WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) will join community, health, labor, student and environmental groups to kick start the People’s Climate March and United Nations Climate Summit 2014 with a rally hailing a Robin Hood Tax — a tax on Wall Street also known as a financial transaction tax — as a key solution to addressing the climate crisis. The rally will be held at 10 a.m. on Sunday, September 21 at the corner of W. 58th and Broadway in New York City.

Representative Ellison said, “A financial transaction tax would raise funds to help communities deal with the devastating effects of a rapidly changing climate and curb harmful high frequency trading.”

Jean Ross, RN, Co-president of National Nurses United said, “In my 40 years as a registered nurse, I’ve witnessed the devastating effects of environmental injustice on my patients.  The climate crisis is the number one threat to human health.  It’s time to implement real solutions.  The Robin Hood Tax is one of the most powerful ways to fund those solutions.”

The Robin Hood Tax is a tiny tax on trades of stocks, bonds and other financial instruments and would generate hundreds of billions of dollars of new revenue. Representative Ellison has introduced legislation to establish a Robin Hood Tax, the Inclusive Prosperity Act, H.R. 1579.

Robert Tolbert, board member of VOCAL-NY, said, “Nobel Prize-winning economists and billionaire businessmen are for it. The Pope is for it. But to move the idea past slick Wall Street lobbyists in Congress, we must show that the people are for it. That’s what the Robin Hood Tax contingent at the People’s Climate March will do.”

Karen Orenstein of Friends of the Earth U.S. said, “Poor countries have done little, and in some cases nothing at all, to cause the climate crisis. Yet they are the ones left footing a very expensive bill to deal with its fallout – a bill paid not only in money, but in lives lost and livelihoods destroyed. A Robin Hood Tax would generate public money that’s desperately needed to help people around the world.”

Eleven European countries, including Germany, are establishing a regional Robin Hood Tax. France, a member of that coalition, already has a Robin Hood Tax that generates revenue used, in part, to help developing countries address climate change.

Janet Redman of the Institute for Policy Studies said, “It’s past time for the U.S. to step up to the plate. Wall Street has made out like a bandit for far too long, and we need Robin Hood to set it right. While we see cuts in education, healthcare and environmental protection – and increases in inequality – Wall Street bankers continue to reap big profits and fat cat bonuses.”

Michael Tikili of Health GAP said, “By making Wall Street pay its fair share, the Robin Hood Tax can help shore up funding for goods and services that keep people and our communities healthy and whole, like providing money to help end the global AIDS pandemic.”

For more information about the Robin Hood Tax rally and the People’s Climate March, see the event Facebook page.

Expert Contact:  Karen Orenstein, Senior international policy analyst, Friends of the Earth U.S., (202) 222-0717, korenstein@foe.org
Communications Contact: Kate Colwell, Communications specialist, Friends of the Earth U.S., (202) 222-0744, kcolwell@foe.org