War on Greed Film Goes on Downtown D.C., Capitol Hill 'Walkabout' as Congress Debates Closing Tax Loopholes for the Super-rich vs. Tax Relief for the Middle Class

War on Greed Film Goes on Downtown D.C., Capitol Hill 'Walkabout' as Congress Debates Closing Tax Loopholes for the Super-rich vs. Tax Relief for the Middle Class

***SCHEDULE FOR WEDNESDAY morning, DEC. 12:***

10:20 a.m. - start at Private Equity Council offices: 950 F Street, NW

11:30 a.m. - end at Carlyle Group headquarters: 1001 Pennsylvania Ave. NW

WASHINGTON, Dec. 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- SEIU will screen Brave New Films' latest short film, "War on Greed: Starring Henry Kravis," which juxtaposes the lavish lifestyle of buyout industry tycoon Henry Kravis with the lives of middle class Americans, throughout Washington, D.C. this week. Throughout the day on Wednesday and Thursday, activists will be using walking video billboards, new technology that allows for street level viewing by passersby. The "War on Greed Walkabout" will include stops outside the offices of the buyout industry's lobbying group, the Private Equity Council, Capitol Hill, Metro stations, fire stations, and along the K St. corridor and the Carlyle Group Headquarters.

Note to reporters: if you would like to accompany the "War on Greed Walkabout" please contact SEIU's Renee Asher at 202-255-4251.

The film, released online at http://www.warongreed.org/ last Thursday, has been viewed more than 195,000 times on YouTube as of this morning.

Senate Republicans blocked legislation to reduce taxes on middle class Americans by closing tax loopholes that allow buyout industry tycoons to pay a lower tax rate than many teachers, nurses and firefighters.

Henry Kravis, one of the major winners from the Senate's decision to strip the carried interest provision from their AMT bill, is the 57th richest person in America and founder of the private equity firm Kohlberg, Kravis Roberts (KKR). Kravis made $450 million last year, which works out to $1.2 million a day or $51,000 an hour.

While average Americans have seen their wages stagnate and the cost of healthcare rise the wealthiest 1% makes a larger share of the national income today than they have at any time since 1928. In 1980, American CEOs made 42 times as much as the average worker. Today, the average CEO makes more than 400 times as much as the average worker, while the top 20 private equity and hedge fund managers pocketed 22,255 times the pay of the average worker.

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Source: SEIU

CONTACT: Renee Asher of SEIU, +1-202-255-4251

Web Site:

www.warongreed.org

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