Washington, D.C. — The Robin Hood Tax movement, including Health GAP, VOCAL-NY, ACT UP, National People’s Action (NPA), and National Nurses United (NNU), will be joined by other activists in protests in Washington, D.C. on TUESDAY, JULY 24 at NOON to say: We Can End AIDS, the theme of the protests. An estimated 30,000 protesters are expected to march, attend rallies, and participate in symbolic actions in the course of the day to underscore the need for immediate and substantial funding for AIDS treatment.
The July 24 marches are set to take place during the International AIDS Conference, held July 22-28, with scientists, public health advocates, economists, and activists in attendance.
“We can end AIDS. And a Robin Hood Tax is key to getting there, by funding AIDS treatment, prevention, and healthcare,” said Jennifer Flynn, managing director of Health GAP. “It is also the way to provide jobs, fight climate change, and address a host of problems both here in the U.S. and abroad.”
The Robin Hood Tax movement march will bring together AIDS activists, nurses, and supporters from around the country. The marchers will assemble at Mt. Vernon Square, (9th and Massachusetts Avenue, NW), and proceed along New York Avenue before concluding with a rally in front of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Headquarters, 1615 H St., across from Lafayette Park.
Building on calls to tax Wall Street speculative activity, on June 19 the Robin Hood Tax movement launched its website in the United States (www.robinhoodtax.org) and protested at JPMorgan Chase branches around the country after revelations that the bank’s high-risk bets led to billions in losses. Estimates of losses tied to the bank’s speculative trading now run as high as $9 billion.
“Our patients without adequate healthcare, especially people with HIV/AIDS, our unemployed neighbors, our friends forced from their homes by foreclosures, our underfunded schools, poor infrastructure — all this must be redressed now,” said Jean Ross, RN and co-president of NNU, a union and professional association of RNs with 175,000 members. “And the Robin Hood Tax is the way to get started.”
The Robin Hood Tax is a small sales tax — 50 cents per $100 — on trading of stocks, and smaller assessments on bonds, derivatives, and currencies — that could raise $350 billion annually in the United States. The tax is aimed at high-volume trading, which today makes up a majority of all trades. In addition to much-need revenue, experts say a Robin Hood Tax will help place limits on the reckless short-term speculation that threatens financial stability as well as curtail speculation in essentials — food and fuel.
“We need to make Wall Street bankers pay their fair share to ensure all people with HIV/AIDS have access to treatment, not cut funding for domestic and global healthcare programs in order to give the rich tax cuts,” said Bobby Tolbert, an HIV-positive board member and community activist with VOCAL-NY.
The July 24 marches are set to take place during the International AIDS Conference, held July 22-28, with scientists, public health advocates, economists, and activists in attendance.
“We can end AIDS. And a Robin Hood Tax is key to getting there, by funding AIDS treatment, prevention, and healthcare,” said Jennifer Flynn, managing director of Health GAP. “It is also the way to provide jobs, fight climate change, and address a host of problems both here in the U.S. and abroad.”
The Robin Hood Tax movement march will bring together AIDS activists, nurses, and supporters from around the country. The marchers will assemble at Mt. Vernon Square, (9th and Massachusetts Avenue, NW), and proceed along New York Avenue before concluding with a rally in front of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Headquarters, 1615 H St., across from Lafayette Park.
Building on calls to tax Wall Street speculative activity, on June 19 the Robin Hood Tax movement launched its website in the United States (www.robinhoodtax.org) and protested at JPMorgan Chase branches around the country after revelations that the bank’s high-risk bets led to billions in losses. Estimates of losses tied to the bank’s speculative trading now run as high as $9 billion.
“Our patients without adequate healthcare, especially people with HIV/AIDS, our unemployed neighbors, our friends forced from their homes by foreclosures, our underfunded schools, poor infrastructure — all this must be redressed now,” said Jean Ross, RN and co-president of NNU, a union and professional association of RNs with 175,000 members. “And the Robin Hood Tax is the way to get started.”
The Robin Hood Tax is a small sales tax — 50 cents per $100 — on trading of stocks, and smaller assessments on bonds, derivatives, and currencies — that could raise $350 billion annually in the United States. The tax is aimed at high-volume trading, which today makes up a majority of all trades. In addition to much-need revenue, experts say a Robin Hood Tax will help place limits on the reckless short-term speculation that threatens financial stability as well as curtail speculation in essentials — food and fuel.
“We need to make Wall Street bankers pay their fair share to ensure all people with HIV/AIDS have access to treatment, not cut funding for domestic and global healthcare programs in order to give the rich tax cuts,” said Bobby Tolbert, an HIV-positive board member and community activist with VOCAL-NY.
Over 1,000 leading economists have endorsed the policy behind the Robin Hood Tax, including Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz and Lawrence Mishel of the Economic Policy Institute. Some type of Robin Hood Tax is already in place in more than 40 countries.
For more information go to www.robinhoodtax.org.
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For more information go to www.robinhoodtax.org.
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