By Ruthanne Cecil
This first meeting of the Ad Hoc National Advisory Committee for the Tobin Tax was held at Friends of the Earth in Washington DC
Summary
The initial meeting was exploratory and strategic in nature, with 15 in attendance. About 30 more people expressed their interest and asked to be put on a new email list. All of these are listed at the end, for your information. A few additional people have been added to the listserve, who we were unable to contact in time for the meeting.
After introductions, an initial briefing on the Tobin Tax proposal and the campaigns, we discussed the economics of the concept, and political and organizing realities. Those present then explained what their groups were doing or intended to do on the Tobin Tax -- there was a range of levels of priority given to this. There was agreement on keeping the committee to an ad-hoc nature, rather than more formal in structure, and we agreed to convene again.
There was a willingness to form working groups for immediate needs: (1) an economics working group, on how to package the message for the media, that the Tobin Tax concept already has high credibility in economic circles;
(2) a Congressional working group, for the Sanders bill and other ideas proposed for legislation;
(3) a policy development working group, to determine the areas where more policy work is needed (ie -- variations on the Tobin Tax legislation, policy models for adoption, enforcement, partition, and implementation). Action items are listed at end. Specific items discussed and strategized:
Briefing: A short talk on Crisis (financial, social, environmental) as Opportunity (for international cooperation, regulation, building solutions). The Tobin Tax proposal utilizes the context of Crisis to offer transaction taxes as a national and international Opportunity to (1) tame the markets; and (2) create revenue for urgent environmental and social needs. This was followed by a brief update on international and national movements for the Tobin Tax around the globe.
Economic Discussion:
(Note: the Tobin Tax is now the umbrella term, the term of art, for a broad range of proposals in this category; it is a term adopted by grassroots groups in numerous languages around the globe; and by economists in their research papers. Some people prefer calling it currency taxes, speculation taxes, currency controls, financial transaction taxes, etc...)
Dean Baker (Preamble) and Tom Palley (AFL-CIO), both economists and informed on the Tobin Tax, agreed there is a high level of credibility for the proposal among economists. However, much of the media has portrayed it (those who haven't ignored it) as coming from left field. There is a good economic rationale for the TT, and plenty of national examples of financial transfer taxes that can be pointed to, such as the stamp tax in the UK, the Chilean model, and the Brazilian proposal. This is a "win-win" issue: reducing speculation is a win, and raising revenue for public finance is a win .. and the financial sector tends to evade taxation and should pay. Procedurally, you can¹t get to an internationally-adopted TT, without utilizing national FTT's, so you need both. The revenue figures may be slightly exaggerated. Maybe $100 billion is a better estimate than the oft-quoted $300 billion. The cost to speculators is comparable to 1980's market costs. There needs to be an effort to increase credibility in the media. Some of the groups at the meeting will begin working on this.
Organizing Discussion:
What national grassroots organizing model best parallels this effort? Possibly MAI, Kyoto, debt, landmines... First, get it on the agenda. We may be able to build a constituency around a national version. Keep it domestic, and coordinate internationally. There are important concerns about keeping it from being subverted internationally, in the geopolitical struggle. So there needs to be a focus too on international banking transparency. The process is slow moving, incremental. This has a good economic pedigree, so the focus could be on taming the markets, rather than on revenue, because even if there was no revenue, taming the markets would be a social good. However, the Canadian experience (see below) indicates you need to focus on both the financial turmoil/ impact/ need to tame the markets, and the revenue, in order to inspire grassroots participation.
Canadian Victory/ Grassroots Strategy:
Pam Foster of the Halifax Initiative was in town, and joined us briefly. We greeted her with applause, for their victory on the Tobin Tax in the Canadian Parliament two days before our meeting! (M-239 passed the House of Commons by a vote of 164 - 83, on March 23, 1999. The Motion said "That, in the opinion of the House, the government should enact a tax on financial transactions in concert with the international community.") Pam then briefly summarized their grassroots campaign for the Tobin Tax motion, explaining their electronic networks, public debates, etc, and gave credit to the Results, MAI, and WFA networks, that really made the difference down to the wire.
The Halifax Initiative had originally coalesced to work on IMF/WB reform, but what really got the grassroots going was the revenue potential for poverty alleviation, from a tax on extreme wealth.... They focused on the economic impact in Canada of the devaluation, used phrases like "they're playing with futures -- our futures".... and focused on putting the dollars into public purposes. They mobilized, demonstrated a groundswell, and pulled it off during the final week, when the Liberal Party backed it. An inspiring example of good national organizing.
What Organizations are doing or plan to do:
EPI, FOE, Public Citizen, WRI, and others have been focused on the International Financial Architecture work, but see TT as a component of the larger picture. DGAP, IPS and others in the Alliance for Responsible Trade worked with NGO¹s in the South last year to create a platform for the Santiago summit, called "Alternatives for the Americas," which includes the Tobin Tax in its recommendations. Preamble Center may soon be doing a major initiative, a domestic effort, on FTT/TT.
Labor (and many other groups) are working on the international financial architecture, and on major goals of labor standards. But they frame the debate within the context of financial turmoil, cronyism, etc. Some international labor groups (such as ICFTU) have called for the Tobin Tax, and the AFL-CIO supports the ICFTU statement. So it is very much on their agenda, recognizing there are many facets and types of capital control mechanisms (FTT's, speed bumps, etc) which could be used in a mix. Tom Palley shared copies of his research papers on the Tobin Tax with those present.
Amazon Coalition will discuss fitting TT into their Climate Alliance meetings in Europe in May, and Climate Change in Bonn in June. The World Federalists have decided to include TT in their campaign for UN financing. The Citizens Network for Sustainable Development will continue to organize NGO's for the Financing for Development meetings which the UN is putting together. It may be possible for Alliance for Democracy to target WTO in November to include something on this. The Center for Concern, and Results, may organize a voice to encourage G8 discussion of this in June. 50 Years is highly supportive of the Sanders bill, is helping to organize the April 26 event, and sees it as an opportunity for comprehensive education and organizing work.
Action Items: There was agreement that the next steps, for those ready to take it on, are Packaging it, and starting to Mobilize. A work group is forming on Packaging the Economic Credibility of the Tobin Tax.
Some organizations in the room will be actively working on the Sanders bill, and there is a call out now for groups to sign-on and to co-sponsor the media event planned for April 26. As of the end of March, Reps. McKinney, Kaptur, Miller, Kucinich, and DeFazio had signed onto the Sanders bill. Contact Brendan Smith in Rep. Sanders office for the latest details on this.
Watch for a letter asking the G8 to discuss currency control options, including financial transfer taxes, and sign-on or send one from your organization.
Read the April update of the Tobin Tax Initiative for additional action items, including getting your organization to sign onto its Resolution. Request a copy by reply email if you don't already have one.....
ATTENDEES at 3/25 meeting (organizational listing for identification purposes):
-- Gawain Kripke (Friends of the Earth)
-- Brent Blackwelder (Friends of the Earth)
-- Tom Palley (AFL-CIO)
-- Dean Baker (Preamble Center)
-- David Rothschild (Amazon Coalition)
-- Ruth Caplan (Alliance for Democracy, Economic Working Group)
-- Chuck Woolery (World Federalist Association)
-- Ryan Helwig (Economic Policy Institute)
-- Karen Hansen-Kuhn (D-GAP)
-- Jacob Gonzales (Public Citizen); signing for Mike Dolan
-- Dave Sanders (Rep. Bernie Sanders, Ind., VT)
-- Doug Hunt (Citizens Network for Sustainable Development)
-- Arjun Makhijani (Inst. for Energy & Environmental Research)
-- Pam Foster (Halifax Initiative, Canada) (brief report)
-- Ruthanne Cecil (Tobin Tax Initiative) (convener)
Additional persons:
(could not attend, but requested to be part or to be kept informed) (organizations listed for identification purposes):
-- Soren Ambrose, 50 Years
-- Njoki Njehu, 50 Years
-- Robin Alexander, United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers (UE)
-- Chris Townsend, UE
-- Steve Hellinger, D-GAP
-- John Cavanagh, IPS
-- Sarah Anderson, IPS
-- Robert Blecker, EPI
-- Michele Sforza, Public Citizen
-- Mike Dolan, Public Citizen
-- Andrea Durbin, FOE
-- Matt Siegel, FOE
-- Carol Welch, FOE
-- Brendan Smith, Rep. Sanders
-- Navroz Dubash, WRI
-- Antonia Juhasz, American Lands
-- Julie Tanner, NWF
-- Joanne Carter, Results
-- Jim Paul, Global Policy Forum
-- JoMarie Griesgraber, Center of Concern
-- Rev. Walter Owensby, Presbyterian Church USA
-- Malina Selverston, Amazon Coalition
-- Marcelline White, Women's Edge
-- Dan Seligman, Sierra Club
-- Scott Anders, Center for a Sustainable Economy
-- Evelyn Hurwich, Circumpolar Conserv. Union
-- Carmen Monico, InterAction
-- Kathy Guthrie, AFSC
-- Tom Schlesinger, Financial Markets Center
-- Ralph DeGennaro, Taxpayers for Common Sense
-- Ross Gelbspan, WEMP
-- Susan Bradley, Millennium Institute
-- Don Kraus, CUNR
-- Ed Boisson, CEED
-- Kevin Danaher, Global Exchange
-- Juliet Beck, Economic Justice Now
-- Anuradha Mittal, FIAN, Food First
-- Kelly Quirke, Rainforest Action Network
-- Karen Jo Koonan, National Lawyers Guild
-- Christopher Peters, Seventh Generation Fund
-- Nilo Cayuqueo, Abya Yala Fund
For more information contact:
Ruthanne Cecil, for the Tobin Tax Initiative, convener of Ad-Hoc national committee
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