FOR  IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                             
November 13, 2012

Actions in Four U.S. Cities Coincide With Anti-Austerity Protests Across Europe
U.S. Robin Hood Tax Campaign Says No to Social Service Cuts, Calls for Wall Street Sales Tax to Spark Recovery
Says Yes on H.R. 6411: “The Inclusive Prosperity Act”

Having made their voices heard in the course of hard-fought elections, a national  campaign of consumers, health activists, small businesses, unions, religious groups and others  will call on members of Congress Wednesday to stand up for our nation’s working people and for vulnerable communities and to urge No to cuts in Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, or food stamps.  

Actions will be held, for now, at district field offices in New York, Boston, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. Activists say they will continue to step up pressure for comprehensive solutions to the ongoing economic crisis as signs of poverty and income inequality continue to grow.
       
The Robin Hood Tax campaign, comprising of more than 125 organizations and their millions of members in the U.S., stands for rebuilding the thousands of communities that never recovered from the financial collapse of 2008. Robin Hood believes that raising revenue through a sales tax on Wall Street speculation – from those whose wealth was sustained through “too-big-to-fail” tax bailouts and targeted to help communities in need – is the road to a real recovery.  The time to be paid back is long overdue.

“This country has vast wealth but poor priorities,” said Jean Ross, RN and co-president of National Nurses United, one the founding organizations of the Robin Hood Tax Campaign.  “Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and the food stamp program are the economic bedrock of vast numbers of American families. To reduce these in any way is to do serious harm and lead to more poverty. We, as nurses, shudder at the thought of more harm to Americans.  Don’t do it.”  

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14:  

Offices of:         

• Rep. Xavier Becerra, 1910 W. Sunset Blvd., Ste. 810, Los Angeles, CA --  11 a.m.
• Rep. Nancy Pelosi, 90 7th St., Ste. 2-800,  San Francisco, CA --  11 a.m.
• Rep. Charlie Rangel, 163 West 125th St., Ste. 737, New York, NY --  11 a.m.  
• Sen. Scott Brown, 15 New Sudbury St., Ste. 2400, Boston, MA -- Noon  

The Robin Hood Tax campaign supports a sales tax on Wall Street speculation in stocks, bonds, derivatives and currency trading.  The tax is embodied in “The Inclusive Prosperity Act,” H.R. 6411, and would raise as much as $350 billion a year in the U.S. alone in funds to rebuild communities through the creation of good jobs, renewed infrastructure, quality education and healthcare, and decent retirement.  The legislation also seeks to address important international needs, such as HIV/AIDS research and treatment and climate change.

“The Robin Hood Tax would provide us with the resources we need to end the AIDS pandemic and fight back against climate change,” said Michael Tikili of Health GAP.  “With disasters like Hurricane Sandy looming, we can no longer look to spending cuts to fix our financial crisis. We need a Robin Hood Tax to give us the revenue we need to end AIDS and fight climate change now.”

Members of the U.S. Robin Hood Tax campaign bring these demands the same day, Nov. 14, that a general strike is to be held across Europe, where in country after country, austerity policies have taken a terrible toll.  Over the last several years, Europeans have seen that cutting essential services destroys communities, extends poverty, and induces no growth.   

Large national strikes are planned for Wednesday in Greece, Italy, Spain, and Portugal, with rallies in numerous cities across the continent.

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www.robinhoodtax.org
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