6 N A T I O N A L N U R S E 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 S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 1
outs. In San Francisco, a rally and food line
set up in one of the neediest neighborhoods
in town attracted almost 500 attendees.
"We're here to say we care about Main
Street, and that we need to end the charity
for Wall Street," said Zenei Triunfo-Cortez,
RN and a copresident of the California
Nurses Association/National Nurses United
as well as a vice president of NNU.
Economists estimate that a half-cent tax on
Wall Street transactions could generate as
much as $350 billion a year, funds that could
be reinvested into creating living wage jobs,
providing quality healthcare for all, ending
hunger and homelessness, strengthening our
public schools, and other kinds of needed
social infrastructure that have crumbled over
the past decades. Such a tax is not a new idea
in the United States; we used to have one until
1966. Countries such as the United Kingdom
already have successfully implemented similar
taxes, and the European Union is expected to
adopt one soon.
—Staff report
NEWS BRIEFS
Clockwise from top: Michigan nurses held
a tailgate party for Main Street; PASNAP
President Patricia Eakin, RN holds her
"Tax Wall Street" placard up high; Chicago
nurses sing the blues; Texas nurses with
Rep. Lloyd Doggett, who signed the pledge
to tax Wall Street transactions
NewsBriefs_Sept 10/11/11 9:30 PM Page 6
