Weekend Economists Take a Shot in the Dark, September 28-30, 2012

[bread_and_roses]

45. "Robinhood's FTT: A Tax for the Public Good"

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/09/29-1

another just skimmed article that looked pertinent

Published on Saturday, September 29, 2012 by Friends of the Earth Blog
Robinhood's FTT: A Tax for the Public Good
by Karen Orenstein

This week, Friends of the Earth sent a letter signed by 63 U.S. organizations, to Secretary of State Clinton regarding misinformation spread internationally by State Department representatives about financial transaction taxes (also known as the Robin Hood Tax). The Robin Hood Tax is a widely-supported, promising source of new revenue to address the climate crisis, healthcare, education, and other public goods -- both in the US and globally.

Endorsers of the letter include National Organization for Women, NETWORK (which spoke at the Democratic National Convention), National Nurses United, Conference of Major Superiors of Men, Main Street Alliance, Greenpeace USA, Oxfam America, and many other environment, public health, faith-based, labor, development, and social justice groups. The letter was sent in light of next week’s UN climate meeting on “long-term finance” to help enable developing countries to address the climate crisis.

... We were thus very disheartened to hear misstatements about the Robin Hood Tax made at a recent international forum -- the UN Climate Convention’s First Workshop on Long-term Finance in July -- by a member of the U.S. climate negotiating team. While we work very hard to move our own country in a fairer, more just and more ecologically-sound direction, we would ask that you not discourage other countries from supporting this tax as one equitable solution to address the climate crisis, cuts to public services, and widespread job loss faced by their populations. Indeed, we urge you to support efforts to enact a financial transaction tax to pay for international public goods at climate change negotiations, the G20 and other important international venues.

Why am I not surprised that we have to beg our State Dept - led by Cluster Bomb Clinton - on this?

Many here are far more adept than I at analysing financial policies, but the idea of a "Robin Hood Tax" - though hardly revolutionary or game-changing or structure/system challenging seems obvious on the face of it .... but of course, our wholly-ownde-subsidiary-of-the-multinationals-otherwise-known-as-the-US Govt thinks otherwise?