by Pamela Powers Hannley U.S. Rep. Ron Barber (D) will host a meeting to discuss the Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on Border Patrol Operations– today. Please RSVP at AZ02.RSVP@mail.house.gov. The meeting is 5:30 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 29 at Pima Communitiy College East Campus, 8181 E. Irvington Rd. Here is a link to GAO … Read more
Eleven European countries, who collectively account for two-thirds of the EU's economy, have passed a new financial transaction tax.
Also known as the Robin Hood Tax in the US, a financial transaction tax charges a small percentage fee for every stock market deal. The new European law will charge a rate of 0.1% on any trade of shares or bonds and 0.01% on any financial derivative contract, according to an article in Think Progress. These tiny percentages would raise an estimated 57 billion euros per year if all 27 of the European countries adopted the law. (At an exchange rate of 1 EU = $1.33, that is an estimated $75.8 billion in US dollars per year of revenue generation.) In addition to raising funds, the financial transaction tax discourages speculative computerized trading. Also know as "rent seeking," computers are set up to buy stocks and sell them quickly– sometimes when the profit is just pennies. If you do enough of this automated micro-trading, you can make a bundle of money; but this speculative behavior adds volitility to the market and produces nothing except fot the gamblers who are in the game. The Ed Schultz Show has a great explanation here.
In all, 40 countries worldwide have adopted a financial transaction tax. The 11 countries who have passed the Robin Hood Tax recently include two European powerhouses– Germany and France– plus Spain, Portugal, Italy, Belgium, Austria, Slovakia, Slovenia, Greece, and Estonia. The financial problems facing Greece, Spain, and Italy have been in the news for years. This tax will help cash-strapped governments to become more stable.
Gosh, what other country is facing dire financial choices and needs an infusion of cash? Find out how the Robin Hood Tax would help the US economy after the jump.
Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) is hosting Progressive Central: The People's Inauguration on January 19 in Washington DC.
Progressive pundits and politicians from around the country– including our own Congressman Raul Grijalva– will be there. If you're like me and will be in Tucson tomorrow, check out the live streaming of Progressive Central on the PDA home page, beginning at 8 a.m. (Eastern Time). Bisbee's own Loneprotestor will be in DC– so look for video from her on this blog. I attended Progressive Central in Charlotte while attending the Democratic National Convention, and it was inspiring. More details from after the jump.
Although gun enthusiasts threatened to disrupt last week's Ward 6 Roast, the event featuring a dozen politicians who represent midtown/downtown Tucson came off without a hitch.
Organized by City Councilman Steve Kozachik and moderated by political cartoonist and commentator David Fitzsimmons, the roast featured local, state, and federal politicians answering questions from the audience, which numbered about 400. Rather than severely edit nearly two hours of video, I have created separate videos for candidate introductions, the immigration reform question, the gun violence question, the F35 question, and the neighborhoods/roads questions. Watch the first three videos after the jump. More to come.
For me, the biggest surprise of the evening– besides how outnumbered former State Legislator Frank Antenori and the gun nuts were– was Congressman Ron Barber. Check out his responses to the questions on immigration reform and gun violence; he sounds far less Republican than he has in the past on those issues.
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Rep. Ron Barber (D-AZ), on the second anniversary of the tragedy in Tucson, issued this statement: Barber's full statement: We will never forget what happened on January 8th, 2011 – but I also know that our community was not then and will not now be defined by that act of violence. Tucson … Read more