Financial Transaction Tax & Bill Gates
Advocates preparing for the G8/G20 summits and campaigning on the financial transaction tax (FTT) recently saw these strands come together, in the person of Bill Gates.
The G20 has mandated Bill Gates to produce an options paper on innovative finance for the G20 November Summit. FTT advocates are wasting no time urging Mr Gates to propose broad adoption of an FTT as part of this work.
Read More and sign onto the letter here
In the form of an open sign-on letter being circulated among the planet's PhD economists, FTT advocates are making an effort to show both the broad support and the economic rationale for implementing an FTT.
Click here (dave to upload the attachement) to download the letter. Please circulate it broadly to PhD economists you know. They in turn should send their sign on indicating Country, Title, Name, Position and Faculty/Organization, Email address to
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by April 8th
A calendar of upcoming G8/G20 meetings is posted to: http://www.bond.org.uk/pages/cannes-g20-summit.html
Education per se is not included on the official G8 agenda. In late January, French President Sarkozy announced his G8 priorities to include Afghanistan, the internet, non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the G8's partnership with Africa, including the G8-Broader Middle East and North Africa (G8-BMENA) Forum for the Future, counter-terrorism and G8 political and security issues. EFA advocates will have the challenge of pointing to education in that context in order to get G8 authorities' attention on our sector.
Sarkozy also announced the priorities for the G20 Summit which are: reforming the international monetary system, strengthening financial regulation, combating commodity price volatility, supporting employment and strengthening the social dimension of globalization, fighting corruption and working on behalf of development. These priorities underscore that the G20 is not a G8 + 12, but an entity with a primary focus on the global economic and financial system. There are various working groups, reports and documents informing these areas of work.
Visit the official G20 website here
http://www.g20-g8.com/g8-g20/g20/english/priorities-for-france/the-priorities-of-the-french-presidency/the-priorities-of-the-french-presidency.75.html
EFA advocates will see education as a social aspect of the globalization process, as a key sector driving the development agenda and share the goal of increasing employment, especially of teachers. However, the G20 views all these matters through an economic, not humanitarian lens, and so education is referred to primarily as a process to get people ready for work and vocational education is emphasized in official G20 documents. Bill Gates is also on record emphasizing the need for education investment to be closely linked to employment-generating disciplines.
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/03/20/career-counselor-bill-gates-or-steve-jobs?scp=2&sq=bill%20gates,%20education&st=cse
Certainly EFA advocates are in favor of economic well being and the economic benefits of education are known and valued by our sector. However, we pursue the achievement of quality education as a human right, to contribute to human development in a myriad of ways which surpass the utilitarian goal of getting people work-ready, such as critical thinking, problem solving, taking ideas into implementation and capacity for participation in democratic societies.
The issue of primary interest for EFA advocates in the G20 mix continues to be the Financial Transaction Tax and the increasing likelihood of the Euro-zone adopting one. This innovative finance mechanism has the potential to generate over $400 billion annually, depending on the base and rate of the tax. In the current climate of austerity policies, deficit cutting, attacks on public sector/teachers' unions and on-going coddling of the financial sector by political authorities, public pressure for the financial sector to contribute to global economic recovery is very strong. The campaign to achieve regional and ultimately a global FTT is harnessing this sentiment, focusing on achieving implementation in the Euro-zone and aiming for G20 adoption by continuing to reduce opposition and resistance in G20 governments including US, UK, Australia and Canada. GCE members and EFA advocates are therefore encouraged to participate actively in securing signatures from PhD economists to influence Bill Gates' report to the G20 on the issue of innovative finance.
Dear Bill Gates and G20 Finance Ministers,
We write to you as the call for a Financial Transaction Tax is now gathering global momentum, and the French government has made it a key priority for their G20 presidency.
This tax is an idea that has come of age. The financial crisis has shown us the dangers of unregulated finance, and the link between the financial sector and society has been
broken. It is time to fix this link and for the financial sector to give something back to
society.
Even at very low rates of 0.05% or less, this tax could raise hundreds of billions of
dollars annually and calm excessive speculation. The UK already levies a tax on share
transactions of 0.5%, or ten times this rate, without unduly impacting on the
competitiveness of the City of London.
This money is urgently needed to raise revenue for global and domestic public goods such as health, education and water, and to tackle the challenge of climate change.
Given the automation of payments, this tax is technically feasible. It is morally right.
We call on you to implement the FTT as a matter of urgency.
Yours.
Economists Letter 2011 Final
Economists FTT Letter FINAL XLS
