].

==Career==
Between 1983 and 1991, Collins worked at the Institute for Community Economics, based in [[Greenfield, Massachusetts]], providing technical advice to [[community land trust]]s and [[mobile home]] 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]] and S.M. Miller, [[United for a Fair Economy]] in [[Boston, Massachusetts]], a left-leaning national organization devoted to education about growing income and wealth inequality.<ref name=UUWorld/><ref name="Forbes"/>

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]].

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" <ref>{{cite web|last1=Collins|first1=Chuck|title=Billionaire Bonanza: The Forbes 400 and the Rest of Us|date=2 December 2015|url=http://www.ips-dc.org/billionaire-bonanza/|publisher=Institute for Policy Studies}}</ref> exploring the share of wealth flowing to the top 1 percent and [[Forbes 400]], and the "Ever Growing Gap",<ref>{{cite web|title=Ever-Growing Gap|date=8 August 2016|url=http://www.ips-dc.org/report-ever-growing-gap/|publisher=Institute of Policy Studies}}</ref> 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''.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Collins|first1=Chuck|last2=Rogers|first2=Pam|title=Robin Hood Was Right: A Guide to Giving Your Money for Social Change|publisher=W.W. Norton|isbn=0393320855|year=2001}}</ref> In 2000 (revised in 2005), he co-authored with [[Felice Yeskel]], ''Economic Apartheid in America: A Primer on Economic Inequality and Insecurity''.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Collins|first1=Chuck|last2=Yeskel|first2=Felice|title=Economic Apartheid in America A Primer on Economic Inequality and Insecurity|date=September 2005|publisher=The New Press|url=http://thenewpress.com/books/economic-apartheid-america}}</ref> Collins is coauthor, with [[William H. Gates Sr|Bill Gates Sr.]], of the 2003 book, ''Wealth and Our Commonwealth: Why America Should Tax Accumulated Fortunes'', which argues that the [[estate tax]] is both fair and necessary.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Collins|first1=Chuck|last2=Gates|first2=William H.|title=Wealth and Our Commonwealth; Why America Should Tax Accumulated Fortunes|date=2004|publisher=Beacon Press|isbn=978-080704719-4|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780807047187}}</ref> In 2013, he authored  ''99 to 1: How Wealth Inequality is Wrecking the World and What We Can Do About It''.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Collins|first1=Chuck|title=99 to 1: How Wealth Inequality is Wrecking the World and What We Can Do About It|date=2012|publisher=Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.|isbn=9781609945923|url=http://inequality.org/99to1/|access-date=2012-03-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120226152722/http://inequality.org/99to1/|archive-date=2012-02-26|url-status=dead}}</ref> ''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.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Collins|first1=Chuck|title=Born on Third Base; A One Percenter Makes the Case for Tackling Inequality, Bringing Wealth Home, and Committing to the Common Good|date=2016|publisher=Chelsea Green Publishing|isbn=978-1603586832|url=http://www.chelseagreen.com/born-on-third-base}}</ref> In 2021 he published ''The Wealth Hoarders: How Billionaires Spend Millions to Hide Trillions''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Collins |first1=Chuck |title=The Wealth Hoarders: How Billionaires Pay Millions to Hide Trillions |date=March 2021 |publisher=Wiley |location=New York |isbn=9781509543502 |url=https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-wealth-hoarders-chuck-collins/1137634126 |access-date=13 April 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Devega |first1=Chauncey |title=Upper-class traitor Chuck Collins on how "wealth hoarding" will create more Trumps |journal=Salon |date=13 April 2021 |url=https://www.salon.com/2021/04/13/upper-class-traitor-chuck-collins-on-how-wealth-hoarding-will-create-more-trumps/ |access-date=13 April 2021}}</ref> In 2023, he published a novel, ''Altar to An Erupting Sun,'' a provocative work of eco-fiction and history.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Collins |first=Chuck |title=Altar to an Erupting Sun |publisher=Green Writer Press |year=2023 |isbn=979-8-9865324-6-2 |url=https://greenwriterspress.com/book/altar-to-an-erupting-sun/}}</ref>

==Personal life==
{{BLP unsourced section|date=March 2022}}
Collins is the great-grandson of German-born American meatpacker [[Oscar F. Mayer]] (founder of the [[Oscar Mayer]] food corporation), and is the grandson of the American pianist and composer [[Edward Joseph Collins]].

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* Chuck Collins website [[www.chuckcollinswrites.com]]
* Book: [https://greenwriterspress.com/book/altar-to-an-erupting-sun/ Altar to An Erupting Sun] 
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120226152722/http://inequality.org/99to1/ Book - 99 to 1: How Wealth Inequality is Wrecking the World and What We Can Do About It]
* {{webarchive |url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20070410215150/http://www.ips-dc.org/projects/commongood.htm |title=Institute on Policy Studies Program on Inequality and the Common Good site |date=2007-04-10}}
* [http://patrioticmillionaires.org/ Patriotic Millionaires] 
* [http://www.classism.org Class Action] 
* [http://www.inequality.org Inequality.org] This website is a portal to statistics, news, and opinions on economic inequality in the US
* [http://www.faireconomy.org United for a Fair Economy site]
 
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Chuck}}
[[Category:American economics writers]]
[[Category:American male non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:American social justice activists]]
[[Category:American socialists]]
[[Category:Anti-globalization activists]]
[[Category:Economic inequality in the United States|*]]
[[Category:Center for Economic and Policy Research]]
[[Category:Michigan socialists]]
[[Category:New Hampshire socialists]]
[[Category:Wisconsin socialists]]
[[Category:Hampshire College alumni]]
[[Category:Southern New Hampshire University alumni]]
[[Category:People from Jamaica Plain]]
[[Category:American people of German descent]]
[[Category:1959 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]