To: President Donald Trump, The United States House of Representatives, and The United States Senate
"The Inequality is Too Damn High!"
According to a recent Oxfam report, the world's richest 400 people have as much wealth as half the world's population! The top 1% in US holds 35% of all wealth, with the top 10% controlling over 80%. Meanwhile, in this "land of opportunity," social mobility is declining and lower than almost any other developed nation. The president's modest proposals, to raise the minimum wage and revise overtime rules, are positive and should be supported, but they will NOT impact the underlying structure of the problem. To do so, the US should:
1. Enact a progressive wealth tax, beginning on fortunes above $5 million.
2. Impose a small financial transactions tax on stock trades.
3. Use the revenue to create a public jobs and training program for all who want/need it, to...
4. Establish the "universal social plan": all who want a job can find one and earn a modest living of basic human dignity.
This replaces welfare with work and would have a salutatory impact on the economic and spiritual health of the nation. It's a long shot, but only radical surgery can save this patient!
1. Enact a progressive wealth tax, beginning on fortunes above $5 million.
2. Impose a small financial transactions tax on stock trades.
3. Use the revenue to create a public jobs and training program for all who want/need it, to...
4. Establish the "universal social plan": all who want a job can find one and earn a modest living of basic human dignity.
This replaces welfare with work and would have a salutatory impact on the economic and spiritual health of the nation. It's a long shot, but only radical surgery can save this patient!
Why is this important?
I know many people, myself included, who are overeducated and under employed. As a small landlord, I can't find anyone with a job to rent from me - everyone who comes is on disability! As a college teacher, I worry about the future of my students as increased inequality decreases the number of quality jobs. I live in a city where 30% of the population lives in poverty, with little opportunity to change this.