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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, A government must provide for the common good in
3order to function properly; there is a direct correlation
4between the percentage of citizens in a society whose
5fundamental needs are met and can be classified as productive
6members of society, with the rate at which that society
7advances educationally, economically, technologically, and in
8terms of the well-being and the decreased tendency towards
9illicit behavior by its citizens; and
 
10    WHEREAS, The members of this body have a natural concern
11for the welfare of children and youth; in the years since the
12recent 2008 financial crisis, the number of children living on
13the streets, in shelters, motels, or doubled-up with other
14families jumped 38% to 1.6 million nationwide; and
 
15    WHEREAS, In the last 5 years, 43 states have cut student
16funding for higher education, as the cost of post-secondary
17public education continues to rise faster than the cost of
18healthcare; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Across the nation, there are higher levels of
20unemployment, broad declines in health, crumbling
21infrastructure, shrinking pensions and retirement savings, and
22workers in the fields of education, health care, and public

 

 

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1safety being laid off due to a financial crisis they did not
2create; and
 
3    WHEREAS, Wall Street and the big banks have failed our
4economy and are exploiting tax loopholes, while generating
5record profits and being rewarded with billions in bailouts and
6bonuses and leaving millions of Americans to suffer; and
 
7    WHEREAS, A recent iteration of a financial transaction tax
8bill called the "Inclusive Prosperity Act", which is popularly
9known as the "Robin Hood Tax" (H.R. 6411), called for the
10revenues gained to be used for such critical needs as education
11and job training, student debt relief, rebuilding public
12infrastructure, public sector jobs, public sector pensions,
13green jobs, expanding and improving Medicaid and Medicare,
14housing assistance for low income households, and protecting
15our environment; and
 
16    WHEREAS, The concept of a financial transaction tax is not
17novel, but has been in existence in England since 1694 at the
18London Stock Exchange; the tax has been implemented in some 40
19countries across the globe and was in effect in the United
20States from 1914 to 1966 and is currently in place in New York
21City; and
 
22    WHEREAS, The United Kingdom's 0.5% tax on stock trades

 

 

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1raises their government billions of dollars a year; this tax,
2which collects tax revenues for the public rather than on the
3public, would apply to Wall Street banks, hedge funds, and
4other financial institutions and would not apply to ordinary
5Americans, their personal savings, or every day business and
6consumer activity, such as purchases using ATM's or debit
7cards; and
 
8    WHEREAS, The rate of this tax would be set as low as 50
9cents on every $100 of trades and would target reckless
10short-term financial speculation that drove previous economic
11crises, pushed up gas and food prices in the US and around the
12world, and continues to threaten financial stability; and
 
13    WHEREAS, The Inclusive Prosperity Act is supported by such
14organizations as National Nurses United, the National
15Organization of Women, Jobs with Justice, Oxfam America,
16MoveOn.org, Greenpeace, 350.org, Noble Prize winning
17economists Joseph Stiglitz and Paul Krugman, and business
18leaders George Soros and Warren Buffett; therefore, be it
 
19    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
20NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
21we show our support for the re-introduction and passage of the
22Inclusive Prosperity Act, otherwise known as the Robin Hood Tax
23(H.R. 6411 of the 112th Congress) and encourage the people of

 

 

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1this State to show their support for the Inclusive Prosperity
2Act as well; and be it further
 
3    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
4delivered to the President of the United States and the members
5of the Illinois congressional delegation.