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Tax the Rich, Help Save America?

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Source: flimjo.com

‘No new taxes’ has been a conservative mantra for generations.  Lately, it’s been taken beyond the campaign trail, and into the streets.  But why are so many Americans opposed to taxes and who does the system serve anyway?

We take a look at a tax revolt movement you might not have heard about, including upper income folks asking for tax increases on themselves.  And we compare the tax burdens and benefits in Europe and the United States.

Featuring:

Jim McDermott, Oregon lawyer; Chuck Sheketoff, Oregon Center for Public Policy Executive Director; Jon Shure, Center on Budget & Policy Priorities Deputy Director; Marcy Westerling, Rural Organizing Project, Scappoose Executive Director; Marcy Westerling, Rural Organizing Project Executive Director; Tom Duley, Alabama Arise board chairman; Kimble Forrister, Alabama Arise coordinator; Gwendolyn Gray, Alabama Arise member; Steven Hill, Political Reform Program Director at the New America Foundation & author of ‘Europe’s Promise: Why the European Way Is the Best Hope for an Insecure Age’

Thanks to contributing producer, Abby Scher.

And thanks to Joe Hendricks at WSLR Radio & Jan Nichols at the NC Justice Center for technical assistance and our tape synchers Chris Lehman, Don Gronnin, Robert Frazier & Kelly Walker.

Grassroots Groups Call for Change in the Tax System

Besides the Tea Party, there are other grassroots tax movements building strength in places like Oregon, Alabama and North Carolina.  These citizens are calling for higher taxes, to dig their states out of the mess created by the economic crisis.  Raise taxes on the wealthy, they say, so the burden falls more equitably on those best able to pay.  Generally overlooked by the national media, these campaigners are winning many of their battles, and as correspondent Abby Scher reports, they’re growing in number every day.

Author Compares U.S. Tax System with Those of European Countries

Making Contact‘s Andrew Stelzer interviews Steven Hill , author of ‘Europe’s Promise: Why the European Way Is the Best Hope for an Insecure Age’, about the difference in tax benefits and burdens in Europe and the US.

For more information:

Alabama Arise
Montgomery, AL

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Washington, DC

Oregon Center for Public Policy
Silverton, OR

Rural Organizing Project
Scappoose, OR

Steven Hill

Wealth for the Common Good

Articles, Blogs, Films, Reports, Other:

‘Americans pay fewer taxes than Europeans’
An article by Steven Hill

‘Creating a Fair and Adequate Revenue System’
A report by North Carolina Justice Center

‘Europe’s Promise: Why the European Way is the Best Hope for an Insecure Age’
A book by Steven Hill

‘I Want to Pay More Taxes’
An article by Jim McDermott, The Oregonian, April 12, 2009

‘Impact of State Income Taxes on Low-Income Families in 2008’
A report by Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

‘Reversing the Great Tax Shift: Seven Steps to Finance Our Economic Recovery Fairly’
An article by John Cavanagh, Chuck Collins, Alison Goldberg & Sam Pizzigati

‘Tax Fraud: Debunking the Claim that higher income-tax rates reduce GDP’
An article by Eliot Spitzer

‘Taxing the Poor’
A PBS NOW documentary on Alabama Arise, April 11, 2008

‘The Tea Party and Misconceptions about Taxes’

10 Excellent Reasons Not to Hate Taxes
A book by Stephanie Greenwood

Warren Buffett Tells Tom Brokaw, Raise My Taxes!

‘Why Tax the Rich? Efficiency, Equity, and Progressive Taxation’
A journal written by Reuven S. Avi-Yonah

Music:

Sweet Home Alabama by Lynyrd Skynyrd
Alabama A&M Univ. Gospel Choir
Money, Money, Money by Abba
Me and the IRS by Johnny Paycheck

Author: Radio Project

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