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Unconventional Wisdom: The President Talks About Inequality
John Cavanagh and Joy Zarembka
What a difference a week makes. GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney finally disclosed on Tuesday that he paid a measly 13.9 percent of his vast income in taxes in 2010 and will probably pay just 15.4 percent on his 2011 earnings. Those rates are far lower than what the IRS demands of you, or the two of us, or Warren Buffett's secretary.
Thanks to the persistence of the Occupy movement and Romney's tin ear, the anger over inequality, recent college grads who can't pay their student debts, and elderly people being thrown out of their homes is boiling over into outrage.
Thanks to this pressure, President Obama devoted much of his State of the Union address to the damage extreme inequality wreaks on our democracy. IPS experts John Feffer, Phyllis Bennis, Sarah Anderson and John Cavanagh all offer their takes on this important speech.
At IPS, we're spreading the stories, facts, and figures about our nation's 30 year march toward extreme inequality in as many ways as we can. IPSers Chuck Collins and Sam Pizzigati have built the leading inequality website. (Please visit www.inequality.org to see what we mean). Chuck's latest book 99 to 1: How Wealth Inequality Is Wrecking the World and What We Can Do About It will be released shortly before Tax Day, and he's a featured expert in "We're Not Broke," a new documentary that premiered on Sunday at the Sundance Film Festival, which highlights the growing public outrage toward those in the 1 percent who are key drivers of inequality. Too Much, Sam's weekly newsletter, highlights news and views that show how our world would be considerably more caring, prosperous, and democratic if we narrowed the vast gap that divides the wealthy from everyone else.
As the outrage grows, change that seemed impossible not long ago becomes possible. IPS is working with the National Nurses United union and a wide range of groups in this country and around the world to build support for a tax on speculative Wall Street trades, which could raise hundreds of billions of dollars for urgent needs, such as jobs and climate programs. The Institute is working with other allies to lay out the shift from a Wall Street casino to a green Main Street economy.
Remember, Wall Street banks and global corporations have driven down wages, working conditions, and environmental standards both in the United States and everywhere else. We need solutions that cross borders. That's why IPS is working with allies around the world — from Occupy Nigeria to groups fighting the U.S. drug war.
A movement for the 99 percent is growing like wildfire, and each and every one of you is part of it.
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John Cavanagh and Joy Zarembka Institute for Policy Studies.
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