A NOT SO MODEST PROPOSAL
THE JUBILEE - WEALTH REBALANCING - AMENDMENT
The following is not so modest a proposal but a rather radical and bold proposal for ending wealth inequality in the USA. Seldom have we debated wealth in this country, instead when and if we do focus on wealth it is as a corollary to the income debate. But the fact is that wealth inequality has reached obscene levels in this country. Consider the 1 and 40 rule: the top 1 percent of American households own almost 40 percent of this countries wealth, while the bottom 40 percent own less than 1 percent. According to Forbes magazine the richest 400 Americans have cumulative wealth exceeding $1 TRIILLION or the total Gross Domestic Product of China. Such wealth inequality is not only unconscionable but tears at our very social fabric and threatens our economic / financial system.
Photo courtesy of the US National Park Service |
We propose a wealth rebalancing tax to redistribute wealth proportionately by taxing the rich and reallocating the proceeds to the less rich or poor. Absurd never passes; Think again! Wealth is so skewed in this country that over 80 percent of Americans have a net worth below the national average; our not so modest proposal would have those 80 percent plus of Americans receive a transfer payment to bring their wealth in line with the national average; We repeat over 80 percent of Americans would directly benefit and receive wealth and not have to pay. And although we feel that our proposal has strong economic, moral and religious justification, the strength of our proposal is that it appeals to the economic self-interest of over 80 percent of Americans. |
Ours is a people's solution-not one dictated by big government or big business. The money will not be given to government to allocate, but redistributed to the people themselves. There will be no change in the way that business is conducted or government operated. All we are proposing is that the ownership of assets be rebalanced. It will be a one-time measure.
How will we achieve our ends? The ballot box and the Internet will be our mediums of change. We will be making our case on this web site. Our focus is to help people realize the inequities and injustices in our country and how the Jubilee can help resolve them. We are looking to build a new coalition of people that cuts across political, religious and idealogical lines.
The Jubilee is in the spirit of America. What has made this country great has been the periodic intervention of government to redress wrongs and level the playing field and provide fair and equal treatment and opportunity for all its citizens. Ours is a country whose history and greatest advances are based upon the intervention by government to address the wrongs of society: the emancipation proclamation which freed slaves, the Sherman Antitrust Act which made the concentration of businesses or monopolies illegal, the 19th amendment which gave woman the right to vote, the securities act of 1933 which protected the small investor and the Civil rights act of 1964 which established the civil rights of all. When proposed all of these measures were highly contentious, some such as the emancipation proclamation were very divisive, but today most Americans would say they were good and necessary. It is time we redefined liberty to include economic freedom.
We realize imbalances and inequities are part of the human condition. But every so often, periodically, when they get too extreme there must be a shift to rebalance things. Particularly in a country such as ours, which prides itself on the belief that, all citizens have liberty, justice and are treated fairly and equally. Unfortunately special interest groups (that not coincidentally control large amounts of money), political action committees and those that are politically strong have helped gained unfair advantage for the rich and lead to our current financial imbalances. Especially egregious has been the continual bias of government officials to favor the rich through monetary policy, as with the bailout of failing and losing financial organizations and speculators such as Long Term Capital Management. What makes this so galling is that in a period of so called `free markets' where we have been abandoning the less financially able and subsidizing the rich leading to a policy of double standard: Socialism for the rich and capitalism for the rest of us. The evidence is clear: Between 1983 and 1998 when the stock market went up tenfold wealth for the average (median) American family fell. Yes wealth fell for the average (median) household because of the inequities created by those in control of government.
Our solution is simple and clean : rebalance wealth. Our strategy is predicated on the precepts of a market economy , its incumbent institutions and capital markets, and its financial tools and instruments. Ours is neither a plan of the radical left to reestablish government control, nor of the radical right to abandon everything to the unfettered markets. Ours is a policy of the people for the benefit of society overall. We want a one- time measure for government to intercede and redress a wrong, which the majority of Americans see is a wrong.
We would transfer financial assets from those whose wealth is above the national average pro rata to those below the national average. The process would take advantage of modern techniques of financial engineering such as privatization and securitization. It would be surprisingly simple because most of the wealth of the rich is tied up in financial assets or businesses, which can be privatized. As for physical assets such as real estate, we would borrow from current market practice and securitize. To insure a fair and equal value distribution of assets it may be necessary to bundle some securities. The conclusion is clear, innovations in financial engineering will make for a smooth and easy transfer of wealth To limit the pressure on financial markets and protect those less able to manage their money immediate sale of assets would be forbidden and only allowed gradually over a period of years.
Nay we say to the doomsayers. Stock market decline, capital flight: hogwash . We are sick and tired of hearing your perverted twist of trickle down economics from "what is good for the rich is good for the country", into, "what is bad for the rich is even worse for the country". The Jubilee looks to prevent a catastrophe, not create it. History tells us that extreme wealth imbalances have preceded economic depressions and social/political revolutions. Our is a dose of prevention and redresses wrongs. Further, there will be no immediate sale of assets, the government will not have its finger in the money pie and we are relying and acting within the confines of the spirit and embodiment of free markets; and as for capital flight from the rich the legislation will be retroactive.
Not only will the Jubilee restore balance, but also it will strength the economy and society. Everyone will have a piece of the American pie and feel as participants in the capitalist system. A new and level playing field will renew and invigorate competition as participants feel as though they really were on equal footing.
Ours is a nonviolent revolution. We welcome everyone and all. We ask that our participants not castigate nor demonize those that are against us. We will not allow personalized attacks, which look to disgrace certain wealthy individuals through the display of gaudy and obscene portraits of them, no matter how real. Our arguments are so strong that they stand-alone and there is no need to attack people. We are trying to create change and equality not beat the so-called enemy, because if we are successful there will be no enemy
Ours is a not so modest proposal that is in the best interest of all Americans. Our goal is to level the playing field and to reduce the threat created by large wealth inequalities. Our first goal is to bring a real debate about wealth inequality in this country. Then we look for real change
What follows is a detailed analysis of our proposal, how we will achieve our ends and why all Americans should be for the Jubilee amendment. Please make sure to go to the registration section.
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For more information about the Jubiee Go to: 1)Specifics of the Jubilee Amendment 2)Jubilee Strategy 3)The case for the Jubilee Back to the Table of Contents If you have questions or comments, email webmaster@jubileeamendment.org |
Source: From the Depths, Photograph by William Balfour Kerr, 1906, Library of Congress |