This is the Insurgent Radio Kiosk for Friday, October 25th
Hightower Commentary
Action Calendar
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A wealth tax for American Progress
The rich are different from you and me. For one thing, they’re rich.
Among the super-rich, though, there tends to be a peculiar sense that their net worth is a testament to their true worthiness. Thus, they seem to cling desperately to the very idea of being extremely wealthy. This leads to one specific difference between them and us: Most of us favor a wealth tax to help bridge the gaping chasm of inequality in our society; the rich do not.
Indeed, we hear shrieks of abject horror and cries of doom coming from corporate board rooms and other defenders of the plutocratic order. It would be comical if they weren’t so pathetic. They exclaim that such a tax will “destroy” entrepreneurial motivation, “sap’ innovation, “punish’ success, and – get this – “spur” a wave of divorces! The psyches of the rich are so fragile, goes this line of bull, that a tiny tax on people with more than $50 million in wealth would keep them from getting out of bed in the morning.
Jamie Dimon, a billionaire Wall Street banker, disingenuously asserts that super-wealthy people like him would “be happy to pay more in taxes.” But he fears the government would just squander it on giveaways “to interest groups and stuff like that.” I have to admit that Jamie does know his “stuff” – after all, he weaseled billions of dollars from us taxpayers to bail out his bank during the 2007 Wall Street crash. Far from squandering revenues on such welfare cases as Dimon, those supporting the wealth tax specifically call for the money to fund universal access to higher education, free healthcare for All, restoration and expansion of our national infrastructure, and other direct efforts to restore the common good.
To help advance passage of the wealth tax – and our nation’s democratic ideals – go to Citizens for Tax Justice.
“For or Against, Taxing the Rich Rouses Passion,” The New York Times, October 2, 2019.
Hightower’s commentaries are brought to you by The Hightower Lowdown, the monthly newsletter with Hightower’s take on what Wall Street and Washington are up to. For information, visit hightowerlowdown.org.
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It’s today’s Action Calendar!
Learn about employment opportunities as part of the 2020 Census tomorrow, Saturday, October 26th, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Sequoya Library, 4340 Tokay Boulevard. A Census representative will answer questions and help with applications. Supervisory positions will begin at $15.50 per hour. Non-supervisory roles begin at $12.00 per hour. Language assistance will be available in English, Spanish and Hmong. Phone 266-6385 for information.
Tour the Cherokee Marsh Conservation Park-North Unit aboard a tractor-pulled hay wagon tomorrow, Saturday, October 26th from 1 to 4 p.m. Enjoy free hot cider while roasting marshmallows over a fire. Hayrides are $3.00 per person. The Conservation Park is located at 6098 North Sherman Avenue. Follow Sherman Avenue north to the parking lot at the end of the gravel road. For information, phone 266-4711.
Gaza activist and writer Yousef Aljamal will speak on “Dreaming of Freedom: Palestinian Youth Under Seige and Occupation” beginning at 2 p.m. on Sunday, October 27th, at Christ Presbyterian Church, 944 East Gorham Street. Aljamal grew up in a refugee camp in Gaza. He will share his insight about the lives of Gaza youth and elsewhere in Palestine. Representative Mark Pocan will offer introductory remarks. For more information, visit madisonrafah.org.
The Insurgent Radio Kiosk welcomes your commentaries on subjects of interest to the W.O.R.T. listening community. Commentaries are limited to two minutes. If you’d like to do a Kiosk commentary, visit wortfm.org/kioskcommentary.
The Kiosk is available online at wortfm.org/kiosk.
This has been the Insurgent Radio Kiosk heard weekdays at 5:00, 6:30 and 9:00 AM and at 2:00 PM. With Engineer Alida, I’m Greg Geboski.
Submit announcements at least ten days in advance of the event at wortfm.org/kiosk/announcements.
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