Robin Hood Lives!

(This article first appeared in the May-June 2015 issue of The American Postal Worker magazine.)

A proposal is gaining traction that would refund to the people of the country the billions of dollars they paid to bailout the titans of Wall Street during the 2008 financial crisis.

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) introduced the Robin Hood Tax bill (H.R. 1464) to Congress on March 19.

The bill could generate up to $300 billion per year by requiring brokers, bankers and the wealthy to pay a small fee for stock trades and other financial assets. The concept of a financial transaction tax (FTT) is similar to the sales tax people pay when they make certain kinds of purchases or dine at a restaurant.

“A lot of people in Washington like to talk about reducing the debt and deficits. Well, if you really care about reducing the deficit, how about asking Wall Street speculators to pay their fair share?” Ellison said. “This bill will add a tax of a fraction of a percent on transactions made by the same Wall Street firms and stock traders who crashed our economy in 2008.”

Ellison said the bill would allow “us to invest in the things that matter – education, roads and bridges, and health care for our seniors and veterans.”

The proposed tax on financial securities could be used for job training, housing, childcare and mass transit. It could bring needed relief from unemployment, student debt, housing foreclosures and debt arising from medical expenses. The FTT would also help stabilize the stock market, create enticements for productive investment in the economy, and reduce speculative trading.

National Nurses United (NNU) first called for a Robin Hood Tax in 2012 while protesting the G8 Summit – the annual forum of leading global economies – in Chicago.