[Peace-discuss] taxes for school

[C. G. Estabrook]

Yes. Don't tax productive economic activity, tax wealth.  Remove all corporate 
taxes (that's practically been done) but also remove the civil rights of 
corporations as "legal persons."

But wealth owned by corporations would be assigned to individuals (principally 
shareholders) for accounting purposes and then taxed. (We do that now informally 
-- that's why we say Bill Gates and Warren Buffett are rich.)

Wealth should be taxed in a way that reverses the accelerating trend to 
inequality (and plans for that exist). Under the pressure of neoliberalism, 
those European countries that had (small) wealth taxes have removed them (except 
France and Switzerland).

Removing taxes from productive investment (but not speculation -- the Tobin tax) 
would presumably create jobs, as would the removal of income taxes (a much 
larger stimulus than is being contemplated). But the existence of jobs shouldn't 
depend on whether they enrich corporations.  People have a right to exercise 
their talents of head and hands in a useful way, and government must organize 
and apply that work. Everyone has a right to a job and a livable income.

These proposals were mentioned when I ran for Congress in 2002 -- a campaign you 
worked on, John.  --CGE


John W. wrote:
> 
> On Wed, Oct 22, 2008 at 6:52 PM, C. G. Estabrook <galliher at uiuc.edu 
> <mailto:galliher at uiuc.edu>> wrote:
> 
>     Income inequality has grown at an increasing rate for years. We must
>     demand a
>     tax program that redistributes wealth in a more equitable fashion.
> 
>     If you tax something, you get less of it. Tax (disparate) wealth,
>     not income or
>     consumption. --CGE
> 
> 
> The counter argument, of course, is that if you tax business you get 
> less of it, which means fewer jobs, etc.
> 
> There's no "right" answer, especially in this global marketplace with no 
> sense of community or mutual accountabiity.  Just about everyone wants 
> to arrogate the assets to himself/herself, and pass the liabilities on 
> to someone else.  This recent bailout is only the most glaring and 
> hypocritical example of it.
> 
> John Wason
> 
> 
>  
> 
>     Karen Medina wrote:
> 
> 
>             it increases the cost of clothing, school supplies,
>             toiletries and other basic items.
> 
> 
>         Yeah, that is another part I dislike. The families with more
>         people in school
>         would pay more tax.
> 
>         We all benefit from educating the young. WE ALL benefit.
> 
>         We all need to invest in educating the children, and we all need
>         to be offended when the education system is broken.
> 
>         -karen medina
> 
> 
> 
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