Have been working on the launch of the Robin Hood Tax, a gorgeously simple yet brilliant idea on how to repair the gaping hole in public finances left by the banking crisis…. The banks pay a tiny 0.05% tax on their big city transactions, generating up to £250 billion globally, which is shared between protecting frontline public services at home (eg NHS, child poverty, housing), helping people in poor countries, and fighting climate change in the developing world…
Supported by 60+ organisations from charities and NGOs to unions, churches, faith groups, Richard Curtis & the team behind Make Poverty History and Comic Relief, and thousands of ordinary people, the campaign aims to find a constructive way for the banks to pay back…
The campaign launch was in several papers including the Guardian last Tuesday, led by the Evening Standard the previous day, and on BBC Breakfast, GMTV, ITV lunchtime news, Today, as well as being supported by 58,000 people on Facebook, and trending at the top of Twitter (#robinhood, #rht) for two days…
On day 2, Robin Hood’s IT merry men were very confused to see the ‘NO’ votes on the website suddenly start climbing out of all proportion - and traced the No Voting IP address to Goldman Sachs - oops - which made the Guardian front page here…
The No campaign has been building ever since, but today, 350 economists from all over the world, including two nobel prize winners, have come out in the Independent today to say it’s not just a pipedream, it makes great economic sense…
much more to come, will keep this blog up to date with the news, but you can join the campaign or debate at www.robinhoodtax.org.uk - and see the 3min Richard Curtis/Bill Nighy viral film that helped launch it all….