One Law To Solve Huge American Problems?

What if some of America’s biggest problems could be solved using a few cents from multi-million dollar traders?

Robin Hood

That’s the idea behind the “Robin Hood Tax” campaign being launched today. A coalition of economists, celebrities, nurses and average Americans will hold events in 16 American cities.

The Robin Hood Tax calls for a small sales tax — less than 1% — on high frequency stock trading, bonds, deriviatives and currency trading.

The tax could raise billions of dollars, providing funds for America’s neediest and strengthening our national safety net.

Over 1,000 leading economists have endorsed the plan — including Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz and Lawrence Mishel of the Economic Policy Institute.

Karen Higgins, a staff nurse at Boston Medical Center and co-president of National Nurses United says that the tax is a way to halt the excesses of the Wall Street speculation that caused the economic collapse and “turn it around.”

The tax would apply to high volume trading, not the financial transactions used by average long-term investors.