I received this from Avaaz today and signed their petition. I post it here in case some of my readers may wish to do so as well.
Dear friends,
Across the world, people are refusing to pay the social and economic price of trillions in bailouts to banks in 2009. A new tax on financial speculation could raise trillions to cover the crisis in public financing, and ensure those who got us into this mess, pay to get us out. Leaders are considering the tax now – click to support it:
From the UK to the US to Spain, Italy and Israel, the economic crisis is brewing riots, crashes, and protests, but there is one big way out — a global financial transaction tax (FTT)1.
The FTT, being proposed by Nobel prize winning economists and leading EU politicians, is a tiny fee on stock market traders and speculators — a fair way to meet the crisis in public financing. Less than .05%, the tax would be painless to responsible commerce and hit speculators hard, raising a trillion dollars in the next 10 years.
We spent trillions bailing out banks and speculators in 2009 – the very people that caused the crisis – and now our social programs are being asked to pay for it. The people won’t accept that, and we have a better way. World leaders are deciding right now on the FTT, let’s demand that the speculators who got us into this mess pay to get us out:
Click here to sign the petition
While the London violence is inexcusable, so is the crisis in which it is occurring. Three years ago, governments took trillions of dollars of public money to bail out the banks, promising it would save our economies. Now, the markets are in turmoil again, the banker bonuses have returned and no one has been held accountable for the crash. The cost of these failures is being shouldered by us ordinary citizens everywhere — our communities are enduring huge public spending cuts and zero employment prospects.
The horrific looting and violence in the UK has multiple causes and should not be condoned. But what’s happening there hints at a disturbing trend all over the world — more and more people are desperate, disenfranchised, and hopeless in the face of brutal cuts. While in Israel and Spain, the widespread public frustration has turned into an overwhelming non-violent mobilisation for change. In the UK, the poorest and most excluded communities have lost even the thinnest thread of respect and hope.
Public frustration is at a boiling point and this proposal could be a game changer. Key economists and a handful of politicians are pushing for it, but to get the FTT approved, we all need to weigh in behind it. It won’t be a silver bullet, but it will create vast sums of money to invest back in our communities. Let’s all unite behind this one powerful policy. Click below to sign the petition for the Financial Transaction Tax, and we’ll deliver it to key governments when we reach 500,000 signers:
Click here to sign the petition
Collapsing economies inevitably lead us to social and political upheaval and further away from the world we want. Recessions bring protectionism, nationalism, racism, and now our governments are worsening matters by pursuing disastrous policies. Today, by building a movement behind the Financial Transaction Tax, we can draw a line in the sand on catastrophic policies and demand a solution that strengthens communities not corporations, and restores hope and humanity to the world.
With hope,
Alice, Iain, Emma, Ricken, Stephanie, Pascal, Morgan, and the rest of the Avaaz team
Notes:
1. The Financial Transaction tax is also often referred to as the Tobin Tax, or the Robin Hood Tax.
MORE INFORMATION
Economic uncertainty leading to global unrest, CNBC
Nothing mindless about rioters, Al Jazeera
EU President says only global “Tobin” tax effective, Reuters
It’s time to take the Tobin tax seriously, The Guardian
