SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
The Big Banks Can Be Beaten
Working families are turning their anger at Wall Street into action.
Jun 01, 2016
When the 2008 financial crash slammed the New York City construction industry, Maribel Toure's husband lost his job as an architect. On top of that, Maribel suffered a serious accident.
But what really plunged the family into financial trouble was sending their daughter to college.
As a child growing up in Mexico, Maribel's father had repeatedly told her that la educacion es la clave -- "education is the key." So she worked hard to obtain a college degree in Mexico and then moved to the United States, where she became a radiology technician.
Maribel wanted the same opportunity for her daughter to obtain "the key." But high tuition bills strained the family budget and pushed them to the brink of foreclosure.
"The government was helping the banks, but they refused to help me," Maribel said recently. "I never stopped working and I never stopped paying my taxes -- the same taxes the government was giving to the banks."
Maribel is just one of many Americans who were hurt by the financial crisis and want more done to crack down on the Wall Street greed and recklessness that caused it. That's why she's added her support to a new Take on Wall Street campaign that aims to channel widespread public anger over our broken financial system into concrete, bold change.
The campaign's priority reforms would help ensure that Wall Street pays its fair share of taxes. The additional revenue could be used for urgent needs, such as making college more affordable for families like the Toures.
A small tax of just a fraction of a percent on each stock and derivative trade, for example, could generate massive revenue while also curbing short-term speculation. For ordinary investors, such a tax would be hardly noticeable. The real targets would be the high-speed traders who now dominate our financial markets while adding no real value to the economy.
Closing tax loopholes that now encourage excessive executive pay could also generate much-needed funds for social programs or public investment to fix our crumbling national roads and bridges.
One of these loopholes lets private equity and hedge fund managers pay a 20 percent capital gains rate on the bulk of their income -- just half of the nearly 40 percent top rate the wealthiest Americans normally owe. As a result, billionaire financiers pay a lower tax rate than millions of our country's teachers, firefighters, and nurses.
Maribel Toure ended her story on a hopeful note. She said that after feeling guilty and ashamed about her financial problems for a long time, she decided to fight back.
She joined New York Communities for Change, a coalition of working families in low- and moderate-income communities that fights for social and economic justice. They worked with local officials to put pressure on her bank, so she was able to modify her mortgage loan in time to save her house.
Her story, she said, shows that if we join together, we can win against Wall Street.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
This column was distributed by OtherWords.
Sarah Anderson
Sarah Anderson directs the Global Economy Project of the Institute for Policy Studies, and is a co-editor of Inequality.org.
When the 2008 financial crash slammed the New York City construction industry, Maribel Toure's husband lost his job as an architect. On top of that, Maribel suffered a serious accident.
But what really plunged the family into financial trouble was sending their daughter to college.
As a child growing up in Mexico, Maribel's father had repeatedly told her that la educacion es la clave -- "education is the key." So she worked hard to obtain a college degree in Mexico and then moved to the United States, where she became a radiology technician.
Maribel wanted the same opportunity for her daughter to obtain "the key." But high tuition bills strained the family budget and pushed them to the brink of foreclosure.
"The government was helping the banks, but they refused to help me," Maribel said recently. "I never stopped working and I never stopped paying my taxes -- the same taxes the government was giving to the banks."
Maribel is just one of many Americans who were hurt by the financial crisis and want more done to crack down on the Wall Street greed and recklessness that caused it. That's why she's added her support to a new Take on Wall Street campaign that aims to channel widespread public anger over our broken financial system into concrete, bold change.
The campaign's priority reforms would help ensure that Wall Street pays its fair share of taxes. The additional revenue could be used for urgent needs, such as making college more affordable for families like the Toures.
A small tax of just a fraction of a percent on each stock and derivative trade, for example, could generate massive revenue while also curbing short-term speculation. For ordinary investors, such a tax would be hardly noticeable. The real targets would be the high-speed traders who now dominate our financial markets while adding no real value to the economy.
Closing tax loopholes that now encourage excessive executive pay could also generate much-needed funds for social programs or public investment to fix our crumbling national roads and bridges.
One of these loopholes lets private equity and hedge fund managers pay a 20 percent capital gains rate on the bulk of their income -- just half of the nearly 40 percent top rate the wealthiest Americans normally owe. As a result, billionaire financiers pay a lower tax rate than millions of our country's teachers, firefighters, and nurses.
Maribel Toure ended her story on a hopeful note. She said that after feeling guilty and ashamed about her financial problems for a long time, she decided to fight back.
She joined New York Communities for Change, a coalition of working families in low- and moderate-income communities that fights for social and economic justice. They worked with local officials to put pressure on her bank, so she was able to modify her mortgage loan in time to save her house.
Her story, she said, shows that if we join together, we can win against Wall Street.
Sarah Anderson
Sarah Anderson directs the Global Economy Project of the Institute for Policy Studies, and is a co-editor of Inequality.org.
When the 2008 financial crash slammed the New York City construction industry, Maribel Toure's husband lost his job as an architect. On top of that, Maribel suffered a serious accident.
But what really plunged the family into financial trouble was sending their daughter to college.
As a child growing up in Mexico, Maribel's father had repeatedly told her that la educacion es la clave -- "education is the key." So she worked hard to obtain a college degree in Mexico and then moved to the United States, where she became a radiology technician.
Maribel wanted the same opportunity for her daughter to obtain "the key." But high tuition bills strained the family budget and pushed them to the brink of foreclosure.
"The government was helping the banks, but they refused to help me," Maribel said recently. "I never stopped working and I never stopped paying my taxes -- the same taxes the government was giving to the banks."
Maribel is just one of many Americans who were hurt by the financial crisis and want more done to crack down on the Wall Street greed and recklessness that caused it. That's why she's added her support to a new Take on Wall Street campaign that aims to channel widespread public anger over our broken financial system into concrete, bold change.
The campaign's priority reforms would help ensure that Wall Street pays its fair share of taxes. The additional revenue could be used for urgent needs, such as making college more affordable for families like the Toures.
A small tax of just a fraction of a percent on each stock and derivative trade, for example, could generate massive revenue while also curbing short-term speculation. For ordinary investors, such a tax would be hardly noticeable. The real targets would be the high-speed traders who now dominate our financial markets while adding no real value to the economy.
Closing tax loopholes that now encourage excessive executive pay could also generate much-needed funds for social programs or public investment to fix our crumbling national roads and bridges.
One of these loopholes lets private equity and hedge fund managers pay a 20 percent capital gains rate on the bulk of their income -- just half of the nearly 40 percent top rate the wealthiest Americans normally owe. As a result, billionaire financiers pay a lower tax rate than millions of our country's teachers, firefighters, and nurses.
Maribel Toure ended her story on a hopeful note. She said that after feeling guilty and ashamed about her financial problems for a long time, she decided to fight back.
She joined New York Communities for Change, a coalition of working families in low- and moderate-income communities that fights for social and economic justice. They worked with local officials to put pressure on her bank, so she was able to modify her mortgage loan in time to save her house.
Her story, she said, shows that if we join together, we can win against Wall Street.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.