Effective Tax Rates- taxes on the wealthy spurring surplus

Nathan Newman nathan.newman at yale.edu
Sat Jan 30 11:35:18 PST 1999


-----Original Message----- From: Carrol Cox <cbcox at mail.ilstu.edu> To: lbo-talk at lists.panix.com <lbo-talk at lists.panix.com>


>> The only question is how progressives can use the situation to move the
> >debate from the center back to a progressive tilt.


>Raise hell in the streets. But this will not come from the kind of
progressives
>(marxist or non-marxist, revolutionary or reformist) who post to these
lists.

Speak for yourself. Many of us have spent much of the last few years in the streets, being arrested, and fighting for economic and social justice.

However, "raising hell in the streets" without strategy does not get you very far. The question is what to raise hell in the streets about- in the specifics, in the slogans and with what alliances and formations?

Should tax equity be a major issue raised? That's an ongoing debate with many people thinking its less important than emphasizing the demands for government spending - where the tax issue takes care of itself. I disagree with that position but it is not unreasonable.

Should we demand that social security taxes be assessed against those making more than $65,000 per year (or whatever the cap it right now) in order to cut rates for everyone else - or to fuel expanded benefits for everyone? I think that's a good strategy but a lot of folks argue it would undermine the idea of Social Security as a pension system.

Should we fight for a simplifed tax system with less deductions and fewer room for loophole abuse? Jerry Brown raised the issue and folks like Gephardt have bills with a progressive tax version of a simple tax plan - I think Gephart's plan would leave 75% of the population having a top tax rate of 10% on marginal income.

What organizations can be enlisted in alliances around tax equity and what is the best way to educate and activate folks on the issue?

--Nathan Newman



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