Robin Hood Campaign to Visit Rep. Charlie Rangel

Where Does Rep. Charles Rangel Stand on the Robin Hood Tax!

Media Advisory: October 1, 2012
Contact: Carl Ginsburg 917-405-1060   http://www.RobinHoodTax.org
When: 11 a.m. Tuesday, October 2

Robin Hood Campaign to Visit Rep. Charlie Rangel On National Day of Action for Tax on Wall Street

Members of organizations and unions campaigning for a Robin Hood tax — nurses, Health GAP, ACT UP, VOCAL-NY, Healthcare for the 99%, QUEEROCRACY, Student Global AIDS Campaign — and other community activists will mark the fourth anniversary of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) in New York with a visit to the office of Rep. Charlie Rangel on Tuesday, October 2.  The visit is part of a national day of action seeking pledges of support for a Robin Hood tax, a call for Wall Street banks and other financial giants to begin to pay back for the damage they caused to the economy and to heal Main Street communities.

In the visits, planned at offices of 18 Congress members in seven states, the Robin Hood tax campaign will urge Congress members to endorse H.R. 6411, the Inclusive Prosperity Act, introduced recently in Congress by Rep. Keith Ellison.

The visit is scheduled for October 2, 11 a.m., at Rep. Rangel’s campaign office: 163 West 125th Street, Suite 737, New York City.

H.R. 6411, a sales tax on Wall Street speculation, would generate up to $350 billion in revenue annually to be used to rebuild Main Street communities as well as to fund international health, sustainable prosperity and environmental programs.

TARP is the program passed at the height of the Wall Street meltdown, which resulted in hundreds of billions of tax dollars handed over to financial institutions deemed “too big to fail”. These very financial institutions that received the bailouts – some of the funds made their way into executive bonus packages — have failed the American people, say the Robin Hood tax campaigners.

Actions will also be held at offices of Congress members in California, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota and Nevada.

Robin Hood tax campaigners, wearing their signature hats, will present out-sized calendars and pledge cards at the Congressional field offices to demand that the highest priority be given passage of this law.   More than 100 organizations in the U.S. have endorsed the Robin Hood Tax, with support from scores of economists, as well.

“The Inclusive Prosperity Act taxes those who can afford it, the ones who were protected by our TARP tax dollars,” said Jean Ross, RN and co-president of National Nurses United, a founder of the Robin Hood tax campaign in the U.S.   “They are past due in paying for their damage to Main Street.  If we make H.R. 6411 law, we start the healing process and turn this country around.”

“Congress and two presidents said the banks were bailed out because they were too big to fail. We say the promise to create an AIDS-free generation is too big to not be kept. The Robin Hood tax will help keep that promise,” said Michael Tikili of Health GAP.

“A few years ago the banks got bailed out and are continuing to profit and thrive.  Meanwhile, the vast majority of Americans continue to struggle,” said Megan Mulholland from QUEEROCRACY.  “Recent graduates, like myself, face enormous debt and a shrinking job market.  The Robin Hood tax could provide jobs, relieve school debt, provide housing and strengthen the social safety-net.”

H.R. 6411 would set a 0.5% tax on the trading of stocks, 50 cents on every $100 of trades, and lesser rates on trading in bonds, derivatives and currencies.  It marks the return of a tax on financial transactions in place during the years 1914 to 1966 and targets the high-risk, high-frequency trading that dominates the markets in the U.S. today.  This trading has been tied to market instability, including spikes in the prices of food and fuel.  Some form of the financial tax is in place today in more than 40 countries.

About ACT UP

Founded in 1987, ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power), is a diverse, non-partisan group of individuals united in anger and committed to direct action to end the AIDS crisis. ACT UP currently meets every Monday night (via zoom).

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