The Self-Made Myth exposes the false claim that business success is the result of heroic individual effort with little or no outside help. Brian Miller and Mike Lapham bust the myth and present profiles of business leaders who recognize the public investments and supports that made their success possible—including Warren Buffett, Ben Cohen of Ben and Jerry’s, New Belgium Brewing CEO Kim Jordan, and others. The book also thoroughly demolishes the claims of supposedly self-made individuals such as Donald Trump and Ross Perot. How we view the creation of wealth and individual success is critical because it shapes our choices on taxes, regulation, public investments in schools and infrastructure, CEO pay, and more. It takes a village to raise a business—it’s time to recognize that fact.
Brian Miller is the executive director of United for a Fair Economy, online at www.faireconomy.org. Over the past 20 years, Miller has worked to build cross-class alliances of citizens from all walks of life-- workers, business leaders, family farmers, seniors, students, and others--to work together for change, promoting healthy communities and an economy that works for all Americans.
A native of south Louisiana, Miller has a unique perspective on business and market economics. As the son of a stockbroker and an accountant, Miller was educated early about the workings of the stock market in a household surrounded by statues of bulls, bears, and ticker tape awards.
Miller received his degree in political science, with a secondary focus in economics from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Throughout both his academic and professional careers, Miller has sought to deepen his understanding of the points where public policy intersects with economics.
In addition to efforts in his home state of Louisiana, Miller has helped move campaigns and organizing efforts across the South and the Midwest. Some of his earliest experiences in Louisiana centered on the abuse of corporate tax breaks that left schools without adequate resources. He also helped grassroots leaders successfully protect their community from an unwanted hazardous waste facility south of Baton Rouge, and he helped farmers in Kentucky secure cost-sharing funds to pay for water-quality buffers.
Most of Miller's experience comes from his 12 years as executive director of Tennesseans for Fair Taxation (TFT). As director of TFT, he was an integral part of a historic fight that brought the state to within five votes of enacting a state income tax as part of a broader tax reform package to fund education and other ser- vices--an effort that was supported by business groups and com- munity groups alike.
Miller took over as executive director of United for a Fair Economy in 2009. At UFE he has continued his commitment to cross-class organizing, working with grassroots groups, unions, and business leaders. He has also helped organize business leaders and other high-wealth individuals through UFE's Responsible Wealth project in support of progressive tax reform efforts, corporate accountability, and a more broadly-shared prosperity.
The author of numerous reports garnering coverage in major national publications such as the New York Times and the Washington Post, Miller has also appeared on national television programs like Fox Business. He is a frequent guest on radio pro- grams and has been quoted in major media outlets across the nation. He is a regular op-ed writer and a contributor to various online and print publications.
Miller is an avid cyclist and an active member of his community. He lives in Waltham, Massachusetts, with his wife, Daria, and their two young children.
