Robin goes to Hollywood, or Mr Hood goes to Washington
I can’t work out whether to go with a music or film reference, so you’ve got both, but, whatever, the Robin Hood Tax campaign launched in the USA this week, with a video featuring actor Mark Ruffalo, Coldplay’s Chris Martin and Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello. There’s a new website listing campaign supporters, and there were actions across the USA led by the National Nurses United (NNU) union.
Mark Ruffalo is currently on UK cinema screens as Bruce Banner in Avengers Assemble, providing enormous scope for “you wouldn’t like me when I’m angry” quips about what happens if politicians don’t take his advice and implement a financial transactions tax. And is it because the Hulk is green that he backs the Robin Hood Tax?
But of course there’s serious intent to launching the US campaign as America prepares for the Presidential election in the fall. Campaigners hope to encourage the Democrats to make a “Main Street not Wall Street” pitch to the electorate, not least to contrast Barack Obama with his hedge-fund linked Republican opponent Mitt Romney. Hence also the identification of the campaign with the Occupy Movement: the Robin Hood Tax aims to give back some of what the 1% have taken from the 99%.
As well as the NNU’s high profile support for the campaign, turning out nurses in their scrubs from the G20 in Cannes last November to the G8 in Chicago this May, the AFLCIO has backed the tax in lobbying ahead of this year’s Los Cabos G20 summit.
Owen Tudor is Head of European Union and International Relations at the TUC.
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