The Robin Hood Tax will collect a small part of financial-institution-to-financial-institution transactions (such as that bundling and sale of mortgages that led to the 2008 financial collapse). These are huge transactions, and there are a huge number of 'em, so a small part of them is still a big number. They are assessed against corporate "persons", rather than flesh and blood ones. It's an idea I like a lot.
It's a UK idea for now; here's a quote from their site:
In a nutshell, the big idea behind the Robin Hood Tax is to generate billions of pounds – hopefully even hundreds of billions of pounds. That money will fight poverty in the UK and overseas. It will tackle climate change. And it will come from fairer taxation of the financial sector.
I don't support just giving cash to emerging nations; I can't find it now, but there is evidence that they do better with assistance with business opportunities than simple cash donations. But that's a quibble; the allocation of the funds received should not block the adoption of this great idea to raise funds for the common good.
Check 'em out.
(Whenever I see Bill Nighy, I think of him as that over-the-top aging rocker in Love Actually. It was a little jarring to see him in a dark suit.)
No comments:
Post a Comment