National Nurses United

RAD_NOV 12/27/11 2:28 PM Page 9 RoseAnn DeMoro Executive Director, National Nurses United Asked and Answered Have questions about the Wall Street tax nurses are proposing? Learn the basics here. "We are facing a crisis in our profession and in the realm in which it serves. We've connected the dots that directly link power and greed to inadequate staffing and unsafe conditions for the patients in our care. "It is up to us to expose the travesty that financial inequity inflicts on our society; 2.7 million nurses in the United States do have a voice – and we are obligated by our social contract to use our influence for good. "We must make Wall Street pay for the devastation it has caused families on Main Street. Nurses are turning our anger into action, realizing our power – and making a difference." —Linda Hamilton, RN, president, Bernadine Engeldorf, RN, first vice president, Minnesota Nurses Association, and Jean Ross, RN, co-president, National Nurses United, St. Paul Union Advocate, October 2011 F rom minnesota to Massachusetts, from South Beach to San Diego, NNU leaders and members have spoken with passion and clarity about the need for a fundamental change in the direction of our nation in response to the ongoing crisis that grips our communities. It's that vision which has animated our campaign for a Main Street Contract for the American People, of which healthcare for all and jobs with dignity are a centerpiece. Nurses are calling for a financial transaction tax (FTT) on Wall Street to help raise the revenue needed to heal our communities. What would that tax look like? Here are some frequently asked questions. What is the NNU proposal? A small tax of 50 cents on every $100 of trades of stocks, bonds, dividends, and other financial transactions, which could NOVEMBER 2011 generate up to $350 billion every year. It is essentially a sales tax on transactions which are currently not taxed. Will this harm ordinary investors? volatility, as well as excessive speculation, both of which have damaged ordinary investors and fostered instability in the overall economy. Speculative activity has grown 400 percent in the past decade, yet only 2 percent of currency trades today build the real economy in goods and services. no. the tax would not apply to normal consumer activity such as use of ATMs, debit card purchases, 401(k) retirement plans, and initial issuance of home loans. Traders could also be legally barred from Would a tax on Wall Street put the United States passing along the costs to consumers. The at a global disadvantage? main target is big banks no. some 15 industrial and investment firms, nations, including many of the "It is up to such as Citigroup, JP fastest-growing markets, us to expose Morgan, Goldman Sachs, already have an FTT. Pressure the travesty and Morgan Stanley is growing for the European that financial which alone account for Union to adopt a continentinequity almost 25 percent of total wide FTT as a result of a major inflicts on global market volume on international movement led by our society; currency trades. international unions and 2.7 million non-governmental and envinurses in the ronmental organizations. Would an FTT just drive United States NNU cosponsored a major business off shore? do have a action at the G-20 summit huge penalties could be voice—and we in France with many of these applied to brokers or are obligated groups in November as part banks who seek to evade by our social the law. Transactions could contract to use of that campaign. be blocked, i.e. the our influence purchaser not gaining title Who supports an FTT? for good." to the security, if the tax is in addition to NNU, an FTT is not paid. Relocation of a endorsed by the AFL-CIO and big bank would be very expensive, and is international labor federations, leading antihighly unlikely just to avoid a small tax. poverty and environmental groups like Oxfam and the World Wildlife Fund, consumer legend Ralph Nader, Public CitiWould the tax be easy to evade? zen, Nobel laureate economists, including computerization and the global interPaul Krugman and Joseph Stiglitz (the action of the financial system make it former chief economist of the World Bank), easier to track trades, and much tougher the conservative presidents of France and to hide. A bank transaction tax in Brazil Germany, Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela from 1993 to 2007 was widely viewed as Merkel, U.S. billionaires Bill Gates and evasion proof and more efficient than Warren Buffet, former UN Secretary General other taxes. Kofi Annan, the Archbishop of Canterbury (UK), and the Pope. Won't an FTT harm the economy by discouraging Wall Street activity? no. what it would likely do is decrease some of the wild swings and market W W W. N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G RoseAnn DeMoro is executive director of National Nurses United. N AT I O N A L N U R S E 9

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