The Panama Papers prove it: we can afford a universal basic income Colin Holtz If the super-rich a

[saturnsring]

The Panama Papers prove it: we can afford a universal basic income
Colin Holtz

If the super-rich actually paid what they owe in taxes, the US would have loads more money available for public services






Called a universal basic income by supporters, the idea has has attracted support throughout American history, from Thomas Paine to Martin Luther King Jr. But it has also faced unending criticism for one particular reason: the advocates of “austerity” say we simply can’t afford it – or any other dramatic spending on social security.
If you're rich, you can avoid paying taxes. That's got to change
Jan Schakowsky
The Panama Papers show how vital it is to close tax loopholes so the system’s fair for everyone. It’s a shame some of my colleagues in Congress don’t agree
Read more

That argument dissolved this week with the release of the Panama Papers, which reveal the elaborate methods used by the wealthy to avoid paying back the societies that helped them to gain their wealth in the first place.

Roads and transportation infrastructure. Educated workforces. Courts and legal systems. Innovations sparked by government funding, such as the internet. No one – no matter how smart or hard working – joins the American or global elite without making use of these shared resources.

But while working and middle-class families pay their taxes or face consequences, the Panama Papers remind us that the worst of the 1% have, for years, essentially been stealing access to Americans’ common birthright, and to the benefits of our shared endeavors.



http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/apr/07/panama-papers-taxes-universal-basic-income-public-services



maybe bernie can get his free college money from here along with basic income

[CompanyFirstSergeant]

1. We could use that money...

...to raise the minimum wage.

...To send kids to college.

...To open child care centers.

...To repair our infrastructure.

Bastards.

[saturnsring]

2. exactly, that's our money that should be used for us

[saturnsring]

4. yes .... nt

[brewens]

6. It's our money in more ways than just that. The 1% rake in much of our tax dollars. That's

what they spend billions on lobbyists for. It's not just what they could have been taxed. You don't buy a government and tax system and come out with the short end of the stick. It's a lot like the ruling class taxing the peasants in the middle ages.

[tblue37]

5. As Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., wisely said, "Taxes are the dues we pay to live in a

civilized society."

The rich are the real takers. They enjoy (far more than the rest of us do) the benefits, but they don't want to pay their dues.

They are like a wealthy acquaintance who goes out for dinner or lunch with less well-off friends, but then when the bill comes suddenly realizes he left his wallet at home--"Oops!"--and it happens every darned time.

The ordinary people who keep voting for politicians who pass laws that benefit only the rich are like the foolish friends who keep letting him get away with it, even though despite promising to repay them, he never actually does so.

[BlandGrenade]

7. HILLARY 2016 WOOOOOOOO! Keep the status quo going for another four years!

Excuse me while I vomit.