Chuck Collins on the need for connection amid Trump’s chaos

“Wealth is a disconnection drug. It separates people,” says Chuck Collins . Chuck is an author, scholar and campaigner who for 40 years has focused on fighting economic inequality. 

“The antidote,” Chuck goes on, “is connection. It’s to be part of things.” And if anyone would know, it’s Chuck. In 1985, at the age of just 26, he gave away his entire inheritance to socially focused causes. He’s never looked back or felt regret. In fact, he says it liberated him. 

Looking back to his early years, the disconnection of wealth is now apparent to Chuck. Born into generational wealth earned by his great-grandfather through a meat-packing company, Chuck grew up in a wealthy suburban community, outside of Detroit. Surrounded by children from other wealthy families, there weren’t many reasons to stray further afield or connect to others less fortunate.

However, the Detroit uprising in 1967 – which grew out of racial segregation, racialised poverty and police violence – altered the young Chuck to the fact that, as he says, “all was not well in the world. And it had to do with inequality. It had to do with some people having so much and some people having so little.”

As he developed into a socially conscious teen, Chuck came face-to-face with the values and structures that ensure wealth stays within the hands of a few and, importantly, grows, no matter the harm. At 19 he proposed divesting from Apartheid South Africa. The financial advisors managing his trust told him that it would harm his financial returns. They said there was "no need to worry” about the ethics.

“I’ve got a quote here,” Chuck says, leaning over to reach a sticky note hanging on his wall, “‘It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.’” 

The quote is from Upton Sinclair, a early 20th century American writer, who’s novel, The Jungle, explores the labour abuses of the meat-packing industry. Historic parallels aside, Chuck uses the quote to explain why giving away his inheritance meant that he was “liberated to unflinchingly look at the harms of inequality.”

Those harms are only becoming more apparent. Newly elected Donald Trump surrounds himself with tech billionaires and scapegoats the vulnerable, with an eye on further enriching his class.

“The real agenda here is tax cuts for the rich, deregulating the economy, liberating the fossil fuel sector, opening up the economy to artificial intelligence to replace workers,” Chuck says, pointing out the battle grounds that campaigners need to be ready to take up. He continues:

“That's where people with wealth can be very involved, resisting the tax cuts, opposing the stripping away. It's an all hands on deck moment where we need people to step up, with all the tools at their disposal. 

“And, you know, everybody has power, but some people have way more power because of their wealth. They need to exercise every tool they have: their investment, their giving, their political giving, and their voice.”

Despite the state of shock and chaos that many in the US find themselves in, Chuck still believes there are reasons to stay positive.

“There are cracks in the wealth whole hoarding system,” he says, naming the growing movement of wealth holders and financial advisors who are challenging the status quo, like the Good Ancestor Movement.

When Chuck was young and looking for answers there were no such movements. Regardless, he found a small group of like minded people, who he says were an essential part of his redistribution journey. For many years, they met monthly to support each other.

That’s the connection that Chuck talks about: 

“What do we do about these disconnected, wealthy people? Well, invite them home, reach out to them and invite them to come to work with you at the soup kitchen. Things that expand people's reality and opportunity, and vision, and connection. Experiences that disrupt the narratives of deservedness that justify wealth inequalities.”

Someone who by all accounts is able to connect with people from all walks of life, Chuck believes this is how we can forge opportunities for the wealthy to listen to those who have been left behind by the current economic system. 

And he’s adamant that: “the most loving thing to do is not to pass on huge amounts of wealth to the next generation but rather prepare them to live in a more equitable world.”

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Monthly key takeaways: What is a basic income for farmers?

We’re keeping you up-to-date with the conversations across our movement through regular key-takeaways from reports, books and campaigns, like from our friends at Basic Income 4 Farmers. 

1. Climate change is making farming a high-risk industry. Crops are regularly lost to unstable weather.
2. Farmers and food producers are facing financial hardship, as EU subsidies propping up the industry have stopped, post-Brexit.
3. A basic income for farmers would guarantee an adequate income, access to time off, and make entering a career in farming affordable.
4. A basic income would make it less risky to try innovative, ecological and regenerative farming methods. It could provide the needed up-front finance that these farming practices require. 

Learn more about the Basic Income 4 Farmers campaign here.

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